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Effects of Spin Properties on Braking Indices of 208 Glitching Pulsars

Received: 8 March 2023     Accepted: 4 April 2023     Published: 24 April 2023
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Abstract

Pulsars are stars that emit electromagnetic radiation in a definite time interval. Detailed study of the long-term timing observations of pulsars indicate that the predictable smooth spin- down of pulsars is predisposed to discrete fluctuations known as glitch. The rotation frequency of pulsars decays with time as quantified by the braking index (n). The braking indices have been known to have no consequence on the quantities like obliquity angle evolution or complex high-order multipole structure but on the spin properties of the pulsars. In the canonical model of the theory of braking indices, n = 3 for all pulsars, but observational information has shown that n ≠ 3, indicating that the canonical model requires reconsideration. Using the Australian Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsar catalogue, we selected 208 pulsars with 670 glitches and used the distributions of the spin properties to statistically investigate their effects on the braking indices. We computed the braking indices of these pulsars using the theoretical method and observed that the braking index is much smaller for very young pulsars (104-107) which have been observed to show more glitch activity than their old, stable counterparts. A simple regression analysis of our data show that spin properties of pulsar are more than 65% correlated with the magnitude of pulsar braking index. The implications of the spin properties on braking indices on long timescales are discussed.

Published in International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science (Volume 11, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12
Page(s) 7-14
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Pulsars, Braking Index, Glitches: Spin-Properties, Methods: Statistical - Regression Analysis

References
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  • APA Style

    Juliana Nwakaego Odo, Azubuike Christian Ugwoke. (2023). Effects of Spin Properties on Braking Indices of 208 Glitching Pulsars. International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science, 11(1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12

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    Juliana Nwakaego Odo; Azubuike Christian Ugwoke. Effects of Spin Properties on Braking Indices of 208 Glitching Pulsars. Int. J. Astrophys. Space Sci. 2023, 11(1), 7-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12

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    AMA Style

    Juliana Nwakaego Odo, Azubuike Christian Ugwoke. Effects of Spin Properties on Braking Indices of 208 Glitching Pulsars. Int J Astrophys Space Sci. 2023;11(1):7-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12,
      author = {Juliana Nwakaego Odo and Azubuike Christian Ugwoke},
      title = {Effects of Spin Properties on Braking Indices of 208 Glitching Pulsars},
      journal = {International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science},
      volume = {11},
      number = {1},
      pages = {7-14},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijass.20231101.12},
      abstract = {Pulsars are stars that emit electromagnetic radiation in a definite time interval. Detailed study of the long-term timing observations of pulsars indicate that the predictable smooth spin- down of pulsars is predisposed to discrete fluctuations known as glitch. The rotation frequency of pulsars decays with time as quantified by the braking index (n). The braking indices have been known to have no consequence on the quantities like obliquity angle evolution or complex high-order multipole structure but on the spin properties of the pulsars. In the canonical model of the theory of braking indices, n = 3 for all pulsars, but observational information has shown that n ≠ 3, indicating that the canonical model requires reconsideration. Using the Australian Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsar catalogue, we selected 208 pulsars with 670 glitches and used the distributions of the spin properties to statistically investigate their effects on the braking indices. We computed the braking indices of these pulsars using the theoretical method and observed that the braking index is much smaller for very young pulsars (104-107) which have been observed to show more glitch activity than their old, stable counterparts. A simple regression analysis of our data show that spin properties of pulsar are more than 65% correlated with the magnitude of pulsar braking index. The implications of the spin properties on braking indices on long timescales are discussed.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Effects of Spin Properties on Braking Indices of 208 Glitching Pulsars
    AU  - Juliana Nwakaego Odo
    AU  - Azubuike Christian Ugwoke
    Y1  - 2023/04/24
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12
    T2  - International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science
    JF  - International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science
    JO  - International Journal of Astrophysics and Space Science
    SP  - 7
    EP  - 14
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7022
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijass.20231101.12
    AB  - Pulsars are stars that emit electromagnetic radiation in a definite time interval. Detailed study of the long-term timing observations of pulsars indicate that the predictable smooth spin- down of pulsars is predisposed to discrete fluctuations known as glitch. The rotation frequency of pulsars decays with time as quantified by the braking index (n). The braking indices have been known to have no consequence on the quantities like obliquity angle evolution or complex high-order multipole structure but on the spin properties of the pulsars. In the canonical model of the theory of braking indices, n = 3 for all pulsars, but observational information has shown that n ≠ 3, indicating that the canonical model requires reconsideration. Using the Australian Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsar catalogue, we selected 208 pulsars with 670 glitches and used the distributions of the spin properties to statistically investigate their effects on the braking indices. We computed the braking indices of these pulsars using the theoretical method and observed that the braking index is much smaller for very young pulsars (104-107) which have been observed to show more glitch activity than their old, stable counterparts. A simple regression analysis of our data show that spin properties of pulsar are more than 65% correlated with the magnitude of pulsar braking index. The implications of the spin properties on braking indices on long timescales are discussed.
    VL  - 11
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Physics, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Nigeria

  • Department of Physics, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria

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