Electrodynamics of pulsar magnetospheres

We review electrodynamics of rotating magnetized neutron stars, from the early vacuum model to recent numerical experiments with plasma-filled magnetospheres. Significant progress became possible due to the development of global particle-in-cell simulations which capture particle acceleration, emission of high-energy photons, and electron-positron pair creation. The numerical experiments show from first principles how and where electric gaps form, and promise to explain the observed pulsar activity from radio waves to gamma-rays.

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