Speaker
Description
Neutron stars are rotating objects with a strong magnetic field. The consequent induced field in the rotating reference frame is expected to support the creation of pair plasma in the vicinity of the neutron star. Presumably, electrons and positrons reside in separated domains above the poles and around the equator. This model is supported by several fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. However, the magnetic field needs to be scaled down by several orders of magnitude in these simulations, such that the gyromotion can be resolved. We propose to use a gyrokinetic simulation in order to overcome this difficulty. In a first step, the simulation can be benchmarked against experimental results obtained by the APEX collaboration. The APEX collaboration has the goal to create a pair plasma in a levitated dipole trap. In a second step we plan to gradually introduce the properties that distinguish the lab experiment from the neutron star's magnetosphere. This involves for example the extreme magnetic field which leads to radiative processes with consequent pair creation as well as relativistic velocities. One possible application of these simulations would be the investigation of the stability properties on the drift-timescale. Specifically the diocotron instability might affect the distribution of the plasma in the magnetosphere and its radio emission.
