Energy Transport in a Rotation-Modulated Pulsar Wind

Abstract

Abstract The structure and energetics of a rotation-modulated pulsar wind are examined. It is shown that the displacement current in the wind asymptotically dominates the conduction current, creating an outer radiation zone whose inner boundary lies well inside the wind termination shock. A self-consistent nonlinear-plasma-wave model of the radiation zone predicts that the ratio of Poynting flux to kinetic-energy flux at the termination shock is small (~ 10−3 for the Crab), in agreement with independent observational estimates.