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...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2017
|
| _version_ | 1797077575206436864 |
|---|---|
| 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 |