A Hot Subdwarf Model for the 18.18 Minute Pulsar GLEAM-X

TL;DR

This paper proposes that the 18.18-minute pulsar GLEAM-X is a hot subdwarf star with strong magnetic fields, explaining its observed properties through a magnetic dipole model and suggesting recent accretion activity.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hot subdwarf model for the pulsar, providing a detailed magnetic dipole explanation for its period and spin-down behavior.

Findings

The pulsar is likely a hot subdwarf with a magnetic field of about 10^8 G.

Its age is estimated at around 30,000 years.

The spin-down luminosity is near the Eddington limit, indicating possible accretion from a companion.

Abstract

We suggest that the recently discovered, enigmatic pulsar with a period of 18.18 minutes, GLEAM-X J162759.5-523504.3, is most likely a hot subdwarf (proto white dwarf). A magnetic dipole model explains the observed period and period-derivative for a highly magnetized ($\sim 10^8$G), hot subdwarf of typical mass $\sim 0.5M_\odot$ and radius $\sim 0.3R_\odot$, and an age of $\sim 3\times 10^4$yr. The subdwarf spin is close to its breakup speed and its spindown luminosity is near its Eddington limit, likely as a result of accretion from a companion.