Multifrequency Study on the Mode Switching of PSR J0614+2229

Abstract

The mode switching phenomenon of PSR J0614+2229 was studied using the archived observations at 686, 1369, and 3100 MHz with the Parkes radio telescope that have not been published before, and combining existing observations from the literature. Over a wide frequency range from 327 to 3100 MHz, the pulsar switches between one mode occurring earlier in pulse phase (mode A) and the other mode appearing later in phase (mode B), with a generally frequency-independent phase offset between their profile peaks. The two modes are found to be different in the following aspects. (1) Mode A has a flatter spectrum than mode B, with a difference in the spectral index of about 0.5. This accounts for the phenomenon that the flux ratio between the modes A and B increases with frequency, and mode A becomes stronger than mode B above ∼500 MHz. (2) For mode B, the flux density of the subintegrated profile is anticorrelated with the emission phase, indicating that the emission from earlier phases is relatively stronger than that from later phases; such an anticorrelation is not observed in mode A. (3) The frequency dependence of the FWHM of the two modes are opposite each other; namely, the FWHM of mode A increases with frequency, while that of mode B decreases with frequency. A possible interpretation is suggested: the longitudinal spectral variation across the two beams may be opposites of each other.