Why the distance of PSR J0218+4232 does not challenge pulsar emission theories

Understand

Recent VLBI measurements of the astrometric parameters of the millisecond pulsar J0218+4232 by Du et al.

• have suggested this pulsar is as distant as 6.3 kpc.
• At such a large distance, the large {\gamma}-ray flux observed from this pulsar would make it the most luminous {\gamma}-ray pulsar known.
• This luminosity would exceed what can be explained by the outer gap and slot-gap pulsar emission models, potentially placing important and otherwise elusive constraints on the pulsar emission mechanism.