# Discovery of a Spin-down State Change in the LMC Pulsar B0540-69

Abstract : We report the discovery of a large, sudden, and persistent increase in the spin-down rate of B0540-69, a young pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud, using observations from the Swift and RXTE satellites. The relative increase in the spin-down rate $\dot{\nu }$ of 36% is unprecedented for B0540-69. No accompanying change in the spin rate is seen, and no change is seen in the pulsed X-ray emission from B0540-69 following the change in the spin-down rate. Such large relative changes in the spin-down rate are seen in the recently discovered class of "intermittent pulsars," and we compare the properties of B0540-69 to such pulsars. We consider possible changes in the magnetosphere of the pulsar that could cause such a large change in the spin-down rate.
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Journal articles

Cited literature [15 references]

https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01182158
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Submitted on : Thursday, June 9, 2016 - 2:09:33 PM
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apjl_807_2_L27.pdf
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### Citation

F. E. Marshall, Lucas Guillemot, A. K. Harding, P. Martin, D. A. Smith. Discovery of a Spin-down State Change in the LMC Pulsar B0540-69. The Astrophysical journal letters, Bristol : IOP Publishing, 2015, 807 (2), pp.L27. ⟨10.1088/2041-8205/807/2/L27⟩. ⟨insu-01182158⟩

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