Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 52 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal

Diocotron Modes in Pulsar Magnetospheres: Charge Diffusion and Implications for Radio Emission Variability

  • Matthew Goodbred1
  • Anatoly Spitkovsky1
  1. 1Princeton University
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

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.

Versions

Related

  1. Impact of accretion variability on the CO emission of a disk around a very low-mass star with JWST
    C. Bergez-Casalou, B. Tabone, Y. Aoyama +14
    Astronomy & AstrophysicsPeer-reviewedPublisher termsSolar & stellar physicsCrossref
  2. Cosmic Ray Diffusion and the Origin of Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Emission in Young Massive Stellar Clusters
    Lucas Barreto-Mota, Elisabete M de Gouveia Dal Pino, Gaetano Di Marco +2
    HALPreprintLicence not statedGeneral astronomyGeneral physicsHAL
  3. Unveiling the Emission Mechanisms of Blazar PKS 1510−089. III. Relationship between the γ-Ray Variability and the Parsec-scale Jet
    Eva M. Palafox, Alfredo Amador-Portes, Jonhatan U. Guerrero-González +5
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsIOP/AASCrossref
  4. Nuclear Millimeter Continuum Emission in Radio-Quiet Active Galactic Nuclei: an ALMA Spectral and Variability Study
    Sophie M. Venselaar, Claudio Ricci, Yoshiyuki Inoue +8
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textGalaxiesHigh-energy astrophysicsarXiv
  5. Aperture-dependent [O III] profile variability: Clues to the nature of double-peaked narrow emission lines
    Qi Zheng, Xingqian Chen, Zhegeng Chen +2
    arXivPreprintCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textGalaxiesarXiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{goodbred2026diocotron,
  title = {{Diocotron Modes in Pulsar Magnetospheres: Charge Diffusion and Implications for Radio Emission Variability}},
  author = {Matthew Goodbred and Anatoly Spitkovsky},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Diocotron Modes in Pulsar Magnetospheres: Charge Diffusion and Implications for Radio Emission Variability
AU  - Matthew Goodbred
AU  - Anatoly Spitkovsky
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae9feb
AB  - 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.
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
ER  -