Induced Raman Scattering in Pulsar Magnetospheres

Abstract

It is shown that induced Raman scattering of electromagnetic waves in the strongly magnetized electron-positron plasma of pulsar magnetosphere may be important for wave propagation and as an effective saturation mechanism for electromagnetic instabilities. The frequencies, at which strong Raman scattering occurs in the outer parts of magnetosphere, fall into the observed radio band. The typical threshold intensities for the strong Raman scattering are of the order of the observed intensities, implying that pulsar magnetosphere may be optically thick to Raman scattering of electromagnetic waves.