Why the distance of PSR J0218+4232 does not challenge pulsar emission theories

TL;DR

This paper re-evaluates the distance to pulsar PSR J0218+4232, showing that after bias correction, its luminosity aligns with standard emission models, resolving previous conflicts with theoretical expectations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the VLBI parallax measurement is biased and provides a corrected distance that aligns the pulsar's luminosity with existing emission theories.

Findings

Corrected distance is approximately 3.15 kpc.

Original VLBI measurement was biased by Lutz-Kelker effect.

Revised luminosity does not challenge pulsar emission models.

Abstract

Recent VLBI measurements of the astrometric parameters of the millisecond pulsar J0218+4232 by Du et al. have suggested this pulsar is as distant as 6.3 kpc. At such a large distance, the large {\gamma}-ray flux observed from this pulsar would make it the most luminous {\gamma}-ray pulsar known. This luminosity would exceed what can be explained by the outer gap and slot-gap pulsar emission models, potentially placing important and otherwise elusive constraints on the pulsar emission mechanism. We show that the VLBI parallax measurement is dominated by the Lutz-Kelker bias. When this bias is corrected for, the most likely distance for this pulsar is 3.15(+0.85/-0.60) kpc. This revised distance places the luminosity of PSR J0218+4232 into a range where it does not challenge any of the standard theories of the pulsar emission mechanism.