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Kinetic simulation of the coherent radio emission from pulsars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2003

RÜDIGER SCHOPPER
Affiliation:
Universitäts-Sternwarte München, München, Germany
HARTMUT RUHL
Affiliation:
General Atomics, San Diego, California
THOMAS A. KUNZL
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, Germany
HARALD LESCH
Affiliation:
Universitäts-Sternwarte München, München, Germany

Abstract

On hand of 3D PIC simulations we show that in a strongly magnetized plasma a relativistic electron beam can be forced to emit highly coherent radio emission by self-induced nonlinear density fluctuations. Such slowly moving nonlinear structures oscillate with the local plasma frequency at which the relativistic electrons are scattered. Beam electrons dissipate a significant amount of their kinetic energy by inverse Compton radiation at a frequency of about γ2ωpe. Since the beam is sliced into pancake structures which experience the same electric field the inverse Compton scattering is coherent. Such a process is a very promising candidate for the coherent radio emission of pulsars.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press

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