Synchronous X-ray and Radio Mode Switches: A Rapid Global Transformation of the Pulsar Magnetosphere
Journal article, 2013
Pulsars emit from low-frequency radio waves up to high-energy gamma-rays, generated anywhere from the stellar surface out to the edge of the magnetosphere. Detecting correlated mode changes across the electromagnetic spectrum is therefore key to understanding the physical relationship among the emission sites. Through simultaneous observations, we detected synchronous switching in the radio and x-ray emission properties of PSR B0943+10. When the pulsar is in a sustained radio-"bright" mode, the x-rays show only an unpulsed, nonthermal component. Conversely, when the pulsar is in a radio-"quiet" mode, the x-ray luminosity more than doubles and a 100% pulsed thermal component is observed along with the nonthermal component. This indicates rapid, global changes to the conditions in the magnetosphere, which challenge all proposed pulsar emission theories.
emission
b0943+10
xmm-newton observations
polarization
drifting subpulses
radiation
photon imaging camera
gamma-ray
powered pulsars
empirical-theory
Author
W. Hermsen
J. W. T. Hessels
L. Kuiper
J. van Leeuwen
D. Mitra
J. de Plaa
J. M. Rankin
B. W. Stappers
G. A. E. Wright
R. Basu
A. Alexov
T. Coenen
J. M. Griessmeier
T. E. Hassall
A. Karastergiou
E. Keane
V. I. Kondratiev
M. Kramer
M. Kuniyoshi
A. Noutsos
M. Serylak
M. Pilia
C. Sobey
P. Weltevrede
K. Zagkouris
A. Asgekar
I. M. Avruch
Fabien Batejat
Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics
M. E. Bell
M. R. Bell
M. J. Bentum
G. Bernardi
P. Best
L. Birzan
A. Bonafede
F. Breitling
J. Broderick
M. Brueggen
H. R. Butcher
B. Ciardi
S. Duscha
J. Eisloffel
H. Falcke
R. Fender
C. Ferrari
W. Frieswijk
M. A. Garrett
F. De Gasperin
E. de Geus
A. W. Gunst
G. Heald
M. Hoeft
A. Horneffer
M. Iacobelli
G. Kuper
P. Maat
G. Macario
S. Markoff
J. P. McKean
M. Mevius
J. C. A. Miller-Jones
R. Morganti
H. Munk
E. Orru
H. Paas
M. Pandey-Pommier
V. N. Pandey
R. Pizzo
A. G. Polatidis
S. Rawlings
W. Reich
H. Rottgering
A. M. M. Scaife
A. Schoenmakers
A. Shulevski
J. Sluman
M. Steinmetz
M. Tagger
Y. Tang
C. Tasse
S. ter Veen
R. Vermeulen
R. H. van de Brink
R. J. van Weeren
Ramj Wijers
M. W. Wise
O. Wucknitz
S. Yatawatta
P. Zarka
Science
0036-8075 (ISSN) 1095-9203 (eISSN)
Vol. 339 6118 436-439Subject Categories
Physical Sciences
DOI
10.1126/science.1230960