Pulsar Electrodynamics: an unsolved problem

Abstract

Pulsar electrodynamics is reviewed emphasizing the role of the inductive electric field in an oblique rotator and the incomplete screening of its parallel component by charges, leaving `gaps' with $E_\parallel\ne0$. The response of the plasma leads to a self-consistent electric field that complements the inductive electric field with a potential field leading to an electric drift and a polarization current associated with the total field. The electrodynamic models determine the charge density, $ρ$, and the current density, ${\bf J}$, charge starvation refers to situations where the plasma cannot supply $ρ$, resulting in a gap and associated particle acceleration and pair creation. It is pointed out that a form of current starvation also occurs implying a new class of gaps. The properties of gaps are discussed, emphasizing that static models are unstable, the role of large-amplitude longitudinal waves, and the azimuthal dependence that arises across a gap in an oblique rotator. Wave dispersion in a pulsar plasma is reviewed briefly, emphasizing its role in radio emission. Pulsar radio emission mechanisms are reviewed, and it is suggested that the most plausible is a form of plasma emission.