Simulations of glitches in isolated pulsars

Many radio pulsars exhibit glitches wherein the star's spin rate increases fractionally by ∼10⁻¹⁰–10⁻⁶. Glitches are ascribed to variable coupling between the neutron star crust and its superfluid interior. With the aim of distinguishing among different theoretical explanations for the glitch phenomenon, we study the response of a neutron star to two types of perturbations to the vortex array that exists in the superfluid interior: (1) thermal motion of vortices pinned to inner crust nuclei, initiated by sudden heating of the crust, (e.g., a starquake), and (2) mechanical motion of vortices (e.g., from crust cracking by superfluid stresses). Both mechanisms produce acceptable fits to glitch observations in four pulsars, with the exception of the 1989 glitch in the Crab pulsar, which is best fitted by the thermal excitation model. The two models make different predictions for the generation of internal heat and subsequent enhancement of surface emission. The mechanical glitch model predicts a negligible temperature increase. For a pure and highly conductive crust, the thermal glitch model predicts a surface temperature increase of as much as ∼2 per cent, occurring several weeks after the glitch. If the thermal conductivity of the crust is lowered by a high concentration of impurities, however, the surface temperature increases by ∼10 per cent about a decade after a thermal glitch. A thermal glitch in an impure crust is consistent with the surface emission limits following the 2000 January glitch in the Vela pulsar. Future surface emission measurements coordinated with radio observations will constrain glitch mechanisms and the conductivity of the crust.     

The population of pulsars with interpulses and the implications for beam evolution

The observed fraction of pulsars with interpulses, their period distribution and the observed pulse width versus pulse period correlation are shown to be inconsistent with a model in which the angle α between the magnetic axis and the rotation axis is random. This conclusion appears to be unavoidable, even when non-circular beams are considered. Allowing the magnetic axis to align from a random distribution at birth with a time-scale of  ∼7 × 10⁷ yr  can, however, explain those observations well. The time-scale derived is consistent with that obtained via independent methods. The probability that a pulsar beam intersects the line of sight is a function of the angle α and therefore beam evolution has important consequences for evolutionary models and for estimations of the total number of neutron stars. The validity of the standard formula for the spin-down rate, which is independent of α, appears to be questionable.     

The origin of pulsar glitches

It is usually assumed that pulsar glitches are caused by the large-scale unpinning of superfluid neutron vortices in the solid crust of a neutron star and that vortex motion relative to the crust is highly dissipative at low velocities, owing to the excitation of long-wavelength Kelvin waves. The force per unit length acting on a vortex as a result of Kelvin wave excitation has been calculated for a polycrystalline structure using the free-vortex Green function. An approximate upper limit for the maximum pinning force has been obtained which, for the form of structure anticipated, is many orders of magnitude too small for consistency with the observed size and frequency of glitches. The corollary is that glitches do not originate in the crust: the necessary pinning may be given by the interaction between neutron and proton vortices in the liquid core of the star.     

Observations of three slow glitches in the spin rate of the pulsar B1822−09

Three slow glitches in the rotation rate of the pulsar B1822−09 were revealed over the 1995–2004 interval. The slow glitches observed are characterized by a gradual increase in the rotation frequency with a long time-scale of several months, accompanied by a rapid decrease in the magnitude of the frequency first derivative by ∼1–2 per cent of the initial value and subsequent exponential increase back to its initial value on the same time-scale. The cumulative fractional increase in the pulsar rotation rate for the three glitches amounts to  Δν/ν₀∼ 7 × 10⁻⁸  .     

Radio emission regions in pulsars

We study the concept of radius-to-frequency mapping using a geometrical method for the estimation of pulsar emission altitudes. The semi-empirical relationship proposed by Kijak &38; Gil is examined over three decades of radio frequency. It is argued that the emission region in a millisecond pulsar occupies the magnetosphere over a distance of up to about 30 per cent of the light-cylinder radius, and that in a normal pulsar occupies up to approximately 10 per cent of the light-cylinder radius.     

Pulsar slow glitches in a solid quark star model

A series of five unusual slow glitches of the radio pulsar B1822–09 (PSR J1825–0935) was observed between 1995 and 2005. This is a phenomenon that is understood in a solid quark star model, and reasonable parameters for slow glitches are given in this paper. We propose that, because of increasing shear stress as the pulsar spins down, a slow glitch may occur, beginning with the collapse of a superficial layer of the quark star. This layer of material turns to viscous fluid at first, the viscosity of which helps to deplete the energy released from both the accumulated elastic energy and the gravitation potential. There is then a slow glitch. Numerical calculations show that the slow glitches that have been observed could be reproduced if the effective coefficient of viscosity is ∼10² cm² s⁻¹ and the initial velocity of the superficial layer is of the order of 10⁻¹⁰ cm s⁻¹ in the coordinate rotating frame of the star.     

New timing parameters and positions for 16 southern radio pulsars

We report timing observations on 16 pulsars obtained using the Ooty Radio Telescope operating at 327 MHz. Using these observations, spanning over a year, we have obtained values of period derivatives for the first time and refined the estimates of the periods for all pulsars in this sample. We also report improved positions for all cases where the earlier position estimates had an uncertainty of a few arcmin.     

On the aberration–retardation effects in pulsars

The magnetospheric locations of pulsar radio emission region are not well known. The actual form of the so-called radius-to-frequency mapping should be reflected in the aberration–retardation (A/R) effects that shift and/or delay the photons depending on the emission height in the magnetosphere. Recent studies suggest that in a handful of pulsars the A/R effect can be discerned with respect to the peak of the central core emission region. To verify these effects in an ensemble of pulsars, we launched a project analysing multifrequency total intensity pulsar profiles obtained from the new observations from the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Arecibo Observatory (AO) and archival European Pulsar Network (EPN) data. For all these profiles, we measure the shift of the outer cone components with respect to the core component, which is necessary for establishing the A/R effect. Within our sample of 23 pulsars, seven show the A/R effects, 12 of them (doubtful cases) show a tendency towards this effect, while the remaining four are obvious counterexamples. The counterexamples and doubtful cases may arise from uncertainties in the determination of the location of the meridional plane and/or the core emission component. Hence, it appears that the A/R effects are likely to operate in most pulsars from our sample. We conclude that in cases where those effects are present the core emission has to originate below the conal emission region.     

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.     

Emission altitudes in young and old radio pulsars

This paper presents a comparison of emission altitudes in very young and very old radio pulsars. The author confirms that the altitudes at which radio emission at a given frequency is generated depend on the pulsar period and age, although the latter dependence is quite weak.