Results of 15-Year Pulsar Timing of PSR J0007+7303 with Fermi-LAT

TL;DR

This 15-year study of PSR J0007+7303 with Fermi-LAT reveals nine glitches, including five new ones, with unique non-recovering behavior and stable emission, providing insights into neutron star interior dynamics.

Contribution

First long-term timing analysis of PSR J0007+7303 revealing its unique glitch behavior and internal structure implications.

Findings

Nine glitches identified, five newly discovered.

No exponential recovery observed after glitches.

Glitch fractional moment of inertia matches previous models.

Abstract

The study of pulsar glitches provides a unique window into the internal structure and dynamic processes of neutron stars. PSR J0007+7303, a very bright gamma-ray pulsar, is the first pulsar discovered by the Fermi-LAT telescope. In this paper, we present the 15 years of timing results of this pulsar using the Fermi-LAT data. We identified nine glitches, five of which are newly discovered. Among these, two are small glitches, occurring between the three previously reported ones, while the other four are large glitches. The glitches exhibit fractional frequency changes ranging from 15 x 10^-9 to 1238 x 10^-9, with intervals of approximately 1-2 years between events. Uniquely, this pulsar shows no exponential recovery behavior following any glitch, setting it apart from most glitching pulsars. Furthermore, no significant changes were observed in the gamma-ray pulse profile, flux, or phase-averaged spectra before and after glitches, indicating the stability of the pulsar's emission properties despite internal changes. A parametric analysis of the glitches yielded a fractional moment of inertia of the crustal superfluid involved in glitches as 1.06 percent, which matches extremely well with previous statistical work if the non-dissipative entrainment effect is not considered and strongly supports the internal origin of these glitches. These results highlight the distinct glitch behavior of PSR J0007+7303 and offer valuable insights into the crust-superfluid interaction in neutron stars. The physical origin of no exponential recovery is also discussed.