Observational Constraints on the Pulsar Wind Model: The Cases of Crab and Vela

TL;DR

This paper develops a statistical model combining magnetic and wind braking mechanisms to better understand pulsar spin-down, specifically constraining key parameters for Crab and Vela pulsars.

Contribution

It introduces the first statistical model that combines dipole magnetic and wind brakes to analyze pulsar spin-down.

Findings

Constrained magnetic field, angle, and particle density parameters for Crab and Vela.

Demonstrated the importance of combined braking mechanisms in pulsar spin-down.

Provided new insights into pulsar magnetosphere properties.

Abstract

As is well known, pulsars are extremely stable rotators. However, although slowly, they spin down thanks to brake mechanisms, which are in fact still subject of intense investigation in the literature. Since pulsars are usually modelled as highly magnetized neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation out of their magnetic poles, it is reasonable to consider that the spindown has to do with a magnetic brake. Although an interesting and simple idea, a pure magnetic brake is not able to adequately account for the spindown rate. Thus, many alternative spindown mechanisms appear in the literature, among them the pulsar wind model, where a wind of particles coming from the pulsar itself can carry part of its rotational kinetic energy. Such a spindown mechanism depends critically on three parameters, namely, the dipole magnetic field $B$, the angle between the magnetic and rotation axes $(\phi)$, and the density of primary particles $(\zeta)$ of the pulsar's magnetosphere. Differently from a series of articles in this subject, we consider for the first time in the literature a statistical modelling which includes a combination of a dipole magnetic and wind brakes. As a result, we are able to constrain the above referred parameters in particular for Crab and Vela pulsars.