1999/11/18 by E. V. Gotthelf, Gautam Vasisht, Gotthelf, E. V. +2
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9911344
4 pages, latex, one figure, to appear in "IAU Colloquium 177: 2000 and Beyond", ASP Conf. Series
arxiv created 1999/11/18 · openalex publication_date 1999/11/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We propose a simple explanation for the apparent dearth of radio pulsars associated with young supernova remnants (SNRs). Recent X-ray observations of young remnants have revealed slowly rotating (P ~ 10-s) central pulsars with pulsed emission above 2 keV, lacking in detectable radio emission. Some of these objects apparently have enormous magnetic fields, evolving in a manner distinct from the Crab pulsar. We argue that these X-ray pulsars can account for a substantial fraction of the long sought after neutron stars in SNRs and that Crab-like pulsars are perhaps the rarer, but more highly visible example of these stellar embers. Magnetic field decay likely accounts for their high X-ray luminosity, which cannot be explained as rotational energy loss, as for the Crab-like pulsars. We suggest that the natal magnetic field strength of these objects control their subsequent evolution. There are currently almost a dozen slow X-ray pulsars associated with young SNRs. Remarkably, these objects, taken together, represent at least half of the confirmed pulsars in supernova remnants. This being the case, these pulsars must be the progenitors of a vast population of previously unrecognized neutron stars.