The First Glitch in a CCO Pulsar

CCO PULSARS ARE STABLE ROTATORS WITH WEAK DIPOLE MAGNETIC FIELDS AND SMALL SPIN-DOWN RATES. OLD RADIO PULSARS WITH SIMILAR SPIN PARAMETERS AS CCOS ARE NEVER SEEN TO GLITCH. HOWEVER THE CCOS ARE MUCH YOUNGER THAN THEIR TIMING AGES AND WE HAVE DISCOVERED THE FIRST CCO GLITCH IN OUR XMM-NEWTON MONITORING OF LE 1207.4-5209. CCOS ARE THEORIZED TO HAVE STRONG BURIED CRUSTAL MAGNETIC FIELDS THAT WILL DIFFUSE OUT IN>1 MYR. OUR DISCOVERY THEREFORE SUPPORTS A RECENT CONJECTURE THAT GLITCHES COULD BE TRIGGERED BY THE DIFFUSION OF STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS. WE HAVE BEEN GRANTED XMM-NEWTON TIME TO CONTINUE THE X-RAY TIMING OF LE 1207_4:-5209 POST-GLITCH TO DETERMINE A DEFINITE VALUE FOR THE MAGNITUDE OF ITS FREQUENCY CHANGE AND TO TEST FOR ANY CHANGE IN FREQUENCY DERIVATIVE THAT COULD BE INDICATIVE OF GROWTH OF ITS DIPOLE FIELD. THE GOAL AS OUTLINED IN THE PROPOSAL IS TO DETERMINE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE GLITCH WHICH IS STILL UNCERTAIN AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TO TEST FOR A CHANGE IN THE SURFACE MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH BY MEASURING THE POST-GLITCH FREQUENCY DERIVATIVE. IF THERE IS ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN GLITCHES AND THE BURIAL AND DIFFUSION OF CRUSTAL MAGNETIC FIELDS THE CCOS ARE THE EXTREME EXAMPLES IN WHICH A RAPID INCREASE IN B S IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR. THE NEXT GOAL AFTER MEASURING THE POST-GLITCH FREQUENCY IS TO CONTINUE THE TIMING LONG ENOUGH TO MEASURE A REVISED FREQUENCY DERIVATIVE WHICH IS ALSO CHANGED BY A GLITCH.