Possible Evidence for Pulsed X‐Ray Emission from the Outer Gap in PSR B1937+21

Abstract

The fastest millisecond pulsar PSR B1937+21 presents an interpulse separated from the main pulse by nearly 180° at radio frequencies. Recently, the ASCA observations detected pulsed X-ray emission from this pulsar. Only a single narrow X-ray pulse is observed, which is coincident with the radio interpulse in phase. We investigate the possible origin of the pulsed X-rays from the polar cap (PC) accelerators or the outer gap (OG) accelerators in the frame of a PC model and an OG model, respectively, by assuming a dipolar magnetic field structure and the same radio emission pattern from its poles for the pulsar. The OG model can naturally explain the main observational facts. For the PC model, the coincidence between the X-ray pulse and the radio interpulse cannot be reproduced in the assumed case. However, when considering possible deviation from our assumption, the PC model may still be valid for this pulsar in some cases.