On Braking Mechanisms in Radio Pulsars.

The dependence dP/dt(P) is analyzed for three groups of pulsars with different period values: P > 2 s, 0.1 s < P < 2 s, and P < 0.1 s. Under the assumption of a slow decay of the magnetic field of neutron stars during their evolution, as well as the slow change in the angle between its magnetic moment and the rotation axis, we carried out the comparison of observed dependencies dP/dt(P) and the predictions of various models of slowing down the rotation of the pulsar. It is shown that long-period pulsars are braked by losses of the angular momentum by the accelerated particles (the pulsar wind). The mean value of the wind power Lp = 2.3 × 1030 erg/s is needed to explain the observed statistical dependence. For pulsars with intermediate values of the period, it is necessary to take into account the joint action of magnetic dipole radiation and the pulsar wind. Pulsars with P < 0.1 s are divided into three non-overlapping groups: P < 10 ms, P = 10–100 ms at dP/dt < 10–16 and P = 10–100 ms for dP/dt > 10–16. In the first of them, the magnetic dipole braking and the pulsar wind work together with the predominance of the first mechanism. The slowing down of rotation in the second group is caused by a pulsar wind, in the third one by magnetic dipole radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]