Universe ID: 4638

Pulsar Current Sheets - Magnetic Field Solution

Visualizations by Tom Bridgman Released on October 10, 2018

Scientists studying what amounts to a computer-simulated “pulsar in a box” are gaining a more detailed understanding of the complex, high-energy environment around spinning neutron stars, also called pulsars. The model traces the paths of charged particles in magnetic and electric fields near the neutron star, revealing behaviors that may help explain how pulsars emit gamma-ray and radio pulses with ultraprecise timing.

A pulsar is the crushed core of a massive star that exploded as a supernova. The core is so compressed that more mass than the Sun's squeezes into a ball no wider than Manhattan Island in New York City. This process also revvs up its rotation and strengthens its magnetic and electric fields.

This visualization illustrates what the pulsar magnetic field would look like INCLUDING the influence of the charged particles around it (those particles included in other visualizations in this series). The charged particles create currents which alter the magnetic field.

This movie presents a tour from the inertial frame and spinning up to the co-rotating frame around the simulation magnetic field. This version is generated with no background objects and an alpha channel for custom compositing.

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Visualization Credits

Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Data Visualizer
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Lead Producer
Gabriele Brambilla (University of Milan): Scientist
Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park): Lead Writer
Alice Harding (NASA/GSFC): Scientist

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

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