Exploring the single-pulse behaviours of PSR J0628+0909 with FAST

TL;DR

This study uses FAST observations to analyze the single-pulse behaviors of RRAT PSR J0628+0909, revealing continuous pulsar-like emission and diverse polarization, challenging the idea that RRAT bursts are solely due to energy release mechanisms.

Contribution

First detailed polarization and single-pulse analysis of PSR J0628+0909 using FAST, showing continuous emission and diverse polarization behaviors in a RRAT.

Findings

Continuous pulsar-like emission detected alongside transient bursts.

Single-pulse polarization behaviors are highly diverse.

Pulse waiting time is uncorrelated with pulse energy.

Abstract

More than 100 rotating radio transients (RRATs) have been discovered since 2006. However, it is unclear whether RRATs radiate in the nulling states. PSR J0628+0909 has been classified as an RRAT. In this paper, we study the single pulses and integrated pulse profile of PSR J0628+0909 to check whether we can detect pulsed radio emission in the nulling states. We also aim to study the polarization of the RRAT and its relationship to the general pulsar population. We used the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) to observe PSR J0628+0909 in the frequency range from 1.0 to 1.5 GHz. We searched for strong single pulses and looked for pulsed emission in the RRAT nulling states. Polarisation profiles, the single-pulse energy distribution, and waiting-time statistics were measured. The Faraday rotation measure and dispersion measure values are updated with the current observation. The single-pulse polarisation behaviours show great diversity, similar to the case of pulsars. Based on the integrated pulse profile and single-pulse energy statistics, we argue that continuous pulsar-like emission exists in addition to the transient-like burst emission for PSR J0628+0909. We find that the pulse waiting time is not correlated with the pulse energy and conclude that the strong transient emission of RRAT is not generated by the energy store-release mechanism.