Theory of pulsar winds

Abstract

Recent progress in the theory of pulsar wind electrodynamics is reviewed, with emphasis on the following open questions, (i) Is the bipolar, jet-torus geometry imprinted by collimation or injection? (ii) what is the magnetic field geometry as a function of latitude, and is it stable? (iii) How rapidly does the postshock flow fluctuate, e.g. in the near infrared? (iv) The σ paradox: is Poynting flux converted gradually to kinetic energy flux as the wind expands, as in a linear accelerator, or is the conversion lossy, due to reconnection or parametric instabilities in a wave-like outflow?