Related papers: Why pulsars rotate and move: kicks at birth

We argue that comparison with observations of theoretical models for the velocity distribution of pulsars must be done directly with the observed quantities, i.e. parallax and the two components of proper motion. We develop a formalism to…

In a newly born (high-temperature and Keplerian rotating) neutron star, r-mode instability can lead to stellar differential rotation, which winds the seed poloidal magnetic field ($\sim 10^{11}$ G) to generate an ultra-high ($\sim 10^{17}$…

Neutron stars spin down over time due to a number of energy-loss processes. We provide tantalizing population-based evidence that millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have a minimum ellipticity of $\epsilon\approx10^{-9}$ around their spin axis and…

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 have recently proposed an explanation for the birth velocities of pulsars based on neutrino oscillations (hep-ph/9606428). One of the quantities, dN/dT, was evaluated in the approximation of constant chemical potential for the electrons.…

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…

Both neutron stars and strange stars are capable of supporting fast rotations observed in pulsars. On the basis of this it has been argued that some of the pulsars could be strange stars. We investigate whether strange stars can sustain…

From considerations of spin evolution and kinematics in the galactic potential, we argue that the pulsars B1913+16, B1534+12, and B2127+11C may be younger than previously assumed, and we find that a lower bound on the formation and merger…

Gravitational redshifts of neutron stars have a theoretical upper limit of z=0.62. Also, it is generally believed that neutron stars have magnetic fields on the order of ten to the twelfth to ten to the thirteenth G. A previously predicted…

We study the spin-down of a neutron star during its early stages due to the neutrino emission. The mechanism we consider is the subsequent collisions of the produced neutrinos with the outer shells of the star. We find that this mechanism…

Neutron stars are compact objects rotating at high speed, up to a substantial fraction of the speed of light (up to 20\% for millisecond pulsars) and possessing ultra-strong electromagnetic fields (close to and sometimes above the quantum…

Radio pulsars with millisecond spin periods are thought to have been spun up by transfer of matter and angular momentum from a low-mass companion star during an X-ray-emitting phase. The spin periods of the neutron stars in several such…

Six of the eight double neutron stars known in the Galactic disk have low orbital eccentricities (< 0.27) indicating that their second-born neutron stars received only very small velocity kicks at birth. This is similar to the case of the…

Two classes of X-ray/$\gamma$-ray sources, the Soft Gamma Repeaters and the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars have been identified with isolated, slowly spinning magnetars, neutron stars whose emission draws energy from their extremely strong…

We estimate the magnetic moment of electron neutrinos by computing the neutrino chirality flip rate that can occur in the core of a strange quark matter neutron star at birth. We show that this process allows neutrinos to anisotropically…

Millisecond pulsars, old neutron stars spun-up by accreting matter from a companion star, can reach high rotation rates of hundreds of revolutions per second. Until now, all such "recycled" rotation-powered pulsars have been detected by…

Using the Very Large Array, we have measured the proper motions of twenty-eight radio pulsars. On average, the pulsars studied are fainter and more distant than those studied in earlier work, reducing the selection biases inherent in…

It is thought that neutron stars in low-mass binary systems can accrete matter and angular momentum from the companion star and be spun-up to millisecond rotational periods. During the accretion stage, the system is called a low-mass X-ray…

We have observed the Be/X-ray pulsar binary system X Per/4U 0352+30 on 61 occasions spanning an interval of 600 days with the PCA instrument on RXTE. Pulse timing analyses of the 837-s pulsations yield strong evidence for the presence of…

For about half a century the radio pulsar population was observed to spin in the ~0.002-12s range, with different pulsar classes having a spin-period evolution that differs substantially depending on their magnetic fields or past accretion…