The radio and X-ray mode-switching pulsar PSR B0943+10

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent coordinated X-ray and radio observations of PSR B0943+10, highlighting its mode-switching behavior and implications for understanding pulsar emission mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of the X-ray properties of PSR B0943+10 based on recent multi-wavelength observations, emphasizing the significance of mode-switching.

Findings

X-ray flux varies anticorrelated with radio emission.

PSR B0943+10 exhibits distinct X-ray and radio modes.

Synchronous mode switching offers insights into pulsar emission processes.

Abstract

Observations obtained in the last years challenged the widespread notion that rotation-powered neutron stars are steady X-ray emitters. Besides a few allegedly rotation-powered neutron stars that showed "magnetar-like" variability, a particularly interesting case is that of PSR B0943+10. Recent observations have shown that this pulsar, well studied in the radio band where it alternates between a bright and a quiescent mode, displays significant X-ray variations, anticorrelated in flux with the radio emission. The study of such synchronous radio/X-ray mode switching opens a new window to investigate the processes responsible for the pulsar radio and high-energy emission. Here we review the main X-ray properties of PSR B0943+10 derived from recent coordinated X-ray and radio observations.