Neutron Stars Neutron Stars Recall that one of the possible endpoints of stellar evolution is a neutron star. Furthermore, there is evidence for the existence of a neutron star . Individual pulses are rather messy. Pulses repeat at very regular intervals.
Rotation seems a sensible guess.
The surface of the the pulsar can't be moving any faster than the speed of light. With a size less than 80 km, it is too small to be a white dwarf. Black holes don't really have surfaces that could be rotating. This leaves neutron stars as the only possibility. Also recall that, at least theoretically, a type II supernova explosion leaves a massive core of neutrons behind.