When a neutron star forms, after the collapse of its progenitor, a strong magnetic field survives in its interior. This magnetic topology is usually assumed to be well approximated by a dipole located right at the centre of the star. However, there is no particular reason why this dipole should be attached to this very special point. A slight shift from the stellar centre could have strong implications for the surrounding electromagnetic field configuration leading to clear observational signatures. We study the effect of the most general off-centred dipole anchored in the neutron star interior. Exact analytical solutions are given in vacuum outside the star to any order of accuracy in the small parameter $ε= d/R$, where $d$ is the displacement of the dipole from the stellar centre and $R$ the neutron star radius. As a simple diagnostic of this decentred dipole, the spin-down luminosity and the torque exerted on its crust are computed to the lowest leading order in~$ε$. Results are compared to earlier works and a discussion on repercussions on pulsar braking index and multi-wavelength light curves is proposed.
The annular gap model under a rotating dipole field approximation: simulating gamma-ray light curve
Guizhou Normal University（贵州师范大学）；Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Data Processing, Guizhou Normal University（贵州师范大学贵州省射电天文与数据处理重点实验室）；Guizhou University（贵州大学）；School of Physics and Electronic Science, Guizhou Normal University（贵州师范大学物理科学与电子科学学院）；Guizhou Radio Astronomical Observatory（贵州射电天文台）；National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台）
