Related papers: Revised Pulsar Spindown
We evaluate the result of the recent pioneering numerical simulations in Spitkovsky~2006 on the spindown of an oblique relativistic magnetic dipole rotator. Our discussion is based on our experience from two idealized cases, that of an…
Numerical simulations predict that the spin-down rate of a single rotation-powered neutron star depends on the angle $\alpha$ between its spin and magnetic axes as $P\dot P \propto \mu^2 (k_0 + k_1\sin^2\alpha)$, where $P$ is the star spin…
We look at two contrasting spin-down models for isolated radio pulsars and, accounting for selection effects, synthesize observable populations. While our goal is to reproduce all of the observable characteristics, in this paper we pay…
Isolated pulsars are rotating neutron stars with accurately measured angular velocities $\Omega$, and their time derivatives which show unambiguously that the pulsars are slowing down. Although the exact mechanism of the spin-down is a…
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…
The properties of the spin-down age are investigated. Based on assumption about a uniform magnetic field decay law we suggest a new method which allows us to shed light on magnetic field decay. This method is applied for following…
Isolated pulsars are rotating neutron stars with accurately measured angular velocities $\Omega$, and their time derivatives which show unambiguously that the pulsars are slowing down. Although the exact mechanism of the spin-down is a…
The presence of a companion wind in neutron star binary systems can form a contact discontinuity well within the pulsar's light cylinder, effectively creating a waveguide that confines the pulsar's electromagnetic fields and significantly…
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…
The braking index, $n$, of a pulsar is a measure of its angular momentum loss and the value it takes corresponds to different spin-down mechanisms. For a pulsar spinning down due to gravitational wave emission from the principal mass…
We revisit the case of magneto-rotational evolution of neutron stars (NSs) with accounting for changes of the angle \chi between spin and magnetic axes. This element of the evolution of NSs is very important for age estimates and population…
The coupled evolution of pulsar rotation and inclination angle in the wind braking model is calculated. The oblique pulsar tends to align. The pulsar alignment will affect its spin-down behavior. As a pulsar evolves from the magneto-dipole…
The pulsar wind model is updated by considering the effect of particle density and pulsar death. It can describe both the short term and long term rotational evolution of pulsars consistently. It is applied to model the rotational evolution…
The pulsar timing is observed to be different from predicted by a simple magnetic dipole radiation. We choose eight pulsars whose braking index was reliably determined. Assuming the smaller values of braking index are dominated by the…
Pulsars are rotating neutron stars that are observed to be slowing down, implying a loss of their rotational energy. There can be several different physical mechanisms involved in their spin-down process. The properties of fast-rotating…
In the absence of constraints from the binary companion or supernova remnant, the standard method for estimating pulsar ages is to infer an age from the rate of spin-down. While the generic spin-down age may give realistic estimates for…
The recently discovered rotationally powered pulsar PSR J1640-4631 is the first to have a braking index measured, with high enough precision, that is greater than three. An inclined magnetic rotator in vacuum or plasma would be subject not…
As is well known, pulsars are extremely stable rotators. However, although slowly, they spin down thanks to brake mechanisms, which are in fact still subject of intense investigation in the literature. Since pulsars are usually modelled as…
The location of radio pulsars in the period-period derivative (P-Pdot) plane has been a key diagnostic tool since the early days of pulsar astronomy. Of particular importance is how pulsars evolve through the P-Pdot diagram with time. Here…
Pulsar spindown forms a reliable yet enigmatic prototype for the energy loss processes in many astrophysical objects including accretion disks and back holes. In this paper we review the physics of pulsar magnetospheres, concentrating on…