Pulsars

Pulsars Pulsars

Sketch of an oblique rotator

Pulsars are rotating neutron stars and all those not in a binary star system are observed to be slowing down. Both particles (most likely electron positron pairs) and magnetic fields carry the rotation energy away from the star in a relativistic wind, and around several pulsars this energy is seen to be released in a pulsar nebula.
However, how the energy is released is unknown. One possibility is magnetic reconnection or annihilation. The pulsar wind carries a wave pattern imprinted on it at the rotation frequency of the star. Magnetic field lines from the two poles are folded into a striped pattern, separated by a current sheet ( Coroniti 1990). This alternating component of the field can be dissipated, leading to acceleration of the wind.
Dissipation, if it occurs rapidly, will give pulsed high energy emission, similar to that observed.
How rapidly can this happen? - An interesting question whose answer (here are some guesses) depends on the uncertain microphysics of relativistic current sheets
Here is a review article