Our simulated slices of density ((a), (b)) and temperature ((c), (d)) reveal that the wind–disk interface is hotter when the disk is located beyond the light cylinder: this predominantly occurs in the model with lower inflow rate, sim-d36, as seen in panel (d). We show the system at t = 17,520r_gc⁻¹ in the sim-d36 model (left panels) and at t = 20,600r_gc⁻¹ in the sim-d100 model (right panels). (a) sim-d36 model in the “wind” regime, with the accretion flow maintained outside R_LC. (b) sim-d100 model in the propeller regime, with the accretion flow between R_co and R_LC. (c) Comparatively higher temperature in the current sheet and pulsar wind–disk interface in the wind regime (from the sim-d36 model here). (d) Temperature distribution in the propeller regime (from the sim-d100 model here). The pulsar wind–disk collision heats up the plasma to relativistic energies and leads to synchrotron-powered X-ray emission (see Figure 4). Poloidal magnetic field lines are overplotted in white. Vertical lines indicate R_co (dashed) and R_LC (solid line). Animated versions of panels (a) to (d), covering the runs’ full duration (40,000r_gc⁻¹; time is indicated at the top of each animation) to provide visual insights into the dynamics and temperature evolution of the plasma (also presented in the main text) can be found in the online version and here: https://nuage.osupytheas.fr/s/FLnjjbEXLLXLmNa, https://nuage.osupytheas.fr/s/3Fw94Bjde9aiSLD, https://nuage.osupytheas.fr/s/gNKGnND8fCkMgiT, https://nuage.osupytheas.fr/s/md9CBoTBrGBA66W.

(An animation of this figure is available in the online article.)

(An animation of this figure is available.)

The video/animation of this figure is available in the online journal.