The slow rise and recovery of the 2019 Crab pulsar glitch

Abstract

We present updated measurements of the Crab pulsar glitch of 2019 July 23 using a dataset of pulse arrival times spanning ∼5 months. On MJD 58687, the pulsar underwent its seventh largest glitch observed to date, characterised by an instantaneous spin-up of ∼1 𝜇Hz. Following the glitch the pulsar's rotation frequency relaxed exponentially towards pre-glitch values over a timescale of approximately one week, resulting in a permanent frequency increment of ∼0.5 𝜇Hz. Due to our semi-continuous monitoring of the Crab pulsar, we were able to partially resolve a fraction of the total spin-up. This delayed spin-up occurred exponentially over a timescale of ∼18 hours. This is the sixth Crab pulsar glitch for which part of the initial rise was resolved in time and this phenomenon has not been observed in any other glitching pulsars, offering a unique opportunity to study the microphysical processes governing interactions between the neutron star interior and the crust.