Synchronous X-ray and Radio Mode Switches: A Rapid Global Transformation of the Pulsar Magnetosphere
- W. Hermsen1,2,*,
- J. W. T. Hessels2,3,
- L. Kuiper1,
- J. van Leeuwen2,3,
- D. Mitra4,
- J. de Plaa1,
- J. M. Rankin2,5,
- B. W. Stappers6,
- G. A. E. Wright7,
- R. Basu4,
- A. Alexov8,
- T. Coenen2,
- J.-M. Grießmeier9,10,
- T. E. Hassall6,11,
- A. Karastergiou12,
- E. Keane13,
- V. I. Kondratiev3,14,
- M. Kramer6,13,
- M. Kuniyoshi13,
- A. Noutsos13,
- M. Serylak9,10,
- M. Pilia3,
- C. Sobey13,
- P. Weltevrede6,
- K. Zagkouris12,
- A. Asgekar3,
- I. M. Avruch1,3,15,
- F. Batejat16,
- M. E. Bell11,17,
- M. R. Bell18,
- M. J. Bentum3,19,
- G. Bernardi20,
- P. Best21,
- L. Bîrzan22,
- A. Bonafede23,
- F. Breitling24,
- J. Broderick11,
- M. Brüggen23,
- H. R. Butcher3,25,
- B. Ciardi18,
- S. Duscha3,
- J. Eislöffel26,
- H. Falcke3,13,27,
- R. Fender11,
- C. Ferrari28,
- W. Frieswijk3,
- M. A. Garrett3,22,
- F. de Gasperin23,
- E. de Geus3,
- A. W. Gunst3,
- G. Heald3,
- M. Hoeft26,
- A. Horneffer13,
- M. Iacobelli22,
- G. Kuper3,
- P. Maat3,
- G. Macario28,
- S. Markoff2,
- J. P. McKean3,
- M. Mevius3,15,
- J. C. A. Miller-Jones2,29,
- R. Morganti3,15,
- H. Munk3,
- E. Orrú3,27,
- H. Paas30,
- M. Pandey-Pommier22,31,
- V. N. Pandey32,
- R. Pizzo3,
- A. G. Polatidis3,
- S. Rawlings12,
- W. Reich13,
- H. Röttgering22,
- A. M. M. Scaife11,
- A. Schoenmakers3,
- A. Shulevski15,
- J. Sluman3,
- M. Steinmetz24,
- M. Tagger9,
- Y. Tang3,
- C. Tasse33,34,35,
- S. ter Veen27,
- R. Vermeulen3,
- R. H. van de Brink3,
- R. J. van Weeren3,20,22,
- R. A. M. J. Wijers2,
- M. W. Wise2,3,
- O. Wucknitz13,36,
- S. Yatawatta3,
- P. Zarka33
- 1SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht, Netherlands.
- 2Astronomical Institute "Anton Pannekoek," University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- 3ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Postbus 2, 7990 AA Dwingeloo, Netherlands.
- 4National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCFRA-TIFR), Post Bag 3, Ganeshkhind, Pune University Campus, Pune 411007, India.
- 5Physics Department, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
- 6Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
- 7Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK.
- 8Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
- 9Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace, LPC2E CNRS/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans Cedex 02, France.
- 10Station de Radioastronomie de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS/INSU, 18330 Nançay, France.
- 11School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
- 12Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK.
- 13Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
- 14Astro Space Center of the Lebedev Physical Institute, Profsoyuznaya str. 84/32, Moscow 117997, Russia.
- 15Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, Netherlands.
- 16Onsala Space Observatory, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-43992 Onsala, Sweden.
- 17ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), Sydney Institute of Astronomy, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
- 18Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Karl Schwarzschild Str. 1, 85741 Garching, Germany.
- 19University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Netherlands.
- 20Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
- 21Institute of Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK.
- 22Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands.
- 23Hamburger Sternwarte, University of Hamburg, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany.
- 24Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany.
- 25Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Mt. Stromlo Observatory, via Cotter Road, Weston, ACT 2611, Australia.
- 26Thüringer Landessternwarte, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 Tautenburg, Germany.
- 27Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, Netherlands.
- 28Laboratoire Lagrange, UMR7293, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, 06300 Nice, France.
- 29International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, G.P.O. Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia.
- 30Center for Information Technology (CIT), University of Groningen, 9747 AJ Groningen, Netherlands.
- 31Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, Observatoire de Lyon, 9 av. Charles André, 69561 Saint Genis Laval Cedex, France.
- 32National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA.
- 33LESIA-Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC Université Paris-Diderot, 92190 Meudon, France.
- 34Department of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa.
- 35SKA South Africa, 3rd Floor, The Park, Park Road, Pinelands 7405, South Africa.
- 36Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, University of Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
- ↵*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: w.hermsen{at}sron.nl
Abstract
Pulsars emit from low-frequency radio waves up to high-energy gamma-rays, generated anywhere from the stellar surface out to the edge of the magnetosphere. Detecting correlated mode changes across the electromagnetic spectrum is therefore key to understanding the physical relationship among the emission sites. Through simultaneous observations, we detected synchronous switching in the radio and x-ray emission properties of PSR B0943+10. When the pulsar is in a sustained radio-"bright" mode, the x-rays show only an unpulsed, nonthermal component. Conversely, when the pulsar is in a radio-"quiet" mode, the x-ray luminosity more than doubles and a 100% pulsed thermal component is observed along with the nonthermal component. This indicates rapid, global changes to the conditions in the magnetosphere, which challenge all proposed pulsar emission theories.
- Received for publication 1 October 2012.
- Accepted for publication 29 November 2012.
