High Magnetic Field Rotation-powered Pulsars

TL;DR

This paper reviews high magnetic-field rotation-powered pulsars, exploring their properties, potential links to magnetars, and discussing evidence for magneto-thermal evolution in neutron stars.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of high magnetic-field RPPs and discusses their possible evolutionary connection to magnetars, highlighting observational similarities and theoretical implications.

Findings

High magnetic-field RPPs share characteristics with magnetars.

Some evidence suggests magneto-thermal evolution in neutron stars.

The connection between RPPs and magnetars remains inconclusive.

Abstract

Anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters have recently emerged as a unified class of neutron stars, identified by dramatic X-ray and gamma-ray outbursts and via luminous X-ray pulsations, both thought to be powered by the decay of an enormous internal magnetic field. This "magnetar" hypothesis has raised the question of these objects' physical relationship with conventional rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs). The highest magnetic-field RPPs might therefore be expected to be transition objects between the two populations. The recently reported magnetar-like outburst of PSR J1846-0258, previously thought to be purely rotation-powered, clearly supports this suggestion. Here we review the observational properties of the highest magnetic-field RPPs known, and show some common characteristics that are notable among RPPs, which are plausibly related to their high fields. Using these objects, we consider the evidence for proposed "magneto-thermal evolution" in neutron stars, and argue that while some exists, it is not yet conclusive.