The pulsar synchrotron in 3D: curvature radiation

We investigate the strong electric current sheet that develops at the tip of the pulsar closed line region through time dependent three-dimensional numerical simulations of a rotating magnetic dipole. We show that curvature radiation from relativistic electrons and positrons in the current sheet may naturally account for several features of the high-energy pulsar emis-sion. We obtain light curves and polarization profiles for the complete range of magnetic field inclination angles and observer orientations, and compare our results to recent observations from the Fermi γ-ray telescope