Vasilii S. Beskin

Magnetohydrodynamic models of astrophysical jets

In this review, analytical results obtained for a wide class of stationary axisymmetric flows in the vicinity of compact astrophysical objects are analyzed, with an emphasis on quantitative predictions for specific sources. Recent years have witnessed a great increase in understanding the formation and properties of astrophysical jets. This is due not only to new observations but also to advances in analytical theory which has produced fairly simple relations, and to what can undoubtedly be called a breakthrough in numerical simulation which has enabled confirmation of theoretical predictions. Of course, we are still very far from fully understanding the physical processes occurring in compact sources. Nevertheless, the progress made raises hopes for near-future test observations that can give insight into the physical processes occurring in active astrophysical objects.

Radio pulsars: the search for truth

It was as early as the 1980s that A V Gurevich and his group proposed a theory to explain the magnetosphere of radio pulsars and the mechanism by which they produce coherent radio emission. The theory has been sharply criticized and is currently rarely mentioned when discussing the observational properties of radio pulsars, even though all the criticisms were in their time disproved in a most thorough and detailed manner. Recent results show even more conclusively that the theory has no internal inconsistencies. New observational data also demonstrate the validity of the basic conclusions of the theory. Based on the latest results on the effects of wave propagation in the magnetosphere of a neuron star, we show that the developed theory does indeed allow quantitative predictions of the evolution of neutron stars and the properties of the observed radio emission.

Anomalous torque applied to a rotating magnetized sphere in a vacuum

We analyze the torque applied to a rotating magnetized sphere in a vacuum. It is shown that for the correct determination of one of the torque’s component the angular momentum of the electromagnetic field within the body should be taken into account.

Radio pulsars — already fifty!

Although fifty years have passed since the discovery of radio pulsars, there is still no satisfactory understanding of how these amazing objects operate. While there has been significant progress in understanding the basic properties of radio pulsars, there is as yet no consensus on key issues, such as the nature of coherent radio emission or the conversion mechanism of the electromagnetic energy of the pulsar wind into particle energy. In this review, we present the main theoretical results on the magnetosphere of neutron stars. We formulate a number of apparently simple questions, which nevertheless remain unanswered since the very beginning of the field and which must be resolved before any further progress can be made.