Unusual glitch activity in the RRAT J1819-1458: an exhausted magnetar?
Abstract
We present an analysis of regular timing observations of the high magnetic field Rotating Radio Transient (RRAT) J1819-1458 obtained using the 64-m Parkes and 76-m Lovell radio telescopes over the past 5 years. During this time, the RRAT has suffered two significant glitches with fractional frequency changes of 0.6 × 10-6 and 0.1 × 10-6. Glitches of this magnitude are a phenomenon displayed by both radio pulsars and magnetars. However, the behaviour of J1819-1458 following these glitches is quite different to that which follows glitches in other neutron stars, since the glitch activity resulted in a significant long-term net decrease in the slow-down rate. If such glitches occur every 30 years, the spin-down rate, and by inference the magnetic dipole moment, will drop to zero on a time-scale of a few thousand years. There are also significant increases in the rate of pulse detection and in the radio pulse energy immediately following the glitches.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- December 2009
- DOI:
- 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15668.x
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0909.1165
- Bibcode:
- 2009MNRAS.400.1439L
- Keywords:
-
- pulsars: general;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- accepted for publication in MNRAS, 7 pages, 7 figures, 1 table