Probing the emission states of PSR J1107-5907

TL;DR

This study investigates the emission states of pulsar PSR J1107-5907, revealing it transitions directly between bright and off states, with the off state being distinct from the weak state, refining understanding of its emission behavior.

Contribution

The paper clarifies the emission state transitions of PSR J1107-5907, showing the off state is separate from the weak state and only the bright and off states are involved.

Findings

The pulsar transitions directly from bright to off states.

The off state is not an extreme weak state but a separate emission mode.

Emission behavior involves only bright and off states, with no direct weak-to-bright transition.

Abstract

The emission from PSR J1107-5907 is erratic. Sometimes the radio pulse is undetectable, at other times the pulsed emission is weak, and for short durations the emission can be very bright. In order to improve our understanding of these state changes, we have identified archival data sets from the Parkes radio telescope in which the bright emission is present, and find that the emission never switches from the bright state to the weak state, but instead always transitions to the off state. Previous work had suggested the identification of the off state as an extreme manifestation of the weak state. However, the connection between the off and bright emission reported here suggests that the emission can be interpreted as undergoing only two emission states: a bursting state consisting of both bright pulses and nulls as well as the weak-emission state.