{
  "abstract": "The diocotron instability is a nonaxisymmetric plasma instability that should occur generically in the differentially rotating equatorial plane of pulsar magnetospheres. We present a series of 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the diocotron instability in aligned and oblique pulsars. The instability grows on timescales of the rotation period and develops a strong, stable m = 1 mode, corresponding to a rotating, dipolar charge asymmetry in the equatorial disk. Stochastic fluctuations in the diocotron-mode amplitude and pattern speed drive cross-field diffusion that can rapidly transport charges through the closed zone toward the light cylinder. In the nonlinear stage, the m = 1 mode produces electric field perturbations which can modulate the polar-cap potential drop and the emission-beam angle, with possible connections to pulsar variability such as nulling, periodic amplitude modulation, and drifting subpulses.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Princeton University"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Matthew Goodbred",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1199-5552"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anatoly Spitkovsky",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9179-9054"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cy7a9bsyc2nsq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "cy7a9bsyc2nsq",
  "issns": [
    "0004-637X",
    "1538-4357"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7163325812",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-08",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cy7a9bsyc2nsq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Diocotron Modes in Pulsar Magnetospheres: Charge Diffusion and Implications for Radio Emission Variability",
  "title_text": "Diocotron Modes in Pulsar Magnetospheres: Charge Diffusion and Implications for Radio Emission Variability",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cy7a9bsyc2nsq",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.03984",
      "pid": "668x0b7t975v8",
      "relation": "preprint",
      "title": "Diocotron Modes in Pulsar Magnetospheres: Charge Diffusion and Implications for Radio Emission Variability",
      "venue": "arXiv"
    }
  ]
}