A Model for the challenging 'bi-drifting' phenomenon in PSR J0815+09

Oct, 2004
11 pages
Published in:
  • Astrophys.J.Lett. 616 (2004) L127-L130
e-Print:

Citations per year

20052010201520202024012345
Abstract: (arXiv)
A new drifting pulsar, PSR J0815+09, was discovered in the Arecibo drift-scan searches. An intriguing feature of this source is that within the four pulse components in the integrated pulse profile, the sub-pulse drifting direction in the two leading components is opposite from that in the two trailing components. In view that the leading theoretical model for pulsar sub-pulse drifting can only interpret one-direction sub-pulse drifting, the observed bi-drifting phenomenon from PSR J0815+09 poses a great challenge to the pulsar theory. The inner annular gap (IAG), a new type of inner particle accelerator, was recently proposed to explain both γ\gamma-ray and radio emission from pulsars. Here we show that the coexistence of the IAG and the conventional inner core gap (ICG) offers a natural interpretation to the bi-drifting phenomenon. In particular, the peculiar drifting behavior in PSR J0815+09 can be reproduced within the inverse Compton scattering (ICS) model for pulsar radio emission.
  • elementary particles
  • pulsars: general
  • pulsars: individual (PSR J0815+09)
  • radiation mechanisms: nonthermal
  • stars: neutron
Loading ...