Affiliation:
1. University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank Centre of Astrophysics, Alan Turing Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
2. CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
Abstract
Abstract
We establish that for PSR B0031−07 the orthogonal polarization modes switch at a single pulse level synchronously with the periodic drifting subpulses seen in total intensity. There are only four other pulsars known for which this phenomenon is observed. PSR B0031−07 is unique as it is the only source in this group which has multiple stable drift modes. For both drift modes visible at our observing frequency centered at 1369 MHz, the modulation of polarization modes is synchronous with the drifting subpulses. In one of the drift modes, a discontinuity in the modulation pattern of polarization properties occurs halfway through the pulse, coinciding with a slight change in the slope of the intensity drift band. In contrast to what has been suggested for this pulsar in the past, this, plus other differences in the polarization of the modulated emission observed for the two drift modes, suggests that a drift mode change is more than a change in the underlying carousel radius and that magnetospheric propagation effects play an important role. The ellipticity evolves asymmetrically in time during the modulation cycle, which in the framework of a carousel model implies that the polarized sub-beams are asymmetric with respect to the sense of circulation, something which is not observed for other pulsars. Birefringence in the magnetosphere, resulting in the orthogonal polarization modes to spatially separate, is not enough to explain these results. It is argued that more complex magnetospheric processes, which possibly allow conversion between orthogonal polarization modes, play a role.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cited by
11 articles.
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