[FreedomCalls]

Thank you. That makes more sense. But what is there in the observations to indicate that the observed flicker is correlated to the pulsar's rotation? If it is gasses that are drawn into the pulsar's gravity, then it will spiral down at a faster rotational speed than the pulsar rotates just like a satellite orbits the earth at a faster rate than the earth's rotation. Does the flicker always stay the same rate for each pulsar -- never varying?

[Batrachian]

What correlates the x-ray flash to the precise rate of rotation of the pulsar is that the flash emanates from a thermonuclear explosion that is understood to occur on the surface of the pulsar, in a fixed spot on the ground, not in space near the pulsar or in it's "atmosphere". It's just like a spotlight on Earth, in a sense. As for the rotation of the pulsar varying, it has long been known that they slow down over time, infinitesimally to be sure, but never the less they do wind down due to friction with surrounding gasses, as well as from gravitational effects. Measurement of the Crab pulsar, the first ever discovered, has proven this.