Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer Absolute Timing Results for the Pulsars B1821–24 and B1509–58

Observations with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer and the Jodrell Bank, Parkes, and Green Bank telescopes have enabled us to determine the time delay between radio and X-ray pulses in the two isolated pulsars B1821-24 and B1509-58. For the former we find that the narrow X-ray and radio pulse components are close to being coincident in time, with the radio peak leading by 0.02 period (60 ± 20 μs), while the wide X-ray pulse component lags the last of the two wider radio components by about 0.08 period. For the latter pulsar we find, using the standard value for the dispersion measure, that the X-ray pulse lags the radio by about 0.27 period, with no evidence for any energy dependence in the range 2-100 keV. However, uncertainties in the history of the dispersion measure for this pulsar make a comparison to previous results difficult. It is clear that there are no perceptible variations in either the lag or the dispersion measure at timescales of a year or less.