The Rotational Evolution of the Fastest Spinning Normal Pulsar <scp>PSR J0537</scp> ‐6910: Braking by Magnetic Dipole Radiation and Pulsar Wind

ABSTRACT We study the spin evolution of the young X‐ray pulsar PSR J0537‐6910 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the fastest‐spinning isolated pulsar known to date with a rotation period of 16 ms, which provides a unique laboratory for probing the early angular momentum evolution of a neutron star. Motivated by the observed discrepancy that most pulsars exhibit less than three braking indices in contrast to what is predicted by a magnetospheric dipolar slow‐down law, we propose a hybrid Magnetic Dipole Radiation and Wind (MDRW) model that incorporates both magnetic dipole radiation (MDR) and particle wind contributions. By assuming , we derive analytical solutions for the spin evolution equations under different ages (1–4 kyr). We show that the initial spin period range (10.5–14.3 ms) predicted by the MDRW model significantly exceeds the values derived from the classical MDR framework (7.0–14.4 ms), which is in agreement with physical expectations for neutron star birth scenarios. Furthermore, the MDRW model reveals an equal partitioning of rotational energy loss between magnetic dipole radiation and particle wind components () when , highlighting the interplay of the various mechanisms in the spin‐down of young pulsars. This also provides a new approach to estimating the period evolution of pulsars.

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Journal
Astronomische Nachrichten
Published
2025-08-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/asna.70049
Primary Topic
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

The Rotational Evolution of the Fastest Spinning Normal Pulsar PSR J0537 ‐6910: Braking by Magnetic Dipole Radiation and Pulsar Wind

Yungang Zhou, Chengmin Zhang, Jianwei Zhang, Dehua Wang et al.
Astronomische Nachrichten
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
article

The Rotational Evolution of the Fastest Spinning Normal Pulsar PSR J0537 ‐6910: Braking by Magnetic Dipole Radiation and Pulsar Wind

Yungang Zhou, Chengmin Zhang, Jianwei Zhang, Dehua Wang, Xiang‐Han Cui, Z. Yang, Shu Ma, Erbil Gügercinolu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT We study the spin evolution of the young X‐ray pulsar PSR J0537‐6910 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the fastest‐spinning isolated pulsar known to date with a rotation period of 16 ms, which provides a unique laboratory for probing the early angular momentum evolution of a neutron star. Motivated by the observed discrepancy that most pulsars exhibit less than three braking indices in contrast to what is predicted by a magnetospheric dipolar slow‐down law, we propose a hybrid Magnetic Dipole Radiation and Wind (MDRW) model that incorporates both magnetic dipole radiation (MDR) and particle wind contributions. By assuming , we derive analytical solutions for the spin evolution equations under different ages (1–4 kyr). We show that the initial spin period range (10.5–14.3 ms) predicted by the MDRW model significantly exceeds the values derived from the classical MDR framework (7.0–14.4 ms), which is in agreement with physical expectations for neutron star birth scenarios. Furthermore, the MDRW model reveals an equal partitioning of rotational energy loss between magnetic dipole radiation and particle wind components () when , highlighting the interplay of the various mechanisms in the spin‐down of young pulsars. This also provides a new approach to estimating the period evolution of pulsars.

Astronomische NachrichtenVol. 346(10)
Guizhou Normal University (CN), Qingdao Binhai University (CN), Yunnan University (CN), Yunnan Agricultural University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), National Space Science Center (CN), Astronomy and Space (AU), International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (AU), National Astronomical Observatories (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 84%
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
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