On the role of the current loss in radio pulsar evolution

The aim of this article is to draw attention to the importance of the electric current loss in the energy output of radio pulsars. We remind that even the losses attributed to the magneto-dipole radiation of a pulsar in vacuum can be written as a result of an Ampere force action of the electric currents flowing over the neutron star surface (see the books of Michel (Theory of Neutron Star Magnetosphere. University of Chicago Press (1991)) and of Beskin, Gurevich and Istomin (Physics of the Pulsar Magnetosphere. Cambridge Univ. Press (1993)). It is this force that is responsible for the transfer of angular momentum of a neutron star to an outgoing magneto-dipole wave. If a pulsar is surrounded by plasma, and there is no longitudinal current in its magnetosphere, there is no energy loss. It is the longitudinal current closing within the pulsar polar cap that exerts the retardation torque acting on the neutron star. This torque can be determined if the structure of longitudinal current is known. Here we remind of the solution by Beskin, Gurevich and Istomin (ed. cit.) and discuss the validity of such an assumption. The behavior of the recently observed "part-time job" pulsar B1931+24 can be naturally explained within the model of current loss while the magneto-dipole model faces difficulties.