Rotating Radio Transient Phases of Isolated Neutron Star Systems and Descendants of Central Compact Objects

Abstract Rotating radio transients (RRATs) form an isolated neutron star (INS) population characterized by their sporadic and short radio bursts. In the fallback disc model, it was suggested that most INS populations pass through an RRAT phase during their evolution, and the mechanism producing these bursts could be the enhancement of the flux of open magnetic field lines through the poles of dead pulsars due to penetration of the inner disc into the light cylinder. To test this idea, we determine the RRAT phases that could be produced by this mechanism along the evolutionary curves of the INS families on the period-period derivative (P – $\\dot{P}$) diagram. These RRAT phases form an RRAT region in the P–$\\dot{P}$ diagram, which is in agreement with the known RRAT distribution. Using our results, we also investigate the descendants of central compact objects (CCOs). We estimate that the CCOs similar to the three CCOs with measured P and $\\dot{P}$ are not likely to become radio pulsars (RPs). The situation is rather different for Calvera, a recently identified CCO. In the model, Calvera-like sources become RPs with lifetimes >108 yr. Indeed, there is a cluster of RPs in the region of P – $\\dot{P}$ diagram where descendants of Calvera-like CCOs evolve in our model. We also estimate that they have a very low birth rate, and therefore their immediate descendants may not currently exist in our Galaxy.