Unraveling the nature of coherent pulsar radio emission

Understand

Forty years have passed since the discovery of pulsars, yet the physical mechanism of their coherent radio emission is a mystery.

• Recent observational and theoretical studies strongly suggest that the radiation outcoming from the pulsar magnetosphere consists mainly of extraordinary waves polarized perpendicular to the planes of pulsar dipolar magnetic field.
• However, the fundamental question whether these waves are excited by maser or coherent curvature radiation, remains open.
• High quality single pulse polarimetry is required to distinguish between these two possible mechanisms.