A Systematic Study of the Frequency Evolution Behavior of Pulsar Pulse Profiles

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 917; no. 2; pp. 108 - 119
• Main Authors: Xu, X., Shang, L. H., Zhi, Q. J., Qiao, G. J., Dang, S. J., Bai, J. T., Zhao, R. S., Lu, J. G., Dong, A. J., Lin, Q. W., Zhang, D. D., Yang, H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia The American Astronomical Society 01.08.2021; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Absorption; Astrophysics; Correlation; Evolution; Frequency ranges; Magnetic fields; Pulsars; Radiation; Radio pulsars
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac0b40

Abstract The frequency evolution behavior of radio pulse profiles is an important clue for the radiation mechanism of a pulsar. Combined with the latest results of the European Pulsar Network and the Australia Telescope National Facility data, we systematically study the evolution of W 50 (the full width of the pulse profile at 50% of the pulsar amplitude) for 74 pulsars with frequencies from tens to thousands of megahertz. We find that 71 pulsars show “absorption” features, which indicates that the absorption is an universal phenomenon in the pulsar population and independent of the type of pulsar profile. It is found that for most pulsars, the absorption features appear in the frequency range of 100–800 MHz, and the evolution trend of W 50 at frequencies less than ∼100 MHz and larger than ∼800 MHz can be described as a power-law function.We quantify the absorption intensity and analyze the correlation between the absorption intensity and the pulsar parameters (such as the spin period, magnetic field, and age of the pulsar). It is found that there is no direct correlation between them. Our results will provide good samples and clues for the study of the physical mechanism of the absorption phenomenon.