Pulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagram
The location of radio pulsars in the period–period derivative (P–P˙) plane has been a key diagnostic tool since the early days of pulsar astronomy. Of particular importance is how pulsars evolve through the P–P˙ diagram with time. Here we show that the decay of the inclination angle (α˙) between the...
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Format: | Journal article |
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Oxford University Press
2017
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author | Johnston, S Karastergiou, A |
author_facet | Johnston, S Karastergiou, A |
author_sort | Johnston, S |
collection | OXFORD |
description | The location of radio pulsars in the period–period derivative (P–P˙) plane has been a key diagnostic tool since the early days of pulsar astronomy. Of particular importance is how pulsars evolve through the P–P˙ diagram with time. Here we show that the decay of the inclination angle (α˙) between the magnetic and rotation axes plays a critical role. In particular, α˙ strongly impacts on the braking torque, an effect that has been largely ignored in previous work. We carry out simulations that include a negative α˙ term, and show that it is possible to reproduce the observational P–P˙ diagram without the need for either pulsars with long birth periods or magnetic field decay. Our best model indicates a birth rate of one radio pulsar per century and a total Galactic population of ∼20 000 pulsars beaming towards Earth. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:20:04Z |
format | Journal article |
id | oxford-uuid:7c3ad292-feb9-4837-b18f-0fde512dbd46 |
institution | University of Oxford |
last_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:20:04Z |
publishDate | 2017 |
publisher | Oxford University Press |
record_format | dspace |
spelling | oxford-uuid:7c3ad292-feb9-4837-b18f-0fde512dbd462022-03-26T20:55:41ZPulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagramJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:7c3ad292-feb9-4837-b18f-0fde512dbd46Symplectic Elements at OxfordOxford University Press2017Johnston, SKarastergiou, AThe location of radio pulsars in the period–period derivative (P–P˙) plane has been a key diagnostic tool since the early days of pulsar astronomy. Of particular importance is how pulsars evolve through the P–P˙ diagram with time. Here we show that the decay of the inclination angle (α˙) between the magnetic and rotation axes plays a critical role. In particular, α˙ strongly impacts on the braking torque, an effect that has been largely ignored in previous work. We carry out simulations that include a negative α˙ term, and show that it is possible to reproduce the observational P–P˙ diagram without the need for either pulsars with long birth periods or magnetic field decay. Our best model indicates a birth rate of one radio pulsar per century and a total Galactic population of ∼20 000 pulsars beaming towards Earth. |
spellingShingle | Johnston, S Karastergiou, A Pulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagram |
title | Pulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagram |
title_full | Pulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagram |
title_fullStr | Pulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagram |
title_full_unstemmed | Pulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagram |
title_short | Pulsar braking and the P–$\dot{P}$ diagram |
title_sort | pulsar braking and the p dot p diagram |
work_keys_str_mv | AT johnstons pulsarbrakingandthepdotpdiagram AT karastergioua pulsarbrakingandthepdotpdiagram |