Thermal X-ray pulses resulting from pulsar glitches

Abstract

The non-spherically symmetric transport equations and exact thermal evolution model are used to calculate the transient thermal response to pulsar glitches. The three possible forms of energy release from glitches, namely, the "shell," "ring," and "spot" cases, are compared. The X-ray light curves resulting from the thermal response to the glitches are calculated. Only the "spot" case and the "ring" case are considered because the "shell" case does not produce significant modulative X-rays. The magnetic field (B) effect, the relativistic light-bending effect, and the rotational effect on the photons being emitted in a finite region are considered. Different sets of parameters result in different evolution patterns of light curves. We find that this modulated thermal X-ray radiation resulting from glitches may provide some useful constraints on glitch models.