Magnetically ordered jets from pulsars
Gregory Benford · The Astrophysical Journal · 1984
It is proposed that a small fraction of the magnetic field energy expelled by a pulsar may leave in an ordered, propagating form. These plasma-loaded field lines leave close to the spin axis and form a high-pressure beam. If the beam encounters no significant opposing pressure it will form a cone, limb brightened in synchrotron emission, until it strikes a supernova shell. Filled supernova remnants will slow the beam, winding up the toroidal field and producing a well-collimated, nearly force-free equilibrium. Loading of external plasma on field lines enhances stability, and return currents to the pulsar are formed naturally through induction. Such a structure is buoyant in the remnant and may bend, though it should straighten as it leaves the remnant. These types of ordered forms may apply to the jets in the Crab nebula and MSH 15-52. It is predicted that the Crab jet (a) will be a polarized synchrotron source, but probably not with a hollow profile and (b) will have an H/He ratio typical of the nebula.