Pair-Producing Electric Fields and Pulsars

view Abstract Citations (12) References (4) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Pair-Producing Electric Fields and Pulsars Parker, Keonard ; Tiomno, J. Abstract We consider a system in which a pair-producing electric field surrounding a central body gives rise to an oscillating coherent plasma of electron-positron pairs. A greatly simplified treatment of the model yields results indicating that there might possibly be some relation to pulsars. We assume that an equilibrium has been reached in which the energy of the new pairs is radiated away during the periods of significant pair creation. This crude model leads to expressions for the pulse half- width, lengthening of period, and power output, depending essentially on only one parameter proportional to the field amplitude, which is constant for periods from 10-2 to 10 5. Surprisingly, the above expressions lead to values which agree well with the corresponding observed quantities for pulsars. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: December 1972 DOI: 10.1086/151836 Bibcode: 1972ApJ...178..809P full text sources ADS |