High Magnetic Field Rotation-powered Pulsars

Understand

Anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters have recently emerged as a unified class of neutron stars, identified by dramatic X-ray and gamma-ray outbursts and via luminous X-ray pulsations, both thought to be powered by the decay of an enormous internal magnetic field.

• This "magnetar" hypothesis has raised the question of these objects' physical relationship with conventional rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs).
• The highest magnetic-field RPPs might therefore be expected to be transition objects between the two populations.
• The recently reported magnetar-like outburst of PSR J1846-0258, previously thought to be purely rotation-powered, clearly supports this suggestion.