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Title

Populating the galaxy with pulsars I: stellar and binary evolution

Author(s)

Kiel, Paul D.;  Hurley, Jarrod R.;  Bailes, Matthew;  Murray, James R.

Abstract

The computation of theoretical pulsar populations has been a major component of pulsar studies since the 1970s.However, the majority of pulsar population synthesis has only regarded isolated pulsar evolution. Those that have examined pulsar evolution within binary systems tend to either treat binary evolution poorly or evolve the pulsar population in an ad hoc manner. Thus, no complete and direct comparison with observations of the pulsar population within the Galactic disc has been possible to date. Described here is the first component of what will be a complete synthetic pulsar population survey code. This component is used to evolve both isolated and binary pulsars. Synthetic observational surveys can then be performed on this population for a variety of radio telescopes. The final tool used for completing this work will be a code comprised of three components: stellar/binary evolution, Galactic kinematics and survey selection effects. Results provided here support the need for further (apparent) pulsar magnetic field decay during accretion, while they conversely suggest the need for a re-evaluation of the assumed typical millisecond pulsar formation process. Results also focus on reproducing the observed P ˙P diagram for Galactic pulsars and how this precludes short time-scales for standard pulsar exponential magnetic field decay. Finally, comparisons of bulk pulsar population characteristics are made to observations displaying the predictive power of this code, while we also show that under standard binary evolutionary assumption binary pulsars may accrete much mass.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing

Source

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 388, no. 1 (Jul 2008), pp. 393-415

Publication year

2008

FOR Code(s)

0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences;  020104 Galactic Astronomy

Keyword(s)

Accreting neutron stars;  Close binaries;  Collapse supernova mechanism;  Common envelope evolution;  Core collapse;  Crustal plate-tectonics;  Electron-capture;  Evolution;  Magnetic field evolution;  Millisecond radio pulsars;  Neutron stars;  Radiation pair fronts;  Stars;  Stellar content;  Supernovae;  X-ray binaries

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing

ISSN

0035-8711

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13402.x

Copyright

Copyright © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation. Copyright © 2008 Royal Astronomical Society. Author's final draft reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Full text

Peer reviewed