The mode switching of PSR B2020+28

TL;DR

This study analyzes the mode switching behavior of pulsar PSR B2020+28 using polarimetric data, revealing differences in stability and timescales between normal and abnormal modes, and suggesting rapid magnetospheric oscillations.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed polarimetric analysis of mode switching in PSR B2020+28, including mode durations and stability, based on extensive observational data.

Findings

76 mode switching events detected

Normal mode dominates with 89% occurrence

Abnormal mode is more stable with narrower intensity ratio distribution

Abstract

This paper reports on polarimetric radiation properties based on the switching modes of normal PSR B2020+28 by analysing the data acquired from the Nanshan 25-m radio telescope at 1556 MHz. With nearly 8 hours quasi-continuous observation, the data presented some striking and updated phenomena. The change of relative intensity between the leading and trailing components is the predominant feature of mode switching. The intensity ratio between the leading and trailing components are measured for the individual profiles averaged over 30 seconds. It is found that there is an excess of high ratios over the normal distribution, which indicates that two modes exist in the pulsar. The distribution of abnormal mode has a narrower width indicating that the abnormal mode is more stable than the normal mode. A total of 76 mode switching events are detected in our data. It spends 89\% in the normal mode and 11\% in the abnormal mode. The intrinsic distributions of mode timescales are constrained with power-law distributions. The significant difference in the index of the duration distribution between normal and abnormal modes possibly indicates that the timescale for the abnormal mode to get stable is shorter than that for the normal mode. The frequent switching between both modes may indicate that the oscillations between different magnetospheric states are rapid.