Neutron stars (NSs) emitting continuous gravitational waves may be regarded as gravitational pulsars, in the sense that it could be possible to track the evolution of their rotational period with long-baseline observations of next-generation gravitational wave (GW) interferometers. Assuming that the pulsar’s electromagnetic signal is tracked and allows us to monitor the pulsar’s spin evolution, we provide a physical interpretation of the possible observed correlation between this timing solution and its gravitational counterpart, if the system is also detected in GWs. In particular, we show that next-generation detectors, such as the Einstein Telescope, could have the sensitivity to discern different models for the coupling between the superfluid and normal components of the NS and constrain the origin of timing noise (whether due to magnetospheric or internal processes). Observational confirmation of one of the proposed scenarios would therefore provide valuable information on the physics of GW emission from pulsars.
