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.

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.

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.

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.

Variable Stars in the 50BiN Open Cluster Survey.Ⅲ.NGC 884

Open clusters are the basic building blocks that serve as a laboratory for the study of young stellar populations in the Milky Way.Variable stars in open clusters provide a unique way to accurately probe the internal structure,temporal and dynamical evolutionary stages of individual stars and the host cluster.The most powerful tool for such studies is time-domain photometric observations.This paper follows the route of our previous work,concentrating on a photometric search for variable stars in NGC 884.The target cluster is the companion of NGC869,forming the well-known double cluster system that is gravitationally bound.From the observation run in 2016 November,a total of 9247 B-band CCD images and 8218Ⅴ-band CCD images were obtained.We detected a total of 15 stars with variability in visual brightness,including five Be stars,three eclipsing binaries,and seven of unknown types.Two new variable stars were discovered in this work.We also compared the variable star content of NGC 884 with its companion NGC 869.

Study of Complex Nitrogen and Oxygen-bearing Molecules toward the High-mass Protostar IRAS 18089–1732

The observation of oxygen(O)-and nitrogen(N)-bearing molecules gives an idea about the complex prebiotic chemistry in the interstellar medium.Recent millimeter and submillimeter wavelength observations have shown the presence of complex O-and N-bearing molecules in the star formation regions.So,the investigation of those molecules is crucial to understanding the chemical complexity in the star-forming regions.In this article,we present the identification of the rotational emission lines of N-bearing molecules ethyl cyanide(C_(2)H_(5)CN)and cyanoacetylene(HC_(3)N),and O-bearing molecule methyl formate(CH_(3)OCHO)toward high-mass protostar IRAS18089–1732 using the Atacama Compact Array.We also detected the emission lines of both the N-and O-bearing molecule formamide(NH_(2)CHO)in the envelope of IRAS 18089–1732.We have detected the v=0 and 1 state rotational emission lines of CH_(3)OCHO.We also detected the two vibrationally excited states of HC_(3)N(v7=1 and v7=2).The estimated fractional abundances of C_(2)H_(5)CN,HC_(3)N(v7=1),HC_(3)N(v7=2),and NH_(2)CHO toward IRAS 18089–1732 are(1.40±0.5)×10^(-10),(7.5±0.7)×10^(-11),(3.1±0.4)×10^(-11),and(6.25±0.82)×10^(-11)respectively.Similarly,the estimated fractional abundances of CH_(3)OCHO(v=0)and CH_(3)OCHO(v=1)are(1.90±0.9)×10^(-9)and(8.90±0.8)×10^(-10),respectively.We also created the integrated emission maps of the detected molecules,and the observed molecules may have originated from the extended envelope of the protostar.We show that C_(2)H_(5)CNand HC_(3)N are most probably formed via the subsequential hydrogenation of the CH_(2)CHCNand the reaction between C_(2)H_(2)and CN on the grain surface of IRAS 18089–1732.We found that NH_(2)CHO is probably produced due to the reaction between NH_(2)and H_(2)CO in the gas phase.Similarly,CH_(3)OCHO is possibly created via the reaction between radical CH_(3)O and radical HCO on the grain surface of IRAS 18089–1732.

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.

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.

First-order phase transitions in rotating hybrid stars and pulsar glitches

The first order deconfinement phase transitions in rotating hybrid stars are studied and it is found that if the surface tension is sufficiently large, the transition from metastable hadron matter to stable mixed hadron-quark matter during the spindown history of a hybrid star can cause a glitch.

Searching for the Nano-Hertz Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background with the Chinese Pulsar Timing Array Data ReleaseⅠ

Observing and timing a group of millisecond pulsars with high rotational stability enables the direct detection of gravitational waves(GWs).The GW signals can be identified from the spatial correlations encoded in the times-of-arrival of widely spaced pulsar-pairs.The Chinese Pulsar Timing Array(CPTA)is a collaboration aiming at the direct GW detection with observations carried out using Chinese radio telescopes.This short article serves as a“table of contents”for a forthcoming series of papers related to the CPTA Data Release 1(CPTA DR1)which uses observations from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope.Here,after summarizing the time span and accuracy of CPTA DR1,we report the key results of our statistical inference finding a correlated signal with amplitude logA_(c)=-14.4_(-2.8)^(+1.0)for spectral index in the range ofα∈[-1.8,1.5]assuming a GW background(GWB)induced quadrupolar correlation.The search for the Hellings–Downs(HD)correlation curve is also presented,where some evidence for the HD correlation has been found that a 4.6σstatistical significance is achieved using the discrete frequency method around the frequency of 14 n Hz.We expect that the future International Pulsar Timing Array data analysis and the next CPTA data release will be more sensitive to the n Hz GWB,which could verify the current results.

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.

Results of 23 yr of Pulsar Timing of PSR J1453-6413

In this paper,we presented the 23.3 yr of pulsar timing results of PSR J1456-6413 based on the observations of Parkes 64 m radio telescope.We detected two new glitches at MJD 57093(3)and 59060(12)and confirmed its first glitch at MJD 54554(10).The relative sizes(Δν/ν)of these two new glitches are 0.9×10^(-9)and 1.16×10^(-9),respectively.Using the“Cholesky”timing analysis method,we have determined its position,proper motion,and two-dimensional transverse velocities from the data segments before and after the second glitch,respectively.Furthermore,we detected exponential recovery behavior after the first glitch,with a recovery timescale of approximately 200 days and a corresponding exponential recovery factor Q of approximately 0.15(2),while no exponential recovery was detected for the other two glitches.More interestingly,we found that the leading component of the integral pulse profile after the second glitch became stronger,while the main component became weaker.Our results will expand the sample of pulsars with magnetosphere fluctuation triggered by the glitch event.

Reciprocating Magnetic Fields in the Pulsar Wind Observed from the Black Widow Pulsar J1720-0534

We report the radio observations of the eclipsing black widow pulsar J1720-0534, a 3.26 ms pulsar in orbit with a low mass companion of mass 0.029 to 0.034 M⊙. We obtain the phase-connected timing ephemeris and polarization profile of this millisecond pulsar(MSP) using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST), the Green Bank Telescope(GBT), and the Parkes Telescope. For the first time from such a system, an oscillatory polarization angle change was observed from a particular eclipse egress with partial depolarization, indicating 10-milliGauss-level reciprocating magnetic fields oscillating in a length scale of 5 ×10^(3)km(assuming an orbital inclination angle of 90°) outside the companion's magnetosphere. The dispersion measure variation observed during the ingresses and egresses shows the rapid raising of the electron density in the shock boundary between the companion's magnetosphere and the surrounding pulsar wind. We suggest that the observed oscillatory magnetic fields originate from the pulsar wind outside the companion's magnetosphere.

X-Ray Properties of PSR J1811-1925 by Nu STAR

We analyzed the spectral properties and pulse profile of PSR J1811-1925,a pulsar located in the center of composite supernova remnant(SNR)G11.2-0.3,by using high timing resolution archival data from the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array Mission(NuSTAR).Analysis of archival Chandra data over different regions rules out the SNR shell as the site of the hard X-ray emission while spectral analysis indicates that the NuSTAR photons originate in the pulsar and its nebula.The pulse profile exhibits a broad single peak up to 35 keV.The jointed spectrum by combining NuSTAR and Chandra can be well fitted by a power-law model with a photon index ofΓ=1.58±0.04.The integrated flux of jointed spectrum over 1-10 keV is 3.36×10^(-12)erg cm^(-2)s^(-1).The spectrum of pulsar having photon indexΓ=1.33±0.06 and a 1-10 keV flux of 0.91×10^(-12)erg cm^(-2)s^(-1).We also performed the phase-resolved spectral analysis by splitting the whole pulse-on phase into five phase bins.The photon indices of the bins are all around 1.4,indicating that the photon index does not evolve with the phase.

On the Nature of Long Period Radio Pulsar GPM J1839-10:Death Line and Pulse Width

Recently another long period radio pulsar GPM J1839-10 has been reported,similar to GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3.Previously,the energy budget and rotational evolution of long period radio pulsars had been considered.This time,the death line and pulse width for neutron star and white dwarf pulsars are investigated.The pulse width is included as the second criterion for neutron star and white dwarf pulsars.It is found that:(1)PSR J0250+5854 and PSR J0901-4046 etc.should be normal radio pulsars.They have narrow pulse width and they lie near the radio emission death line.(2)The two long period radio pulsars GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3 and GPM J1839-10 are unlikely to be normal radio pulsars.Their possible pulse width is relatively large.They lie far below the fiducial death line on the P-P^(·)diagram.(3)GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3 and GPM J1839-10 may be magnetars or white dwarf radio pulsars.At present,there are many parameters and uncertainties in both of these possibilities.

Timing and Single-pulse Study of Pulsar J1909+0122 Discovered by CRAFTS

We report the discovery of PSR J1909+0122 by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope(FAST)as part of the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey.PSR J1909+0122 has a spin period of 1.257 s and a dispersion measure of 186.2 pc cm^(-3).The averaged pulse profile shows two distinct components.We performed a single-pulse study based on a one-hour observation at 1.25 GHz on 2021 August 23.We used a threshold of 5σ_(ep) to measure the nulling fraction(NF)as 63%±1.5%.The longitude-resolved fluctuation spectra and fast Fourier transform spectra of the binary sequences revealed the quasi-periodicity of nulling with a period of 30 rotation periods.We examined the reliability of the periodicity by comparing it to random noise injection.The NF,E,and modulation periodicity P_(M) of PSR J1909+0122 were compared with other periodic nulling pulsars,showing that the source of J1909+0122 has the second largest NF in the population.Long-term timing observations over six months were used to derive the phase-connected ephemeris of this pulsar.The measured P and P values disfavor dipolar geometry for polar gap models,and the prediction for a space-charge-limited flow model in the case of inverse Compton scattering is only just above the death line.In this work,PSR J1909+0122 has revealed possible correlations between nulling behavior and pulsar properties,which will help to shed light on the pulsar emission mechanism and its temporal evolution in future observations.

Spin Evolution of Neutron Stars in OB/X-ray Binaries

We have investigated the relation between the orbital period Porb and the spin period Ps of neutron stars in OB/X-ray binaries. By simulating the time-development of the mass loss rate and radius expansion of a 20M☉ donor star, we have calculated the detailed spin evolution of the neutron star before steady wind accretion occurs (that is, when the break spin period is reached), or when the OB star begins evolving off the main sequence or has filled its Roche lobe. Our results are compatible with the observations of OB/X-ray binaries. We find that in relatively narrow systems with orbital periods less than tens of days, neutron stars with initial magnetic field B0 stronger than about 3×1012 G can reach the break spin period to allow steady wind accretion in the main sequence time, whereas neutron stars with B0 < 3×1012 G and/or in wide systems would still be in one of the pulsar, rapid rotator or propeller phases when the companion evolves off the main sequence or fills its Roche lobe. Our results may help understand the various characteristics of the observed OB/neutron star binaries along with their distributions in the Ps-Porb diagram.

Searching for Pulsars with Phase Characteristics

We present a method by using the phase characteristics of radio observation data for pulsar search and candidate identification.The phase characteristics are relations between the pulsar signal and the phase correction in the frequency-domain,and we regard it as a new search diagnostic characteristic.Based on the phase characteristics,a search method is presented:calculating dispersion measure(DM)—frequency data to select candidate frequencies,and then confirming of candidates by using the broadband characteristics of pulsar signals.Based on this method,we performed a search test on short observation data of M15 and M71,which were observed by Five-hundredmeter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope,and some of the Galactic Plane Pulsar Snapshot survey data.Results show that it can get similar search results to PRESTO(Pulsa R Exploration and Search TOolkit)while having a faster processing speed.

Resonant cyclotron scattering in pulsar magnetospheres and its application to isolated neutron stars

Resonant cyclotron scattering （RCS） in pulsar magnetospheres is considered. The photon diffusion equation （Kompaneets equation） for RCS is derived. The photon system is modeled three dimensionally. Numerical calculations show that there exist not only up scattering but also down scattering of RCS, depending on the parameter space. RCS＇s possible applications to spectral energy distributions of magnetar candidates and radio quiet isolated neutron stars （INSs） are pointed out. The optical/UV excess of INSs may be caused by the down scattering of RCS. The calculations for RX J1856.5-3754 and RX J0720.4-3125 are presented and compared with their observational data. In our model, the INSs are proposed to be normal neutron stars, although the quark star hypothesis is still possible. The low pulsation amplitude of INSs is a natural consequence in the RCS model.