Probing the Internal Physics of Neutron Stars through the Observed Braking Indices and Magnetic Tilt Angles of Several Young Pulsars

The braking indices of pulsars may contain important information about the internal physics of neutron stars(NSs),such as neutron superfluidity and internal magnetic fields.As a subsequent paper of Cheng et al.,we perform the same analysis as that done in the previous paper to other young pulsars with a steady braking index,n.Combining the timing data of these pulsars with the theory of magnetic field decay,and using their measured magnetic tilt angles,we can set constraints on the number of precession cycles,ξ,which represents the interactions between superfluid neutrons and other particles in the NS interior.For the pulsars considered in this paper,the results show thatξis within the range of a few×10~3 to a few×10~6.Interestingly,for the Crab and Vela pulsars,the constraints onξobtained with our method are generally consistent with that derived from modeling of the glitch rise behaviors of the two pulsars.Furthermore,we find that the internal magnetic fields of pulsar with n<3 may be dominated by the toroidal components.Our results may not only help to understand the interactions between the superfluid neutrons and other particles in the interior of NSs but also be important for the study of continuous gravitational waves from pulsars.

Multi-Barycenter Mechanics, N-Body Problem and Rotation of Galaxies and Stars

In the present paper, the establishment of a systematic multi-barycenter mechanics is based on the multi-particle mechanics. The new theory perfects the basic theoretical system of classical mechanics, which finds the law of mutual interaction between particle groups, reveals the limitations of Newton’s third law, discovers the principle of the intrinsic relationship between gravity and tidal force, reasonably interprets the origin and change laws for the rotation angular momentum of galaxies and stars and so on. By applying new theory, the multi-body problem can be transformed into a special two-body problem and for which an approximate solution method is proposed, the motion law of each particle can be roughly obtained.

Rotating Massive Strangeon Stars and X-Ray Plateau of Short GRBs

Strangeon stars,which are proposed to describe the nature of pulsar-like compact stars,have passed various observational tests.The maximum mass of a non-rotating strangeon star could be high,which implies that the remnants of binary strangeon star mergers could even be long-lived massive strangeon stars.We study rigidly rotating strangeon stars in the slowly rotating approximation,using the Lennard-Jones model for the equation of state.Rotation can significantly increase the maximum mass of strangeon stars with unchanged baryon numbers,enlarging the mass-range of long-lived strangeon stars.During spin-down after merger,the decrease of radius of the remnant will lead to the release of gravitational energy.Taking into account the efficiency of converting the gravitational energy luminosity to the observed X-ray luminosity,we find that the gravitational energy could provide an alternative energy source for the plateau emission of X-ray afterglow.The fitting results of X-ray plateau emission of some short gamma-ray bursts suggest that the magnetic dipole field strength of the remnants can be much smaller than that of expected when the plateau emission is powered only by spin-down luminosity of magnetars.

Free Energy of Anisotropic Strangeon Stars

Can pulsar-like compact objects release further huge free energy besides the kinematic energy of rotation?This is actually relevant to the equation of state of cold supra-nuclear matter,which is still under hot debate.Enormous energy is surely needed to understand various observations,such asγ-ray bursts,fast radio bursts and softγ-ray repeaters.In this paper,the elastic/gravitational free energy of solid strangeon stars is revisited for strangeon stars,with two anisotropic models to calculate in general relativity.It is found that huge free energy(>10^(46)erg)could be released via starquakes,given an extremely small anisotropy((p_(t)-p_(r))/p_(r)~10^(-4),with pt/pr the tangential/radial pressure),implying that pulsar-like stars could have great potential of free energy release without extremely strong magnetic fields in the solid strangeon star model.

Characteristics of Emission Non-nulling Pulsars Through Simulation

We investigate the population and several properties of radio pulsars whose emission does not null(non-nulling)through simulation of a large pulsar sample.Emission from a pulsar is identified as non-nulling if(i)the emission does not cease across the whole pulse profile,and(ii)the emission is detectable.For(i),we adopt a model for switching in the plasma charge density,and emission persists if the charge density is non-zero.For(ii),we assume that detectable emission originates from source points where it is emitted tangentially to the magnetic field-line and parallel to the line-of-sight.We find that pulsars exhibiting non-nulling emission possess obliquity angles with an average of 42°.5,and almost half the samples maintain a duty cycle between 0.05 and 0.2.Furthermore,the pulsar population is not fixed but dependent on the obliquity angle,with the population peaking at 20°.In addition,three evolutionary phases are identified in the pulsar population as the obliquity angle evolves,with the majority of samples having an obliquity angle between 20°and 65°.Our results also suggest that emission from a pulsar may evolve between nulling and non-nulling during its lifetime.

A Fermi-LAT Study of Globular Cluster Dynamical Evolution in the Milky Way:Millisecond Pulsars as the Probe

Using archival Fermi-LAT data with a time span of~12 yr,we study the population of Millisecond Pulsars(MSPs)in Globular Clusters(GlCs)and investigate their dependence on cluster dynamical evolution in the Milky Way.We show that theγ-ray luminosity(L_(γ))and emissivity(i.e.,ε_(γ)=L_(γ)/M,with M the cluster mass)are good indicators of the population and abundance of MSPs in GlCs,and they are highly dependent on the dynamical evolution history of the host clusters.Specifically speaking,the dynamically older GlCs with more compact structures are more likely to have larger L_(γ)andε_(γ),and these trends can be summarized as strong correlations with cluster stellar encounter rateΓand the specific encounter rate(Λ=Γ/M),with L_(γ)∝Γ^(0.7±0.11)andε_(γ)∝Λ^(0.73±0.13)for dynamically normal GlCs.However,as GlCs evolve into deep core collapse,these trends are found to be reversed,implying that strong encounters may have lead to the disruption of Low-Mass X-ray Binaries and ejection of MSPs from core-collapsed systems.Besides,the GlCs are found to exhibit largerε_(γ)with increasing stellar mass function slope(ε_(γ)∝10^((0.52±0.1)α)),decreasing tidal radius(ε_(γ)∝R_(t)^(-10±0.22))and distances from the Galactic Center(GC,ε_(γ)∝R_(gc)^(-1.13±0.21)).These correlations indicate that,as GlCs losing kinetic energy and spiral in toward the GC,tidal stripping and mass segregation have a preference in leading to the loss of normal stars from GlCs,while MSPs are more likely to concentrate to cluster center and be deposited into the GC.Moreover,we gaugeε_(γ)of GlCs is~10-1000 times larger than the Galactic bulge,the latter is thought to reside thousands of unresolved MSPs and may be responsible for the GC 7-ray excess,which supports that GlCs are generous contributors to the population of MSPs in the GC.

Long-term evolution and gravitational wave radiation of neutron stars with differential rotation induced by r-modes

In a second-order r-mode theory, Sa and Tome found that the r-mode oscillation in neutron stars （NSs） could induce stellar differential rotation, which naturally leads to a saturated state of the oscillation. Based on a consideration of the coupling of the r-modes and the stellar spin and thermal evolution, we carefully investigate the influences of the differential rotation on the long-term evolution of isolated NSs and NSs in low-mass X-ray binaries, where the viscous damping of the r-modes and its resultant effects are taken into account. The numerical results show that, for both kinds of NSs, the differential rotation can significantly prolong the duration of the r-modes. As a result, the stars can keep nearly a constant temperature and constant angular velocity for over a thousand years. Moreover, the persistent radiation of a quasi-monochromatic gravitational wave would also be predicted due to the long-term steady r-mode oscillation and stellar rotation. This increases the detectability of gravitational waves from both young isolated and old accreting NSs.

Detectability of rotation-powered pulsars in future hard X-ray surveys

Recent INTEGRAL/IBIS hard X-ray surveys have detected about 10 young pulsars. We show hard X-ray properties of these 10 young pulsars, which have a luminosity of 10^33 - 10^37 erg s^-1 and a photon index of 1.6-2.1 in the energy range of 20-100 keV. The correlation between X-ray luminosity and spin-down power of Lx ∝ Lsd^1.31 suggests that the hard X-ray emission in rotation-powered pulsars is dominated by the pulsar wind nebula （PWN） component. Assuming spectral properties are similar in 20-100keV and 2-10 keV for both the pulsar and PWN components, the hard X-ray luminosity and flux of 39 known young X-ray pulsars and 8 millisecond pulsars are obtained, and a correlation of Lx ∝ Lsd^1.5 is derived. About 20 known young X-ray pulsars and 1 millisecond pulsars could be detected with future INTEGRAL and HXMT surveys. We also carry out Monte Carlo simulations of hard X-ray pulsars in the Galaxy and the Gould Belt, assuming values for the pulsar birth rate, initial position, proper motion velocity, period, and magnetic field distribution and evolution based on observational statistics and the Lx - Lsd reltions：Lx ∝Lsd^1.31 and Lx∝Lsd^1.5 More than 40 young pulsars （mostly in the Galactic plane） could be detected after ten years of INTEGRAL surveys and the launch of HXMT. So, the young pulsars would be a significant part of the hard X-ray source population in the sky, and will contribute to unidentified hard X-ray sources in present and future hard X-ray surveys by INTEGRAL and HXMT.

Effects of rotation and tidal distortions on the shapes of radial velocity curves of polytropic models of pulsating variable stars

Anharmonic oscillations of rotating stars have been studied by various authors in literature to explain the observed features of certain variable stars. However, there is no study available in literature that has discussed the combined effect of rotation and tidal distortions on the anharmonic oscillations of stars. In this paper, we have created a model to determine the effect of rotation and tidal distortions on the anharmonic radial oscillations associated with various polytropic models of pulsating variable stars. For this study we have used the theory of Rosseland to obtain the anharmonic pulsation equation for rotationally and tidally distorted polytropic models of pulsating variable stars. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of rotation and tidal distortions on the shapes of the radial velocity curves for rotationally and tidally distorted polytropic models of pulsating variable stars. The results of the present study show that the rotational effects cause more deviations in the shapes of radial velocity curves of pulsating variable stars as compared to tidal effects.

Rotation Profiles of Solar-like Stars with Magnetic Fields

We investigate the rotation profile of solar-like stars with magnetic fields. A diffu- sion coefficient of magnetic angular momentum transport is deduced. Rotating stellar models with different mass incorporating the coefficient are computed to give the rotation profiles. The total angular momentum of a solar model with only hydrodynamic instabilities is about 13 times larger than that of the Sun at the age of the Sun, and this model can not reproduce quasi-solid rotation in the radiative region. However, the solar model with magnetic fields not only can reproduce an almost uniform rotation in the radiative region, but also a total angular momentum that is consistent with the helioseismic result at the 3 tr level at the age of the Sun. The rotation of solar-like stars with magnetic fields is almost uniform in the radiative region, but for models of 1.2-1.5 MG, there is an obvious transition region between the convective core and the radiative region, where angular velocity has a sharp radial gradient, which is different from the rotation profile of the Sun and of massive stars with magnetic fields. The change of angular velocity in the transition region increases with increasing age and mass.

Compatibility of the Observed Rotation Parameters of Radio Pulsars on Long Time Scales

We present the results of an analysis of the rotation regularities of pulsars from the current observations and retrospective data on the timing of pulsars at Pushchino Observatory, obtained since 1978 to 2017. Parametric approximation of numerical series of Times of Arrival (ToAs) the convergence polynomial series defined the combinations of numerical values, unique for each pulsar, identical in any reference system for coinciding epochs, irrespective of duration of observations that corresponds to the coherence of periodic radiation of pulsars. The braking index at all observed pulsars is n =&minus;(0.9 ± 0.2) that corresponds monotony of slowing down of rotation (>0). The polynomial power series of the intervals calculated in observed parameters of rotation represent an analytical time scale on which variations of observed intervals, uncorrelated with rotation, are counted, as at pulsars B1919+21 and B0809+74, or the unpredictable variations of intervals defining the movement of a pulsar in the supernova remnants, as at PSR B0531+21 or at PSR B1822-09 which spontaneous movement also doesn’t exclude its belonging to the supernova remnants.

FAST Pulsar Database.I.Polarization Profiles of 682 Pulsars

Pulsar polarization profiles form a very basic database for understanding the emission processes in a pulsar magnetosphere.After careful polarization calibration of the 19-beam L-band receiver and verification of beamoffset observation results,we obtain polarization profiles of 682 pulsars from observations by the Five-hundredmeter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)duringthe Galactic Plane Pulsar Snapshot survey and other normal FAST projects.Among them,polarization profiles of about 460 pulsars are observed for the first time.The profiles exhibit diverse features.Some pulsars have a polarization position angle curve with a good S-shaped swing,some with orthogonal modes;some have components with highly linearly polarized components or strong circularly polarized components;some have a very wide profile,coming from an aligned rotator,and some have an interpulse from a perpendicular rotator;some wide profiles are caused by interstellar scattering.We derive geometric parameters for 190 pulsars from the S-shaped position angle curves or with orthogonal modes.We find that the linear and circular polarization or the widths of pulse profiles have various frequency dependencies.Pulsars with a large fraction of linear polarization are more likely to have a large Edot.

Effect of interaction of the various modes on the radial velocity curves of the polytropic models of rotationally and tidally distorted pulsating variable stars

In our previous work, we developed a model to study the effects of rotation and/or tidal distortions on anharmonic radial oscillations and hence on the radial velocity curves of the polytropic models of pulsating variable stars.We considered the first three modes(fundamental and the next two higher modes) for the polytropic models of index 1.5 and 3.0 in that work.In the present paper, we are further extending our previous work to study the effect of the interaction of various modes on anharmonic radial oscillations and hence on radial velocity curves of the rotationally and/or tidally distorted polytropic models of pulsating variable stars.For this purpose, we have considered the following cases:(i) fundamental mode(ii) fundamental and the first mode,(iii) fundamental and the next two modes and finally(iv) fundamental and the next three higher modes of pulsation in our study.The objective of this paper is also to investigate whether the interaction of various modes affects the results of our previous study or not.The results of this study show that the interaction of the fundamental mode with higher modes appreciably changes the shape of the radial velocity curve of rotationally distorted and rotationally and tidally distorted polytropic models of pulsating variable stars.

The Origin of Glitches in Pulsars—Phase Oscillation between Anisotropic Superfluid and Normal State of Neutrons in Neutron Stars

Considering neutron star heating by magnetic dipole radiation from ^3PF2 superfluid neutron vortices inside the star, we propose a neutron phase oscillation model between the normal neutron Fermi fluid and the ^3PF2 superfluid neutron vortices at the transition temperature of Ttrans = （2 - 3）× 10^8 K. With this model we can qualitatively explain most of the observations on pulsar glitches up to date.

Rotation Periods of Nine ROSAT Selected Solar-Type Stars

We monitored 16 X-ray selected young solar-type stars for light variation and found appreciable periodic light variability with amplitudes of a few hundredths of a magni- tude in nine of the objects. Using the method of Phase Dispersion Minimization （PDM） and Fourier analysis （software PERIOD04）, the rotation periods of these stars were determined from the photometric data. The rotation periods of all nine stars are shorter than about 3 days. It is suggested that, as with the Pleiades cluster, small amplitude light variations are quite common among young solar-type stars with rotation periods around 3 days or less. This gives further evidence for the spin up of solar-type stars predicted by models of angular momentum evolution of pre-main sequence stars.

On Strong Correlations between Timing Irregularities and Surface Magnetic Field of Rotation-Powered Pulsars

Using a large homogenous sample of Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) rotation-powered pulsars with derived pulsar parameter obtained from the Australian Telescope National Facility (ATNF) catalogue, we investigated the degree of statistical dependence of timing noise on surface magnetic field for our sample. The distributions of the timing irregularities parameters reveal a striking trend, in which pulsars with large timing noise parameters on average, have large surface magnetic field with up to 5 orders of magnitude. Regression analysis of the data reveals significant correlations (r ≥ 0.80) between timing noise parameters and the surface magnetic field. The implications of the observed significant relationships are discussed.

New Cases of Superflares on Slowly Rotating Solar-type Stars and Large Amplitude Superflares in G-and M-type Main Sequence Stars

In our previous work,we searched for superflares on different types of stars while focusing on G-type dwarfs using entire Kepler data to study statistical properties of the occurrence rate of superflares.Using these new data,as a byproduct,we found 14 cases of superflare detection on 13 slowly rotating Sun-like stars with rotation periods of24.5–44 days.This result supports the earlier conclusion by others that the Sun may possibly undergo a surprise superflare.Moreover,we found 12 and seven new cases of detection of exceptionally large amplitude superflares on six and four main sequence stars of G-and M-type,respectively.No large-amplitude flares were detected in A,F or K main sequence stars.Here we present preliminary analysis of these cases.The superflare detection,i.e.,an estimation of flare energy,is based on a more accurate method compared to previous studies.We fit an exponential decay function to flare light curves and study the relation between e-folding decay time,τ,versus flare amplitude and flare energy.We find that for slowly rotating Sun-like stars,large values ofτcorrespond to small flare energies and small values ofτcorrespond to high flare energies considered.Similarly,τis large for small flare amplitudes andτis small for large amplitudes considered.However,there is no clear relation between these parameters for large amplitude superflares in the main sequence G-and M-type stars,as we could not establish clear functional dependence between the parameters via standard fitting algorithms.

Prediction of Short Stellar Activity Cycles using Derived and Established Empirical Relations between Activity and Rotation Periods

In our previous work,we investigated the occurrence rate of super-flares on various types of stars and their statistical properties,with a particular focus on G-type dwarfs,using entire Kepler data.The said study also considered how the statistics change with stellar rotation period,which in turn,had to be determined.Using such new data,as a by-product,we found 138 Kepler IDs of F-and G-type main sequence stars with rotation periods less than a day(P_(rot)<1 day).On one hand,previous studies have revealed short activity cycles in F-type and G-type stars and the question investigated was whether or not short-term activity cycles are a common phenomenon in these stars.On the other hand,extensive studies exist which establish an empirical connection between a star's activity cycle and rotation periods.In this study,we compile all available Kepler data with P_(rot)<1 day,and rely on an established empirical relation between P_(cyc)and P_(rot)with the aim to provide predictions for very short 5.09≤P_(cyc)≤38.46 day cases in a tabular form.We propose an observation to measure P_(cyc)using a monitoring program of stellar activity(e.g.,activity-related chromospheric emission S-index)or a similar means for the Kepler IDs found in this study in order put the derived empirical relations between P_(cyc)and P_(rot)derived here to the test.We also propose an alternative method for measuring very short P_(cyc),using flare-detection algorithms applied to future space mission data.

Magnetic Activity and Parameters of 43 Flare Stars in the GWAC Archive

In the archive of the Ground Wide Angle Camera(GWAC),we found 43 white light flares from 43 stars,among which,three are sympathetic or homologous flares,and one of them also has a quasi-periodic pulsation with a period of 13.0±1.5 minutes.Among these 43 flare stars,there are 19 new active stars and 41 stars that have available TESS and/or K2 light curves,from which we found 931 stellar flares.We also obtained rotational or orbital periods of 34 GWAC flare stars,of which 33 are less than 5.4 days,and ephemerides of three eclipsing binaries from these light curves.Combining with low resolution spectra from LAMOST and the Xinglong 2.16 m telescope,we found that L_(Hα)/L_(bol) are in the saturation region in the rotation-activity diagram.From the LAMOST medium-resolution spectrum,we found that Star#3(HAT 178-02667)has double Hαemissions which imply it is a binary,and two components are both active stars.Thirteen stars have flare frequency distributions(FFDs)from TESS and/or K2 light curves.These FFDs show that the flares detected by GWAC can occur at a frequency of 0.5to 9.5 yr^(-1).The impact of flares on habitable planets was also studied based on these FFDs,and flares from some GWAC flare stars may produce enough energetic flares to destroy ozone layers,but none can trigger prebiotic chemistry on their habitable planets.

Single-pulse Emission Variation of Two Pulsars Discovered by FAST

We investigate the single-pulse emission variations of two pulsars,PSRs J0211+4235 and J0553+4111,observed with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope at the 1.25 GHz central frequency.The observation sessions span from 2020 December to 2021 July,with 21 and 22 observations for them respectively.The integrated pulse profile of PSR J0211+4235 shows that there is a weak pulse component following the main component,and PSR J0553+4111 displays a bimodal profile with a bridge component in the middle.PSR J0211+4235 presents significant nulling phenomenon with nulling duration lasting from 2 to 115 pulses and burst duration lasting from 2 to 113 pulses.The NF of each observation is determined to be 45%-55%.No emission greater than threeσis found in the mean integrated profile of all nulling pulses.In most cases,the pulse energy changes abruptly during the transition from null to burst,while in the transition from burst to null there are two trends:abrupt and gradual.We find that the nulling phenomenon of PSR J0211+4235 is periodic by the Fourier transform of the null and burst state.In addition,the single-pulse modulation characteristics of these two pulsars are investigated,and the distributions of modulation index,LRFS and 2DFS are analyzed with PSRSALSA.The left peak of PSR J0553+4111 has intensity modulation.Finally,the polarization properties of these two pulsars are obtained through polarization calibration,and their characteristics are analyzed.The possible physical mechanisms of these phenomena are discussed.