On the Transition Stage of Pulsar Pulsed Radio Emission and Its Potential Association with Radio Pulsar Nulling

Abstract

While the precise mechanism of generating pulsed coherent radio emission from pulsars remains elusive, certain gap-invoking models (especially, the inner gap model) offer a comprehensive and plausible explanation for the genesis and termination of such emissions. However, the transition stage between the period of persistent radio emission and the period of radio-quiet emission remains poorly understood, despite observations indicating that a radio pulsar in the pulse-nulling state is undergoing the transition stage. In this study, we present a qualitative explanation for the elusive transition stage by modeling pulsar magnetospheres analytically as equivalent resistive–capacitive circuits based on the inner gap model. Our result indicates that, due to lengthy spin-down, older radio pulsars will gradually shift from the state of persistent radio emission to a certain type of pulse-nulling state by delayed sparks within their inner gaps.