Initial spin periods of neutron stars in supernova remnants

TL;DR

This study estimates the initial spin periods of neutron stars in supernova remnants using pulsar data, suggesting a Gaussian distribution around 0.1 seconds, which informs models of neutron star birth spins.

Contribution

The paper provides the first reliable estimates of initial neutron star spin periods assuming standard magnetic dipole braking, constraining the initial period distribution shape.

Findings

Initial spin periods are consistent with a Gaussian distribution around 0.1 seconds.

Flat or very narrow distributions are inconsistent with the data.

The estimates help refine models of neutron star formation and evolution.

Abstract

We present estimates of initial spin periods, $P_0$, for radio pulsars associated with supernova remnants. By using the published data on 30 objects, we were able to derive a reliable estimate for the initial spin period, assuming standard magneto-dipole spin-down (braking index n=3), in many cases. Our set of estimates is still not sufficient to infer the exact shape of the initial period distribution. However, we show that a gaussian distribution with mean and deviation $\sim 0.1$ s is consistent with our results, while flat, wide distributions and very narrow ones are disfavored.