Braking index of isolated uniformly rotating magnetized pulsars

Isolated pulsars are rotating neutron stars with accurately measured angular velocities \(\Omega\), and their time derivatives which show unambiguously that the pulsars are slowing down. Although the exact mechanism of the spin-down is a question of debate in detail, the commonly accepted view is that it arises through emission of magnetic dipole radiation (MDR) from a rotating magnetized body. Other processes, including the emission of gravitational radiation, and of relativistic particles (pulsar wind), are also being considered. The calculated energy loss by a rotating pulsar with a constant moment of inertia is assumed proportional to a model dependent power of \(\Omega\). This relation leads to the power law \(\dot{\Omega}\) = -K \(\Omega^{\rm n}\) where \(n\) is called the braking index. The MDR model predicts \(n\) exactly equal to 3. Selected observations of isolated pulsars provide rather precise values of \(n\), individually accurate to a few percent or better, in the range 1\(