TYPES OF STAR STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z           HOME ABOUT CATEGORIES SITE MAP COPYRIGHT ADVERTISE CONTACT entire Web this site pulsar The powerful magnetic field of a pulsar directs two narrow beams of radiation into space The lighthouse beam action of a pulsar Artist's impression of a millisecond pulsar. Isolated pulsars gradually slow their spins, but the opposite happens if the pulsar is joined by a companion star as part of a binary system. Gas accreted from the star can force the pulsar to spin faster, resulting in rotation periods of just a few milliseconds. Credit: NASA/Dana Berry A new class of gamma-ray-only pulsars shows that the gamma rays must form in a broader region than the lighthouse-like radio beam. In this illustration, the pulsar's radio beams (green) never intersect Earth, but its pulsed gamma rays (magenta) do. Credit: NASA/Fermi/Cruz deWilde A fast-spinning, highly magnetized neutron star, formed (in most cases) following a supernova explosion, that sends out regular directional pulses of radiation as it rotates, in the manner of a lighthouse beam; the pulsar effect is seen if the beam happens to sweep in our direction. Pulsars were found originally at radio wavelengths but have since been observed at optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray energies; the first was discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. About 1,800 pulsars are known. Pulses and pulse periods The emission comes from the acceleration of electrons to near-light speed above the pulsar's magnetic poles, which are displaced from the object's geographic poles. Pulses last on the order of microseconds, while the interval between pulses, known as the pulse period, is typically 0.25 to 2 seconds, but can be short as 1 to 10 milliseconds in the case of millisecond pulsars. The pulse period gradually lengthens as the neutron star loses rotational energy, though some young pulsars are prone to glitches, probably due to starquakes, when period abruptly changes. Precise timing pulses has revealed the existence of binary pulsars and of two pulsars that have sets of planet-sized companions (see pulsar planets). Millisecond pulsars The discovery of millisecond pulsars, with pulse periods of less than 10 ms (the record holder is PSR 1937+21, also the first to be found, with a period of 1.56 ms) was initially puzzling. The reason for this is that the youngest known pulsar is the one in the Crab pulsar with a period of 33 ms. Since pulsars slow down with age, how could older pulsars have shorter periods? The answer seems to be that millisecond pulsars have been "spun up," thereby becoming what are called recycled pulsars, by the transfer of matter from a companion. Almost all the 90 or so known millisecond pulsars have been found to be part of binary systems in which the partner is a white dwarf, the presumption being that the pulsars was rejuvenated by matter transfer while their companions were still in the red dwarf phase. Pulsars from white dwarfs Although most pulsars are thought to form during supernovae, mounting evidence suggests that some originate as white dwarfs. Matter transfer is again the underlying phenomenon at work. If a white dwarf acquires enough mass from a close companion and doesn't somehow manage to get rid of it, as in a nova outburst, for example, it will eventually collapse to become a neutron star and may be seen as a pulsar. Gamma rays from pulsars The fact that, until recently, most studies of pulsars had been carried out at radio wavelengths tended to color our understanding of these objects. In fact, of all the energy radiated by a typical pulsar across the electromagnetic spectrum only a few parts per million is in the radio wave region. Much more of the pulsar's energy – around 10% – is given off in the form of gamma rays. Detection and observation of pulsars in this shortest-wavelength part of the spectrum has now become much easier thanks to orbiting observatories such as the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly known as GLAST). It used to be thought that the gamma rays emerged near the neutron star's surface from the polar cap, which is where the radio beams form. However, recent observations of the gamma-ray emission of pulsars, and the discovery of a new class of gamma-ray-only pulsars, has changed this view. Astronomers now believe the pulsed gamma rays arise far above the neutron star. Particles produce gamma rays as they accelerate along arcs of open magnetic field. For the Vela pulsar, for example, the brightest persistent gamma-ray source in the sky, the emission region is thought to lie about 480km (300 miles) from the star, which is only 32km (20 miles) across. Existing models place the gamma-ray emission along the boundary between open and closed magnetic field lines. One version starts at high altitudes; the other implies emission from the star's surface all the way out. Future observations will hopefully determine which of these scenarios is correct. Because rotation powers their emissions, isolated pulsars slow as they age. The 10,000-year-old CTA 1 pulsar, which the Fermi Space Telescope team announced in October 2008, slows by about a second every 87,000 years. Fermi also picked up pulsed gamma rays from seven millisecond pulsars. Related entries    • Crab Nebula and pulsar    • pulsar planets    • pulsar timing noise    • variable stars Related categories    • TYPES OF STARS    • STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS Also on this site: Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living Encyclopedia of History Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site) BACK TO TOP