21 years of Timing PSR B1509-58

Abstract

We present an updated timing solution for the young, energetic pulsar PSR B1509-58 based on 21.3 years of radio timing data and 7.6 years of X-ray timing data. No glitches have occurred in this time span, in contrast to other well-studied young pulsars, which show frequent glitches. We report a measurement of the third frequency derivative of (-1.28+/-0.21)x10^(-31) s^(-4). This value is 1.65 standard deviations from, i.e. consistent with, that predicted by the simple constant magnetic dipole model of pulsar spin-down. We measured the braking index to be n=2.839+/-0.003 and show that it varies by 1.5% over 21.3 yr due to contamination from timing noise. Results of a low-resolution power spectral analysis of the significant noise apparent in the data yield a spectral index of alpha=-4.6+/-1.0 for the red noise component.