A New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered Pulsars

To date, over 4000 pulsars have been detected. In this study, we identify 231 X-ray counterparts of Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsars by performing a spatial cross match across the Chandra, XMM-Newton observational catalogs. This data set represents the largest sample of X-ray cou...

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Main Authors: Yu-Jing Xu, Han-Long Peng, Shan-Shan Weng, Xiao Zhang, Ming-Yu Ge
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adaebc
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author Yu-Jing Xu
Han-Long Peng
Shan-Shan Weng
Xiao Zhang
Ming-Yu Ge
author_facet Yu-Jing Xu
Han-Long Peng
Shan-Shan Weng
Xiao Zhang
Ming-Yu Ge
author_sort Yu-Jing Xu
collection DOAJ
description To date, over 4000 pulsars have been detected. In this study, we identify 231 X-ray counterparts of Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsars by performing a spatial cross match across the Chandra, XMM-Newton observational catalogs. This data set represents the largest sample of X-ray counterparts ever compiled, including 98 normal pulsars (NPs) and 133 millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Based on this significantly expanded sample, we re-establish the correlation between X-ray luminosity and spin-down power, given by ${L}_{{\rm{X}}}\propto {\dot{E}}^{0.85\pm 0.05}$ across the whole X-ray band. The strong correlation is also observed in hard X-ray band, while in soft X-ray band there is no significant correlation. Furthermore, L _X shows a strong correlation with spin period and characteristic age for NPs. For the first time, we observe a strongly positive correlation between L _X and the light cylinder magnetic field ( B _lc ) for MSPs, with both NPs and MSPs following the relationship ${L}_{{\rm{X}}}\propto {B}_{{\rm{lc}}}^{1.14}$ , consistent with the outer-gap model of pulsars that explains the mechanism of X-ray emission. Additionally, we investigate potential X-ray counterparts for Galactic Plane Pulsar Snapshot pulsars, finding a lower likelihood of detection compared to ATNF pulsars.
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spelling doaj-art-aef9ed3302fb42888abad839a156ee2e2025-08-20T03:00:50ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01981210010.3847/1538-4357/adaebcA New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered PulsarsYu-Jing Xu0https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3830-9650Han-Long Peng1https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8477-8744Shan-Shan Weng2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7595-1458Xiao Zhang3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9392-547XMing-Yu Ge4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2749-6638Department of Astronomy, Xiamen University , Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; School of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China ; wengss@njnu.edu.cnSchool of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China ; wengss@njnu.edu.cnSchool of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China ; wengss@njnu.edu.cn; Institute of Physics Frontiers and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China ; wengss@njnu.edu.cn; Institute of Physics Frontiers and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaTo date, over 4000 pulsars have been detected. In this study, we identify 231 X-ray counterparts of Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsars by performing a spatial cross match across the Chandra, XMM-Newton observational catalogs. This data set represents the largest sample of X-ray counterparts ever compiled, including 98 normal pulsars (NPs) and 133 millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Based on this significantly expanded sample, we re-establish the correlation between X-ray luminosity and spin-down power, given by ${L}_{{\rm{X}}}\propto {\dot{E}}^{0.85\pm 0.05}$ across the whole X-ray band. The strong correlation is also observed in hard X-ray band, while in soft X-ray band there is no significant correlation. Furthermore, L _X shows a strong correlation with spin period and characteristic age for NPs. For the first time, we observe a strongly positive correlation between L _X and the light cylinder magnetic field ( B _lc ) for MSPs, with both NPs and MSPs following the relationship ${L}_{{\rm{X}}}\propto {B}_{{\rm{lc}}}^{1.14}$ , consistent with the outer-gap model of pulsars that explains the mechanism of X-ray emission. Additionally, we investigate potential X-ray counterparts for Galactic Plane Pulsar Snapshot pulsars, finding a lower likelihood of detection compared to ATNF pulsars.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adaebcPulsarsRotation powered pulsarsNeutron stars
spellingShingle Yu-Jing Xu
Han-Long Peng
Shan-Shan Weng
Xiao Zhang
Ming-Yu Ge
A New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered Pulsars
The Astrophysical Journal
Pulsars
Rotation powered pulsars
Neutron stars
title A New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered Pulsars
title_full A New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered Pulsars
title_fullStr A New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered Pulsars
title_full_unstemmed A New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered Pulsars
title_short A New X-Ray Census of Rotation Powered Pulsars
title_sort new x ray census of rotation powered pulsars
topic Pulsars
Rotation powered pulsars
Neutron stars
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adaebc
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