Post-Outburst Radio Observations of the High Magnetic Field Pulsar PSR J1119-6127

Abstract

We have carried out high-frequency radio observations of the high magnetic field pulsar PSRJ1119-6127 following its recent X-ray outburst. While initial observations showed no evidence of significant radio emission, subsequent observations detected pulsed emission across a large frequency band. In this Letter, we report on the initial disappearance of the pulsed emission and its prompt reactivation and dramatic evolution over several months of observation. The periodic pulse profile at S-band (2.3 GHz) after reactivation exhibits a multi-component emission structure, while the simultaneous X-band (8.4 GHz) profile shows a single emission peak. Single pulses were also detected at S-band near the main emission peaks. We present measurements of the spectral index across a wide frequency bandwidth, which captures the underlying changes in the radio emission profile of the neutron star. The high-frequency radio detection, unusual emission profile, and observed variability suggest similarities with magnetars, which may independently link the high-energy outbursts to magnetar-like behavior.

PSR J1119–6127 and Its Pulsar Wind Nebula Following the Magnetar-like Bursts

“…On the other hand, the pulsed radio emission from PSR J1119-6127 disappeared after the onset of magnetar-like bursts, but reappeared two weeks later (Burgay et al 2016a(Burgay et al , 2016bMajid et al 2017). Using the Fermi Large Area Telescope data obtained from 2016 July 27-August 12, reported the lack of detection of γ-ray pulsations and derived an upper limit, consistent with the measured pre-burst γ-ray flux of the pulsar.…”

The state of magnetars

“…Morever, pulsed radio emission of the source was suddenly interrupted for two weeks before it resumed (Burgay et al 2016). After reappearance of the pulsed emission in radio, multi-component emission structures were detected (Majid et al 2017), indicating that similar to the 2007 glitch ant its aftermath, the 2016 activity also caused changes in the radiative behavior of the source.…”

Observations of Radio Magnetars with the Deep Space Network

“…After this period, the pulsar was intermittently monitored. Several of these observations are described in detail in Majid et al [32], and additional results will be presented in an upcoming paper by Pearlman et al [47].…”

“…The observations were made using simultaneous S/X-band receivers. The data processing steps and observational setup were described in detail by Ma-jid et al [32]. The details of this monitoring campaign will be presented in Pearlman et al [46].…”

“…The morphology of these pulses can also change substantially between rotations (e.g., [6,18]). Irregular timing be-havior, including glitches (sudden increases in the pulsar's rotation frequency), is also commonly observed from radio magnetars (e.g., [13,20,21,[23][24][25][26]), and their radio emission has been reported to episodically disappear and suddenly reactivate [21,[27][28][29][30][31][32]. Radio active and quiescent magnetars can also emit short X-ray bursts [25,[33][34][35].…”