The radiation of a pulsar wind is computed assuming that at roughly 10 to 100
light cylinder radii from the star, magnetic energy is dissipated into particle
energy. The synchrotron emission of heated particles appears periodic, with, in
general, both a pulse and an interpulse. The predicted spacing agrees well with
the Crab and Vela pulse profiles.Using parameters appropriate for the Crab
pulsar (magnetisation parameter at the light cylinder σ=6×104,
Lorentz factor Γ=250) agreement is found with the observed total pulsed
luminosity. This suggests that the high-energy pulses from young pulsars
originate not in the corotating magnetosphere within the light cylinder (as in
all other models) but from the radially directed wind well outside it.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter