Neutron stars and cosmic-ray production

Abstract

Recent investigations of the properties of neutron stars and of supernova explosions indicate that neutron stars should frequently be formed as supernova remnants. It now appears unlikely that any form of internal energy storage can play an important role in the production of X rays or cosmic rays. If mass infall onto a neutron star occurs at the upper limiting value allowed by radiation stresses, instabilities are likely to make the resulting mass infall, X-ray, gamma-ray, and cosmic-ray production very intermittent. It is shown that such a model may be able to account for many features of the Crab nebula: the energy input in electrons and ions, the character of the fast-moving light ripples or wisps, and the strong point source of ~50 MHz radiation.