Related papers: Does Pulsar B1757--24 Have a Fallback Disk?
We present a population synthesis study of the observed properties of the magnetars, which allows for X-ray selection effects, investigating the hypothesis that they are drawn from a population of progenitors that are more massive than…
Observations of the X-ray pulsar 4U 2206+54, performed over a 15-year span, show its period, which is now 5555 \pm 9 s, to increase drastically. Such behavior of the pulsar can be hardly explained in the frame of traditional scenarios of…
The magnetic fields of neutron stars have a large range (~3e10 - 1e15 G). There may be a tendency for more highly magnetized neutron stars to come from more massive stellar progenitors, but other factors must also play a role. When combined…
The physical mechanisms that set the initial rotation rates in massive stars are a crucial unknown in current star formation theory. Observations of young, massive stars provide evidence that they form in a similar fashion to their low-mass…
Variation in the angle $\alpha$ between a pulsar's rotational and magnetic axes would change the torque and spin-down rate. We show that sudden increases in $\alpha$, coincident with glitches, could be responsible for the persistent…
Pulsars are spinning neutron stars with very regular periods. These pulsars have, however, had instances where they exhibit a change in their periods. Older theories have shown that older pulsars have a tendency to skip and speed up. Newer…
Using pulsewidth data for 872 isolated radio pulsars we test the hypothesis that pulsars evolve through a progressive narrowing of the emission cone combined with progressive alignment of the spin and magnetic axes. The new data provide…
Almost 40 years after the discovery of pulsars -- and despite a plethora of secured data on them -- pulsar theory is still beset by a number of fundamental inconsistencies. In this short contribution, I will argue that (i) magnetars do not…
We consider combined rotational, magnetic, and thermal evolution of the neutron star during the accretion phase in a binary system. A rapid accretion-driven decay of the magnetic field decreases substantially the efficiency of angular…
A multipole spin-down equation based on a monopolar term is derived from the general expression $\dot{\nu} = -f(\nu,t)$ and used to study pulsar evolution. We show that the time-independent version of such equation cannot reproduce the…
As a result of observational difficulties, braking indices of only six rotation-powered pulsars are obtained with certainty, all of which are remarkably smaller than the value ($n=3$) expected for pure magnetodipole radiation model. This is…
Rotation-powered millisecond radio pulsars have been spun up to their present spin period by a $10^8$ - $10^9$ yr long X-ray-bright phase of accretion of matter and angular momentum in a low-to-intermediate mass binary system. Recently, the…
We present the statistical results of a systematic, unbiased search for subpulse modulation of 187 pulsars performed with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) in the Netherlands at an observing wavelength of 21 cm (Weltevrede et…
The spin evolution of isolated neutron stars (NSs) is dominatd by their magnetic fields. The measured braking indices of young NSs show that the spin-down mechanism due to magnetic dipole radiation with constant magnetic fields is…
The dynamics of the solid crust + magnetic field lines of pulsars is a much debated issue, and remains unsettled after 50 years. Some pieces of evidence have emerged to complete and confirm theoretical calculations and expectations. We…
Pulsars are highly-magnetised rotating neutron stars and are well-known for the stability of their signature pulse shapes, allowing high-precision studies of their rotation. However, during the past 22 years, the radio pulse profile of the…
As discussed elsewhere in these proceedings, the double pulsar system is a magnificent laboratory for gravitational physics and for studying pulsar magnetospheres. Here we consider the uses of having two clocks in the system in the context…
We present a model for the rotational evolution of a young, solar-mass star interacting magnetically with an accretion disk. As in a previous paper (Paper I), the model includes changes in the star's mass and radius as it descends the…
Using a highly accurate numerical code, we study the spin down of rotating relativistic stars, undergoing a quark deconfinement phase transition. Such phase transitions have been suggested to yield an observable signal in the braking index…
We discuss the spin evolution of pulsars in the case where a superfluid component of the star is coupled to the observable crust on long, spindown timescales. The momentum transfer from the superfluid interior results in an apparent decay…