The extreme radio emission of PSR B0656+14 -- Is B0656+14 a very nearby rotating radio transient?

Abstract

We present a detailed study of the single radio pulses of PSR B0656+14. The emission can be characterized by two separate populations of pulses: bright pulses have a narrow ``spiky'' appearance in contrast to the underlying weaker broad pulses. The shape of the pulse profile requires an unusually long timescale to achieve stability (over 25,000 pulses at 327 MHz) caused by spiky emission. The extreme peak-fluxes of the brightest of these pulses indicates that PSR B0656+14, were it not so near, could only have been discovered as an RRAT source. The strongest bursts represent pulses from the bright end of an extended smooth pulse-energy distribution, which is unlike giant pulses, giant micropulses or the pulses of normal pulsars. Longer observations of the RRATs may reveal that they, like PSR B0656+14, emit weaker emission in addition to the bursts.