arXiv subjects

P B Jones

Publications and source records attributed to P B Jones.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

The threshold for pulsar radio emission is determined by the Goldreich-Julian charge density

A recent phenomenological study of radio emission from normal and millisecond pulsars by Karastergiou et al has lead these authors to state that they are unable to exclude a common physics process as the source although the rotation periods and magnetic fields of these two classes are very different. This has bearing on the nature of that source and it is the purpose the present Letter to explore this problem further, specifically for the ion-proton model and for all those models that assume electron-positron pair creation above the polar cap. The ion-proton model satisfies this commonality whereas pair creation does not. We mention briefly some consequences of these findings.

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arXiv2024

On the origin of the quasi-periodic micro-pulses observed in the radio-frequency emission of some neutron stars

The linear relationship between pulsar micro-pulse widths and rotation period is consistent with the existence of a physical length L on the neutron-star surface and seen on the observer arc of transit across the polar cap. Within the ion-proton model it is the width of the minimum area of surface that can support the critical growth rate of the unstable two-beam Langmuir mode that is the source of the radio emission.

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arXiv2023

Ion-proton model of pulsar radio emission: a summary

More than twenty papers on the development of this model have been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2010 to the present. Whilst some contain work that is essential for the development of the model, others are less so. This present paper is a summary, citing only the former set of papers and the observational phenomena to which the model relates.

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arXiv2023

Antenna source of radio-frequency emission in ion-proton pulsars

The growth of a longitudinal or quasi-longitudinal Langmuir mode in the outward-moving beam of ions and protons that forms the open sector of an ion-proton pulsar magnetosphere radiates as an analogue of an end-fed high-impedance horizontal straight-wire antenna an integral number of half-waves in length. The radiation has, broadly, the energy flux, linear polarization and spectral index that are widely observed: also, the notch phenomenon seen in some integrated pulse profiles occurs naturally. The new field of pulsar observations below 100 MHz may lead to productive tests of the radio emission mechanism.

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arXiv2021

Physics of radio emission in the long-period pulsars

Recent multi-frequency measurements of pulse widths W50 for the long-period pulsar J0250+5854 by Agar et al provide a unique insight to the emission process owing to its small polar-cap radius. The frequency-dependence of W50 can be simply understood as a consequence of the emitting plasma remaining under acceleration during the interval of radio emission. This is possible in a plasma of ions and protons but not in one of high-multiplicity electron-positron pairs. Extension of the model to the pulse profiles of the general pulsar population is considered briefly.

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arXiv2021

Pair production in the millisecond pulsar J0030+0451

The electric field accelerating electrons in the Timokhin-Arons polar-cap model as applied to millisecond pulsars is so high that the electron Lorentz factors are limited either by radiation reaction or by the Breit-Wheeler process. In the former case, it is possible to obtain an upper limit for curvature radiation momentum components perpendicular to the local magnetic field which is independent of the flux-line radius of curvature. The threshold value for single-photon conversion to pairs is high but is possibly reached in J0030+0451. However, owing to the high polar-cap temperature reported, direct pair production by the Breit-Wheeler process is probably more important. If the existence of coherent radio emission in millisecond pulsars is assumed to need a high-multiplicity pair plasma, then it follows that the primary electrons also produce gamma-rays in the Fermi-LAT energy band for which the magnetosphere is completely transparent. The absence of these, in phase with the radio emission, would be an immediate indication that ultra-high energy electrons and an active Timokhin-Arons polar cap are not present in J0030+0451.

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arXiv2020

Source of circular polarization in radio pulsars

It is known that the concept of limiting polarization introduced seventy years ago by K G Budden has the capacity to explain the magnitude of circular polarization seen in normal pulsars with rotation periods of the order of one second under the assumption of a high-multiplicity electron-positron plasma. However, a review of limiting polarization under the same assumption in millisecond pulsars indicates that it is inapplicable there because the region of limiting polarization lies far outside the light cylinder. The present paper, using the ion-proton model, evaluates circular polarization both generally and specifically for J2144-3933, and gives a fairly detailed understanding of the observations in normal pulsars including the change of sign as a function of frequency seen in J0908-4913. But it also fails to explain circular polarization in millisecond pulsars owing to the smaller particle number densities and birefringence of the magnetosphere in these objects. However, the review of limiting polarization finds that, within the ion-proton model, this distinct process can describe their circular polarization. It is argued that certain features of millisecond pulsar Stokes profiles are clearly consistent with limiting polarization.

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arXiv2020

Complex emission patterns: fluctuations and bistability of polar-cap potentials

Development of the ion-proton pulsar model extends it to the limit of large unscreened polar-cap potentials, for example, as in the Vela pulsar, in which ion charges differ only by small increments from their complete screening values. It is shown that the atomic number Z of an ion following its passage from the canonical Z_0 = 26 value through the electromagnetic shower region to the surface is not necessarily time-independent but can vary between fixed limits in an irregular or quasi-periodic way in a characteristic time of the order of 10^4 s. Thus at a certain Z the system may transition to an unstable state of higher electric potential and it is argued that this is the physical basis for mode-changes, long-term nulls, periodic or otherwise. The model requires an orientation of magnetic dipole moment relative to rotational spin giving a positive corotational charge density. Success of the model would fix the particle composition of the remaining parts of the magnetosphere, including the Y-point and is therefore relevant to X-ray and gamma-ray emission processes.

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arXiv2019

A model of an ion-proton radio pulsar polar cap

A number of previous papers have developed an ion-proton theory of the pulsar polar cap. The basic equations summarizing this are given here with the results of sets of model step-to-step calculations of pulse-precursor profiles. The nature of step-to-step profile variations is described by calculated phase-resolved modulation indices. The conditions under which nulls are present in step sequences are analysed. The change of mean null length with neutron-star surface temperature shows a pathway ending in emission similar to the Rotating Radio Transients. The model accommodates exceptional pulsars, the millisecond pulsars (in principle), and the 8.5 s period PSR J2144-3933. These are considered separately and their emission mechanism discussed in some detail.

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arXiv2018

The Crab pulsar: ion-proton plasma and high-frequency radio spectrum

Salient features of the remarkable band structure seen in the high-frequency interpulse of the Crab pulsar are summarized. It is argued that its source must lie in a current sheet, probably coincident with the open-closed magnetosphere separatrix, and that the mechanism is a form of one-pass free-electron laser. An outward moving electron component in the current sheet interacts with the longitudinal electric field of an inward directed ion-proton Lamgmuir mode. The band structure is then a natural consequence of the differing charge-to-mass ratios of the ions, which are a return current component of those accelerated, as in almost all pulsars, from the polar cap to the light cylinder.

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arXiv2017

Radio-frequency microstructure and polarization in ion-proton pulsars

It is shown that the time-variability inherent in the ion-proton polar cap leads naturally to growth of Langmuir modes on narrow bundles of magnetic flux lines and that the observed size of micropulses is consistent with the smallest such bundle that can plausibly support the growth of the modes. The polarization of integrated profiles is revisited, specifically, the pi/2 position-angle jumps that are frequently observed accompanied by a zero in polarization. The fact that radiation emitted above ion-proton polar caps is not tangential to the local flux lines but has a finite angular distribution proves to be the essence of understanding this phenomenon as is a constraint on the shape of the polar cap. In principle, the behaviour should also be seen if the form of the polar-cap ion-proton area in a single pulse satisfies certain conditions which are explained here.

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arXiv2017

Dark neutron stars

There is good evidence that electron-positron pair formation is not present in that section of the pulsar open magnetosphere which is the source of coherent radio emission, but the possibility of two-photon pair creation in an outer gap remains. Calculation of transition rates for this process based on measured whole-surface temperatures, combined with a survey of gamma-ray, X-ray and optical luminosities, expressed per primary beam lepton, shows that few Fermi LAT pulsars have significant outer-gap pair creation. For radio-loud pulsars with positive polar-cap corotational charge density and an ion-proton plasma there must be an outward flow of electrons from some other part of the magnetosphere to maintain a constant net charge on the star. In the absence of pair creation, it is likely that this current is the source of GeV gamma-emission observed by the Fermi LAT and its origin is in the region of the outer gap. With negative polar-cap corotational charge density, the compensating current in the absence of pair creation can consist only of ion or protons. These neutron stars are likely to be radio-quiet, have no observable gamma-emission, and hence can be described as dark neutron stars.

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arXiv2016

Ion-proton pulsars

Evidence derived with minimal assumptions from existing published observations is presented to show that an ion-proton plasma is the source of radio-frequency emission in millisecond and in normal isolated pulsars. There is no primary involvement of electron-positron pairs. This conclusion has also been reached by studies of the plasma composition based on well-established particle-physics processes in neutron stars with positive polar-cap corotational charge density. This work has been published in a series of papers which are also summarized here. It is now confirmed by simple analyses of the observed radio-frequency characteristics, and its implications for the further study of neutron stars are outlined.

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arXiv2015

Circular polarization shows the nature of pulsar magnetosphere composition

It has been argued in previous papers that an ion-proton plasma is formed at the polar caps of neutron stars with positive polar-cap corotational charge density. The present paper does not offer a theory of the development of turbulence from the unstable Langmuir modes that grow in the outward accelerated plasma, but attempts to describe in qualitative terms the factors relevant to the emission of polarized radiation at frequencies below 1 - 10 GHz. The work of Karastergiou and Johnston is of particular importance in this respect because it demonstrates in high-resolution measurements of the profiles of 17 pulsars that the relative phase retardation between the O- and E-modes of the plasma is no greater than of the order of pi. Provided the source of the radiation is at low altitudes, as favoured by recent observations, this order of retardation is possible only for a plasma of baryonic-mass particles.

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arXiv2013

PSR B1133+16: radio emission height and plasma composition

Recent operation of LOFAR by Hassall et al has produced severe constraints on the size and altitude of the 40 MHZ emission region in this pulsar. It is shown that these limits, given a limited number of unexceptionable assumptions, demonstrate that an electron-positron plasma cannot be the source of the emission. A physically-acceptable plasma source composed of protons and ions arises naturally in pulsars having positive corotational polar-cap charge density. Acceptance of this would greatly clarify the classification of pulsar types within the whole.

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arXiv2013

An incomplete model of RRATs and of nulls mode-changes and subpulses

A model for pulsars with polar-cap magnetic flux density B antiparallel with rotational spin is described. It recognizes the significance of two elementary processes, proton production in electromagnetic showers and photoelectric transitions in ions accelerated through the blackbody radiation field, which must be present at the polar cap in the antiparallel case, but not for pulsars of the opposite spin direction. The two populations are likely to be indistinguishable observationally until curvature radiation pair creation ceases to be possible. The model generates, and provides a physically realistic framework for, the polar-cap potential fluctuations and their time-scales that can produce mode-changes and nulls. The RRATs are then no more than an extreme case of the more commonly observed nulls. The model is also able to support the basic features of subpulse drift and to some extent the null-memory phenomenon that is associated with it. Unfortunately, it appears that the most important neutron-star parameter for quantitative predictive purposes is the whole-surface temperature, a quantity which is not readily observable at the neutron-star ages concerned.

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arXiv2010

Electron-positron bremsstrahlung and pair creation in very high magnetic fields

Cross-sections for Rutherford scattering, Coulomb bremsstrahlung and pair creation, have been calculated at very high magnetic fields in order to investigate the photo-production of protons at the polar caps of pulsars whose spin is antiparallel with the polar magnetic flux density. The Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect at very high magnetic fields is included in a simple electron Green function.

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arXiv2009

Nuclear physics of reverse electron flow at pulsar polar caps

Protons produced in electromagnetic showers formed by the reverse-electron flux are usually the largest component of the time-averaged polar-cap open magnetic flux-line current in neutron stars with positive corotational charge density. Although the electric-field boundary conditions in the corotating frame are time-independent, instabilities on both medium and short time-scales cause the current to alternate between states in which either protons or positrons and ions form the major component. These properties are briefly discussed in relation to nulling and microstructure in radio pulsars, pair production in an outer gap, and neutron stars with high surface temperatures.

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