Radio search for pulsed emission from X-ray pulsars

An experiment has been performed at 325 MHz, with a 10 m tracking dish, for the search of pulsed radio emission associated with X-ray pulsars. No evidence of radio pulses has been found in the four sources investigated, although the radio pulsar PSR 0329+54, used as a testing object, has been detected successfully.     

Radio pulsars with expected gamma radiation and gamma-ray pulsars as pulsating radio emitters

Pulsars play a crucial astrophy sical role as highly energetic compact radio, X-ray and gammaray sources. Our previous works show that radio pulsars identified as pulsing gamma-ray sources by the Large Area Telescope(LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope have high values of magnetic field near the light cylinder, two-three orders of magnitude stronger compared with the magnetic fields of radio pulsars: log B_(lc)(G) are 3.60-3.95 and 1.75 correspondingly. Moreover,their losses of rotational energy are also three orders higher than the corresponding values for the main group of radio pulsars on average: log E(erg s~(-1)) = 35.37-35.53 and 32.64. The correlation between gammaray luminosities and radio luminosities is found. It allows us to select those objects from all sets of known radio pulsars that can be detected as gamma-ray pulsars with high probability. We provide a list of such radio pulsars and propose to search for gamma emission from these objects. On the other hand,the known catalog of gamma-ray pulsars contains some sources which are not currently identified as radio pulsars. Some of them have large values of gamma-ray luminosities and according to the obtained correlation, we can expect marked radio emission from these objects. We give the list of such pulsars and expected flux densities to search for radiation at frequencies 1400 and 111 MHz.     

Studying millisecond pulsars in X-rays

Millisecond pulsars represent an evolutionarily distinct group among rotation-powered pulsars. Outside the radio band, the soft X-ray range (～0.1–10 keV) is most suitable for studying radiative mechanisms operating in these fascinating objects. X-ray observations revealed diverse properties of emission from millisecond pulsars. For the most of them, the bulk of radiation is of a thermal origin, emitted from small spots (polar caps) on the neutron star surface heated by relativistic particles produced in pulsar acceleration zones. On the other hand, a few other very fast rotating pulsars exhibit almost pure nonthermal emission generated, most probably, in pulsar magnetospheres. There are also examples of nonthermal emission detected from X-ray nebulae powered by millisecond pulsars, as well as from pulsar winds shocked in binary systems with millisecond pulsars as companions. These and other most important results obtained from X-ray observations of millisecond pulsars are reviewed in this paper, as well as results from the search for millisecond pulsations in X-ray flux of the radio-quite neutron star RX J1856.5-3754.     

Weakly radiating radio pulsars

We analyze the statistical distribution of weakly radiating pulsars, i.e., radio pulsars that have passed to the stage of an orthogonal rotator during the evolution of the inclination angle X. We discuss in detail the factors that lead to a significant reduction in the energy losses for this class of objects. We have determined the number of weakly radiating radio pulsars and their distribution in spin period P. The predictions of a theory based on the model of current losses are shown to be consistent with observational data.     

Fe emission and ionized excess absorption in the luminous quasar 3C 109 with XMM–Newton

The Parkes High-Latitude pulsar survey covers a region of the sky enclosed by Galactic longitudes 220° < l < 260° and Galactic latitudes | b | < 60°. The observations have been performed using the 20-cm multibeam receiver on the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. A total of 6456 pointings of 265 s each have been collected. The system adopted provided a sensitivity limit, for long-period pulsars with 5 per cent duty cycles, of ∼0.5 mJy. Data analysis resulted in the detection of 42 pulsars of which 18 were new discoveries. Four of these belong to the class of the millisecond – or recycled – pulsars; three of these four are in binary systems. The double pulsar system J0737−3039 is among those and has been presented elsewhere. Here, we discuss the other discoveries and provide timing parameters for the objects for which we have a phase-connected solution.     

The Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey: PSR J1811−1736, a pulsar in a highly eccentric binary system

We are undertaking a high-frequency survey of the Galactic plane for radio pulsars, using the 13-element multibeam receiver on the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. We describe briefly the survey system and some of the initial results. PSR J1811−1736, one of the first pulsars discovered with this system, has a rotation period of 104 ms. Subsequent timing observations using the 76-m radio telescope at Jodrell Bank show that it is in an 18.8-d, highly eccentric binary orbit. We have measured the rate of advance of periastron which indicates a total system mass of 2.6±0.9 M_⊙, and the minimum companion mass is about 0.7 M_⊙. This, the high orbital eccentricity and the recycled nature of the pulsar suggest that this system is composed of two neutron stars, only the fourth or fifth such system known in the disc of the Galaxy.     

Arecibo observations of Parkes multibeam pulsars

The on-going Parkes multibeam survey has been astoundingly successful (Manchesteret al. 2001), and its discovery of over 600 pulsars has opened up new avenues for probing the Galaxy’s electron content and magnetic field. Here we report on recent observations made with the Arecibo 305-m telescope, where 80 distant, high dispersion measure pulsars (of which 35 are from the multibeam survey) were studied at multiple frequency bands in the range 0.4–2.4 GHz, in order to determine their scattering properties, rotation measures and spectral indices. The results will be used to meet a variety of science goals; viz., creating an improved model of the electron density, mapping out the Galactic magnetic field, and modeling the pulsar population.     

A search for soft X-ray radiation from pulsars with the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite

We present the results of a search for X-ray emission in the energy range 0.2–0.28 keV and 1–7 keV from a number of radio pulsars, including Crab, Vela and the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16, using the soft X-ray experiment aboard ANS. Except for the Crab no pulsed flux has been found. From the Vela pulsar we have detected continuous flux in agreement with earlier observations. Upper limits are given.Paper presented at the COSPAR Symposium on Fast Transients in X-and Gamma-Rays, held at Varna, Bulgaria, 29–31 May, 1975.     

The Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey – VI. Discovery and timing of 142 pulsars and a Galactic population analysis

We present the discovery and follow-up observations of 142 pulsars found in the Parkes 20-cm multibeam pulsar survey of the Galactic plane. These new discoveries bring the total number of pulsars found by the survey to 742. In addition to tabulating spin and astrometric parameters, along with pulse width and flux density information, we present orbital characteristics for 13 binary pulsars which form part of the new sample. Combining these results from another recent Parkes multibeam survey at high Galactic latitudes, we have a sample of 1008 normal pulsars which we use to carry out a determination of their Galactic distribution and birth rate. We infer a total Galactic population of  30 000 ± 1100  potentially detectable pulsars (i.e. those beaming towards us) having 1.4-GHz luminosities above 0.1 mJy kpc². Adopting the Tauris & Manchester beaming model, this translates to a total of  155 000 ± 6000  active radio pulsars in the Galaxy above this luminosity limit. Using a pulsar current analysis, we derive the birth rate of this population to be  1.4 ± 0.2  pulsars per century. An important conclusion from our work is that the inferred radial density function of pulsars depends strongly on the assumed distribution of free electrons in the Galaxy. As a result, any analyses using the most recent electron model of Cordes & Lazio predict a dearth of pulsars in the inner Galaxy. We show that this model can also bias the inferred pulsar scaleheight with respect to the Galactic plane. Combining our results with other Parkes multibeam surveys we find that the population is best described by an exponential distribution with a scaleheight of 330 pc. Surveys underway at Parkes and Arecibo are expected to improve the knowledge of the radial distribution outside the solar circle, and to discover several hundred new pulsars in the inner Galaxy.     

On the mechanism of X-ray emission from radio pulsars

We discuss the correlations between the luminosities of radio pulsars in various frequency ranges and the magnetic fields on the light cylinder. These correlations suggest that the observed emission is generated in outer layers of the pulsar magnetospheres by the synchrotron mechanism. To calculate the distribution functions of the relativistic particles in the generation region, we use a model of quasilinear interactions between the waves excited by cyclotron instability and particles of the primary beam and the secondary electron—positron plasma. We derive a formula for calculating the X-ray luminosity L _x of radio pulsars. A strong correlation was found between L _x and the parameter \(\dot P_{ - 15} /P^{3.5}\), where P is the neutron-star rotation period, in close agreement with this formula. The latter makes it possible to predict the detection of X-ray emission from more than a hundred (114) known radio pulsars. We show that the Lorentz factors of the secondary particles are small (γ _p = 1.5–8.5), implying that the magnetic field near the neutron-star surface in these objects is multipolar. It follows from our model that almost all of the millisecond pulsars must emit X-ray synchrotron radiation. This conclusion differs from predictions of other models and can be used to test the theory under consideration. The list of potential X-ray radiators presented here can be used to search for X-ray sources with existing instruments.     

Are radio pulsars the progenitors of anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters?

We analyze the possibility that anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) originate from radio pulsars subjected to considerable and prolonged glitches. The observed characteristics of such pulsars, their association with supernova remnants, and their evolution in the P-? diagram with allowance made for the actual age of the possible AXP and SGR progenitors are shown to be in conflict with the suggested scenario.     

Ultraviolet emission from young and middle-aged pulsars

We present the UV spectroscopy and timing of three nearby pulsars (Vela, B0656+14 and Geminga) recently observed with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. We also review the optical and X-ray properties of these pulsars and establish their connection with the UV properties. We show that the multiwavelengths properties of neutron stars (NSs) vary significantly within the sample of middle-aged pulsars. Even larger differences are found between the thermal components of Geminga and B0656+14 as compared to those of radio-quiet isolated NSs. These differences could be attributed to different properties of the NS surface layers. This work was supported by STScI grants GO-9182 and GO-9797 and NASA grant NAG5-10865.     

X-ray bright sources in the Chandra Small Magellanic Cloud Wing Survey – detection of two new pulsars

We investigate the X-ray and optical properties of a sample of X-ray bright sources from the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Wing Survey. We have detected two new pulsars with pulse periods of 65.8 s (CXOU J010712.6−723533) and 700 s (CXOU J010206.6−714115), and present observations of two previously known pulsars RX J0057.3−7325 (SXP101) and SAX J0103.2−7209 (SXP348). Our analysis has led to three new optical identifications for the detected pulsars. We find long-term optical periods for two of the pulsars, CXOU J010206.6−714115 and SXP101, of 267 and 21.9 d, respectively. Spectral analysis of a subset of the sample shows that the pulsars have harder spectra than the other sources detected. By employing a quantile-based colour–colour analysis we are able to separate the detected pulsars from the rest of the sample. Using archival catalogues we have been able to identify counterparts for the majority of the sources in our sample. Combining this with our results from the temporal analysis of the Chandra data and archival optical data, the X-ray spectral analysis, and by determining the X-ray to optical flux ratios we present preliminary classifications for the sources. In addition to the four detected pulsars, our sample includes two candidate foreground stars, 12 probable active galactic nuclei, and five unclassified sources.     

Population statistics study of radio and gamma-ray pulsars in the Galactic plane

We present results of our pulsar population synthesis of normal and millisecond pulsars in the Galactic plane. Over the past several years, a program has been developed to simulate pulsar birth, evolution and emission using Monte Carlo techniques. We have added to the program the capability to simulate millisecond pulsars, which are old, recycled pulsars with extremely short periods. We model the spatial distribution of the simulated pulsars by assuming that they start with a random kick velocity and then evolve through the Galactic potential. We use a polar cap/slot gap model for γ-ray emission from both millisecond and normal pulsars. From our studies of radio pulsars that have clearly identifiable core and cone components, in which we fit the polarization sweep as well as the pulse profiles in order to constrain the viewing geometry, we develop a model describing the ratio of radio core-to-cone peak fluxes. In this model, short period pulsars are more cone-dominated than in our previous studies. We present the preliminary results of our recent study and the implications for observing these pulsars with GLAST and AGILE.      

Morphology and characteristics of radio pulsars

This review describes the observational properties of radio pulsars, fast rotating neutron stars, emitting radio waves. After the introduction we give a list of milestones in pulsar research. The following chapters concentrate on pulsar morphology: the characteristic pulsar parameters such as pulse shape, pulsar spectrum, polarization and time dependence. We give information on the evolution of pulsars with frequency since this has a direct connection with the emission heights, as postulated in the radius to frequency mapping (RFM) concept. We deal successively with the properties of normal (slow) pulsars and of millisecond (fast-recycled) pulsars. The final chapters give the distribution characteristics of the presently catalogued 1300 objects.Received: 5 December 2003, Published online: 15 April 2004 Correspondence to: Richard Wielebinski     

Discovery of 10 pulsars in an Arecibo drift-scan survey

We present the results of a 430-MHz survey for pulsars conducted during the upgrade to the 305-m Arecibo radio telescope. Our survey covered a total of 1147 deg² of sky using a drift-scan technique. We detected 33 pulsars, 10 of which were not known prior to the survey observations. The highlight of the new discoveries is PSR J0407+1607, which has a spin period of 25.7 ms, a characteristic age of 1.5 Gyr and is in a 1.8-yr orbit about a low-mass  (>0.2 M_⊙)  companion. The long orbital period and small eccentricity  ( e = 0.0009)  make the binary system an important new addition to the ensemble of binary pulsars suitable to test for violations of the strong equivalence principle. We also report on our initially unsuccessful attempts to detect optically the companion to J0407+1607, which imply that its absolute visual magnitude is >12.1. If, as expected on evolutionary grounds, the companion is an He white dwarf, our non-detection implies a cooling age of least 1 Gyr.     

The formation of submillisecond pulsars and the possibility of detection

Pulsars have been recognized to be normal neutron stars, but sometimes have been argued to be quark stars. Submillisecond pulsars, if detected, would play an essential and important role in distinguishing quark stars from neutron stars. We focus on the formation of such submillisecond pulsars in this paper. A new approach to the formation of a submillisecond pulsar (quark star) by means of the accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of a white dwarf is investigated. Under this AIC process, we found that: (i) almost all newborn quark stars could have an initial spin period of ∼0.1 ms; (ii) nascent quark stars (even with a low mass) have a sufficiently high spin-down luminosity and satisfy the conditions for pair production and sparking process and appear as submillisecond radio pulsars; (iii) in most cases, the times of newborn quark stars in the phase with spin period <1 (or <0.5) ms are long enough for the stars to be detected.
As a comparison, an accretion spin-up process (for both neutron and quark stars) is also investigated. It is found that quark stars formed through the AIC process can have shorter periods (≤0.5 ms), whereas the periods of neutron stars formed in accretion spin-up processes must be longer than 0.5 ms. Thus, if a pulsar with a period shorter than 0.5 ms is identified in the future, it could be a quark star.     

Radio spectra of pulsars

The results of flux pulsar radioemission measurements at meter wavelengths, made at Pushchino Radio Astronomical Observatory of the Lebedev Physical Institute, are presented. Flux densities at 102, 85, 61 and 39 MHz have been measured for 85, 29, 37 and 23 pulsars correspondingly. Some of them were performed at all frequencies simultaneously. On the basis of these data and high frequencies data obtained by other authors, spectra of 52 pulsars were plotted. In practically all investigated pulsars we have detected a turn-over frequency at which the flux density of pulsar radioemission attained its maximum. Its mean value isv ^m =130±80 MHz. Averaged on many pulsars, the spectral index is negative in the 39–61 MHz frequency range and passes through zero at frequencies of about 100 MHz, becoming positive in the 100–400 MHz frequency range. It was noticed that the spectral index in the 100–400 MHz interval depends upon such pulsar periods as α₁₀₀₋=0.7logp+0.9. Using the spectra, more precise radio luminosities of pulsars have been computed.     

Measuring proper motions of isolated neutron stars with Chandra

The excellent spatial resolution of the Chandra observatory offers the unprecedented possibility to measure proper motions at X-ray wavelength with relatively high accuracy using as reference the background of extragalactic or remote galactic X-ray sources. We took advantage of this capability to constrain the proper motion of RX J0806.4-4123 and RX J0420.0-5022, two X-ray bright and radio quiet isolated neutron stars (INSs) discovered by ROSAT and lacking an optical counterpart. In this paper, we present results from a preliminary analysis from which we derive 2σ upper limits of 76 mas/yr and 138 mas/yr on the proper motions of RX J0806.4-4123 and RX J0420.0-5022 respectively. We use these values together with those of other ROSAT discovered INSs to constrain the origin, distance and evolutionary status of this particular group of objects. We find that the tangential velocities of radio quiet ROSAT neutron stars are probably consistent with those of ‘normal’ pulsars. Their distribution on the sky and, for those having accurate proper motion vectors, their possible birth places, all point to a local population, probably created in the part of the Gould Belt nearest to the earth.      

Differences between the two anomalous X-ray pulsars: variations in the spin-down rate of 1E 1048.1−5937 and an extended interval of quiet spin-down in 1E 2259+586

We analysed the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) archival data of 1E 1048.1−5937 covering a time-span of more than one year. The spin-down rate of this source decreases by ∼30 per cent during the observation. We could not resolve the X-ray flux variations because of contamination by eta Carinae. We find that the level of pulse frequency fluctuations of 1E 1048.1−5937 is consistent with typical noise levels of accretion-powered pulsars . Recent RXTE observations of 1E 2259+586 have shown a constant spin-down with a very low upper limit on timing noise. We used the RXTE archival X-ray observations of 1E 2259+586 to show that the intrinsic X-ray luminosity times-series is also stable, with an rms fractional variation of less than 15 per cent. The source could have been in a quiet phase of accretion with a constant X-ray luminosity and spin-down rate.