Ya. N. Istomin, D. N. Sob'yanin
The absorption of a high-energy photon from the external cosmic gamma-ray
background in the inner neutron star magnetosphere triggers the generation of a
secondary electron-positron plasma and gives rise to a lightning - a
lengthening and simultaneously expanding plasma tube. It propagates along
magnetic fields lines with a velocity close to the speed of light. The high
electron-positron plasma generation rate leads to dynamical screening of the
longitudinal electric field that is provided not by charge separation but by
electric current growth in the lightning. The lightning radius is comparable to
the polar cap radius of a radio pulsar. The number of electron-positron pairs
produced in the lightning in its lifetime reaches 10^28. The density of the
forming plasma is comparable to or even higher than that in the polar cap
regions of ordinary pulsars. This suggests that the radio emission from
individual lightnings can be observed. Since the formation time of the radio
emission is limited by the lightning lifetime, the possible single short radio
bursts may be associated with rotating radio transients (RRATs).
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.0192
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