Alfven waves in the electron-nuclear plasma in the peripheral crust of a neutron star as a residual effect of a supernova explosion

The conservation of magnetic flux in the evolution and collapse of massive stars suggests that Alfven magnetoplasma oscillations can be excited in an isolated neutron star by residual (after the supernova explosion) disturbances of the magnetized electron-nuclear plasma localized in the peripheral crust of the star. The frequencies of the poloidal Alfven oscillations are calculated in the uniform magnetic field approximation, and it is found that the periods of the oscillations fall into the time interval of the periodicity of radio pulsar radiation. This coincidence of the periods could mean that, at least for some pulsars observed in the radio range, the electromagnetic activity is due to converstion of the energy of magnetoplasma oscillations into electromagnetic radiation. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.