A Periodically Active Pulsar Giving Insight into Magnetospheric Physics

2006/02/24 by M. Kramer, M. Krämer, A. G. Lyne +3 · 19 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Binary pulsar #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Magnetosphere #Millisecond pulsar #Physics #Plasma #Pulsar #Pulsar planet #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Rotation (mathematics) #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.1124060

published as Science 312:549-551,2006 · 12 pages, 2 figures

openalex publication_date 2006/02/24 · arxiv created 2006/04/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

PSR B1931+24 (J1933+2421) behaves as an ordinary isolated radio pulsar during active phases that are 5 to 10 days long. However, when the radio emission ceases, it switches off in less than 10 seconds and remains undetectable for the next 25 to 35 days, then switches on again. This pattern repeats quasi-periodically. The origin of this behavior is unclear. Even more remarkably, the pulsar rotation slows down 50% faster when it is on than when it is off. This indicates a massive increase in magnetospheric currents when the pulsar switches on, proving that pulsar wind plays a substantial role in pulsar spin-down. This allows us, for the first time, to estimate the magnetospheric currents in a pulsar magnetosphere during the occurrence of radio emission.

Citations

• NE2001.I. A New Model for the Galactic Distribution of Free Electrons and its Fluctuations
• A powerful bursting radio source towards the Galactic Centre

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