LOFAR Observations of the Mode-Switching Pulsar B0943+10

Abstract

PSR B0943+10 is an old non-recycled pulsar which for decades has been mostly known for its rapid and spontaneous radio mode switching. Recently, Hermsen et al. (2013) discovered correlated changes in the thermal X-ray emission from the polar cap, thus demonstrating that radio modes are not just a product of the local changes in the radio emission region, but a sign of some global magnetospheric transformation. At about the same time, owing to the commissioning of the new generation of low-frequency radio ar…