Previous
abstract 
Next
abstract
Pulsars spin--down over their lifetimes due to electromagnetic torques. However, pulsar glitches are observed that rapidly spin--up the pulsar and release $\sim 10^{38}$ to $10^{43}$ ergs in the process. This energy may be released as thermal energy that heats up a section of the crust. This thermal afterglow of the glitch could change the x--ray pulse shape. ROSAT observations of x--ray pulsed neutron stars may be able to show changes in the pulse shape due to thermal afterglow from a glitch over a period of weeks or months. Detecting thermal afterglow from a pulsar glitch would provide valuable clues into the internal structure of neutron stars and the mechanism by which the pulsars glitch. We examined PSR0656+14 and the Vela pulsar to put limits on the change of their pulse shape over the observed times. We have also run Monte Carlo simulations of this thermal afterglow effect to distinguish the magnitude of detectable changes to the pulse shape.
