Newly Commissioned Green Bank Telescope Bags New Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-01-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's newly commissioned Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) have discovered a windfall of three previously undetected millisecond pulsars in a dense cluster of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Green Bank Telescope The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope "This globular cluster, known as Messier 62, has been very well studied, and it would have been an exciting discovery to find just one new pulsar. The fact that we were able to detect three new pulsars at one time is simply remarkable," said Bryan Jacoby, a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology who led the research team. Results of the discovery were recently announced in an International Astronomical Union Circular. Jacoby and his colleague Adam Chandler, also a graduate student at Caltech, used the GBT to search for new pulsars in addition to the three already known in this cluster. Their research was part of the GBT's Early Science Program, which allows scientific investigations during the testing and commissioning of the telescope. The researchers used the Berkeley-Caltech Pulsar Machine, a new instrument whose development was overseen by Donald Backer at the University of California at Berkeley, to process the signals from the GBT and record them for later analysis. After their data were analyzed, the researchers discovered the telltale signatures of three additional pulsars and their white dwarf companion stars. Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit intense beams of radio waves along their misaligned magnetic axes. When these beams intersect the Earth, we see the pulsar flash on and off. Due to their exquisitely steady rotation, pulsars allow astronomers to study the basic laws of physics and the ways in which these dense clusters and exotic stellar systems are formed. Astronomers study globular clusters because they are among the oldest building blocks of our Galaxy. With their very dense stellar populations, these clusters are breeding grounds for unusual binary star systems, like the ones detected by the researchers. All three pulsars are known as "millisecond pulsars" because they make one complete rotation in only a few thousandths of a second. One of these newly discovered pulsars spins at approximately 440 rotations per second, and the other two both spin about 300 times per second. All are orbited by white dwarfs with orbital periods ranging from 4 to 27 hours. "This discovery demonstrates the remarkable sensitivity of the Green Bank Telescope," said Phil Jewell, site director for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, W.Va. "The fact that these pulsars were never before detected in this highly studied area of the Galaxy shows that the GBT has outstanding capabilities and will be an important tool for astronomers to make very precise, very sensitive observations of the Universe. The GBT is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. It was dedicated on August 25, 2000, after nearly 10 years of construction. Since that time, engineers and scientists at the NRAO in Green Bank have been testing the telescope and outfitting it with the sensitive receivers and electronics that will make it one of the world's premier astronomical instruments. "As a graduate student," said Jacoby "this discovery was particularly satisfying, and I feel privileged to be part of the history of the Green Bank Telescope." Shrinivas Kulkarni, the Caltech faculty advisor for this project, remarked, "it is very satisfying to see such discoveries being made by young people. GBT is poised to play a significant role in the education of young astronomers." The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

PINT, a New Pulsar Timing Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Jing; Jenet, Fredrick A.; Ransom, Scott M.; Demorest, Paul; Van Haasteren, Rutger; Archibald, Anne

2015-01-01

We are presenting a new pulsar timing software PINT. The current pulsar timing group are heavily depending on Tempo/Tempo2, a package for analysis pulsar data. However, for a high accuracy pulsar timing related project, such as pulsar timing for gravitational waves, an alternative software is needed for the purpose of examing the results. We are developing a Tempo independent software with a different structure. Different modules is designed to be more isolated and easier to be expanded. Instead of C, we are using Python as our programming language for the advantage of flexibility and powerful docstring. Here, we are presenting the detailed design and the first result of the software.

Assessing the effects of timing irregularities on radio pulsars anomalous braking indices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chukwude, A. E.; Chidi Odo, Finbarr

2016-10-01

We investigate the statistical effects of non-discrete timing irregularities on observed radio pulsar braking indices using correlations between the second derivative of the measured anomalous frequency (̈νobs) and some parameters that have been widely used to quantify pulsar timing fluctuations (the timing activity parameter (A), the amount of timing fluctuations absorbed by the cubic term (σR23) and a measure of pulsar rotational stability (σz)) in a large sample of 366 Jodrell Bank Observatory radio pulsars. The result demonstrates that anomalous braking indices are largely artifacts produced by aggregations of fluctuations that occur within or outside the pulsar system. For a subsample of 223 normal radio pulsars whose observed timing activity appeared consistent with instabilities in rotation of the underlying neutron stars (or timing noise) over timescales of ˜ 10 - 40 yr, |̈νobs| strongly correlates (with correlation coefficient |r| ˜ 0.80 - 0.90) with the pulsar timing activity parameters and spin-down properties. On the other hand, no meaningful correlations (r < 0.3) were found between ̈νobs and the timing activity diagnostics and spin-down parameters in the remaining 143 objects, whose timing activity appears significantly dominated by white noise fluctuations. The current result can be better understood if the timing noise in isolated pulsars originates from intrinsic spin-down processes of the underlying neutron stars, but white noise fluctuations largely arise from processes external to the pulsar system.

The NANOGrav Eleven-Year Data Set: High-precision timing of 48 Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nice, David J.; NANOGrav

2017-01-01

Gravitational waves from sources such as supermassive black hole binary systems perturb times-of-flight of signals traveling from pulsars to the Earth. The NANOGrav collaboration aims to measure these perturbations in high precision millisecond pulsar timing data and thus to directly detect gravitational waves and characterize the gravitational wave sources. By observing pulsars over time spans of many years, we are most sensitive to gravitational waves at nanohertz frequencies. This work is complimentary to ground based detectors such as LIGO, which are sensitive to gravitational waves with frequencies 10 orders of magnitude higher.In this presentation we describe the NANOGrav eleven-year data set. This includes pulsar time-of-arrival measurements from 48 millisecond pulsars made with the Arecibo Observatory (for pulsars with declinations between -1 and 39 degrees) and the Green Bank Telescope (for other pulsars, with two pulsars overlapping with Arecibo). The data set consists of more than 300,000 pulse time-of-arrival measurements made in nearly 7000 unique observations (a given pulsar observed with a given telescope receiver on a given day). In the best cases, measurement precision is better than 100 nanoseconds, and in nearly all cases it is better than 1 microsecond.All pulsars in our program are observed at intervals of 3 to 4 weeks. Observations use wideband data acquisition systems and are made at two receivers at widely separated frequencies at each epoch, allowing for characterization and mitigation of the effects of interstellar medium on the signal propagation. Observation of a large number of pulsars allows for searches for correlated perturbations among the pulsar signals, which is crucial for achieving high-significance detection of gravitational waves in the face of uncorrelated noise (from gravitational waves and rotation noise) in the individual pulsars. In addition, seven pulsars are observed at weekly intervals. This increases our sensitivity to individual gravitational wave sources.

TIMING AND INTERSTELLAR SCATTERING OF 35 DISTANT PULSARS DISCOVERED IN THE PALFA SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nice, D. J.; Altiere, E.; Farrington, D.

2013-07-20

We have made extensive observations of 35 distant slow (non-recycled) pulsars discovered in the ongoing Arecibo PALFA pulsar survey. Timing observations of these pulsars over several years at Arecibo Observatory and Jodrell Bank Observatory have yielded high-precision positions and measurements of rotation properties. Despite being a relatively distant population, these pulsars have properties that mirror those of the previously known pulsar population. Many of the sources exhibit timing noise, and one underwent a small glitch. We have used multifrequency data to measure the interstellar scattering properties of these pulsars. We find scattering to be higher than predicted along some linesmore » of sight, particularly in the Cygnus region. Finally, we present XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the youngest and most energetic of the pulsars, J1856+0245, which has previously been associated with the GeV-TeV pulsar wind nebula HESS J1857+026.« less

Probing the properties of the pulsar wind via studying the dispersive effects in the pulses from the pulsar companion in a double neutron-star binary system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Shu-Xu; Cheng, K.-S.

2017-12-01

The velocity and density distribution of e± in the pulsar wind are crucial distinction among magnetosphere models, and contain key parameters determining the high-energy emission of pulsar binaries. In this work, a direct method is proposed, which might probe the properties of the wind from one pulsar in a double-pulsar binary. When the radio signals from the first-formed pulsar travel through the relativistic e± flow in the pulsar wind from the younger companion, the components of different radio frequencies will be dispersed. It will introduce an additional frequency-dependent time-of-arrival delay of pulses, which is function of the orbital phase. In this paper, we formulate the above-mentioned dispersive delay with the properties of the pulsar wind. As examples, we apply the formula to the double-pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B and the pulsar-neutron star binary PSR B1913+16. For PSR J0737-3039A/B, the time delay in 300 MHz is ≲ 10 μ s-1 near the superior conjunction, under the optimal pulsar wind parameters, which is approximately half of the current timing accuracy. For PSR B1913+16, with the assumption that the neutron-star companion has a typical spin-down luminosity of 1033 erg s-1, the time delay is as large as 10 - 20 μ s-1 in 300 MHz. The best timing precision of this pulsar is ∼ 5 μ s-1 in 1400 MHz. Therefore, it is possible that we can find this signal in archival data. Otherwise, we can set an upper limit on the spin-down luminosity. Similar analysis can be applied to other 11 known pulsar-neutron star binaries.

Prospects for high-precision pulsar timing with the new Effelsberg PSRIX backend

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazarus, P.; Karuppusamy, R.; Graikou, E.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Lee, K. J.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Kramer, M.

2016-05-01

The PSRIX backend is the primary pulsar timing instrument of the Effelsberg 100 m radio telescope since early 2011. This new ROACH-based system enables bandwidths up to 500 MHz to be recorded, significantly more than what was possible with its predecessor, the Effelsberg-Berkeley Pulsar Processor (EBPP). We review the first four years of PSRIX timing data for 33 pulsars collected as part of the monthly European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) observations. We describe the automated data analysis pipeline, COASTGUARD, that we developed to reduce these observations. We also introduce TOASTER, the EPTA timing data base, used to store timing results, processing information and observation metadata. Using these new tools, we measure the phase-averaged flux densities at 1.4 GHz of all 33 pulsars. For seven of these pulsars, our flux density measurements are the first values ever reported. For the other 26 pulsars, we compare our flux density measurements with previously published values. By comparing PSRIX data with EBPP data, we find an improvement of ˜2-5 times in signal-to-noise ratio, which translates to an increase of ˜2-5 times in pulse time-of-arrival (TOA) precision. We show that such an improvement in TOA precision will improve the sensitivity to the stochastic gravitational wave background. Finally, we showcase the flexibility of the new PSRIX backend by observing several millisecond-period pulsars (MSPs) at 5 and 9 GHz. Motivated by our detections, we discuss the potential for complementing existing pulsar timing array data sets with MSP monitoring campaigns at these higher frequencies.

Post-Outburst Observations of the Magnetically Active Pulsar J1846-0258: A New Braking Index, Increased Timing Noise, and Radiative Recovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Livingstone, Margaret A.; Ng, C.-Y.; Kaspi, Victoria M.; Gavriil, Fotis P.; Gotthelf, E. V.

2010-01-01

The approx.800yr-old pulsar J1846-0258 is a unique transition object between rotation-powered pulsars and magnetars: though behaving like a rotation-powered pulsar most of the time, in 2006 it exhibited a distinctly magnetar-like outburst accompanied by a large glitch. Here we present X-ray timing observations taken with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer over a 2.2-yr period after the X-ray outburst and glitch had recovered. We observe that the braking index of the pulsar, previously measured to be n = 2.65+/-0.01, is now n = 2.16+/-0.13, a decrease of 18+/-5%. We also note a persistent increase in the timing noise relative to the pre-outburst level. Despite the timing changes, a 2009 Chandra X-ray Observatory observation shows that the X-ray flux and spectrum of the pulsar and its wind nebula are consistent with the quiescent levels observed in 2000. Subject headings: pulsars: general pulsars: individual (PSR J1846-0258) supernovae: individual (Kes 75 X-rays: stars)

Single-Source Gravitational Wave Limits From the J1713+0747 24-hr Global Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolch, T.; NANOGrav Collaboration; Ellis, J. A.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M.; Lam, M. T.; Bassa, C.; Bhattacharyya, B.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Crowter, K.; Demorest, P. B.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Janssen, G.; Jenet, F. A.; Jones, G.; Jordan, C.; Karuppusamy, R.; Keith, M.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Lazio, T. J. W.; Lorimer, D. R.; Madison, D. R.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Palliyaguru, N.; Perrodin, D.; Ransom, S. M.; Roy, J.; Shannon, R. M.; Smits, R.; Stairs, I. H.; Stappers, B. W.; Stinebring, D. R.; Stovall, K.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Zhu, W. W.

2016-05-01

Dense, continuous pulsar timing observations over a 24-hr period provide a method for probing intermediate gravitational wave (GW) frequencies from 10 microhertz to 20 millihertz. The European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA), the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), and the combined International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) all use millisecond pulsar observations to detect or constrain GWs typically at nanohertz frequencies. In the case of the IPTA's nine-telescope 24-Hour Global Campaign on millisecond pulsar J1713+0747, GW limits in the intermediate frequency regime can be produced. The negligible change in dispersion measure during the observation minimizes red noise in the timing residuals, constraining any contributions from GWs due to individual sources. At 10-5 Hz, the 95% upper limit on strain is 10-11 for GW sources in the pulsar's direction.

Sensitivity of Pulsar Timing Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siemens, Xavier

2015-08-01

For the better part of the last decade, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has been using the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes to monitor millisecond pulsars. NANOGrav, along with similar international collaborations, the European Pulsar Timing Array and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array in Australia, form a consortium of consortia: the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). The goal of the IPTA is to directly detect low-frequency gravitational waves which cause small changes to the times of arrival of radio pulses from millisecond pulsars. In this talk I will discuss the work of NANOGrav and the IPTA as well as our sensitivity to gravitational waves from astrophysical sources. I will show that a detection is possible by the end of the decade.

An ensemble pulsar time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petit, Gerard; Thomas, Claudine; Tavella, Patrizia

1993-01-01

Millisecond pulsars are galactic objects that exhibit a very stable spinning period. Several tens of these celestial clocks have now been discovered, which opens the possibility that an average time scale may be deduced through a long-term stability algorithm. Such an ensemble average makes it possible to reduce the level of the instabilities originating from the pulsars or from other sources of noise, which are unknown but independent. The basis for such an algorithm is presented and applied to real pulsar data. It is shown that pulsar time could shortly become more stable than the present atomic time, for averaging times of a few years. Pulsar time can also be used as a flywheel to maintain the accuracy of atomic time in case of temporary failure of the primary standards, or to transfer the improved accuracy of future standards back to the present.

THE TIMING OF NINE GLOBULAR CLUSTER PULSARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lynch, Ryan S.; Freire, Paulo C. C.; Ransom, Scott M.

2012-02-01

We have used the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope to time nine previously known pulsars without published timing solutions in the globular clusters (GCs) M62, NGC 6544, and NGC 6624. We have full timing solutions that measure the spin, astrometric, and (where applicable) binary parameters for six of these pulsars. The remaining three pulsars (reported here for the first time) were not detected enough to establish solutions. We also report our timing solutions for five pulsars with previously published solutions, and find good agreement with other authors, except for PSR J1701-3006B in M62. Gas in this system is probablymore » responsible for the discrepancy in orbital parameters, and we have been able to measure a change in the orbital period over the course of our observations. Among the pulsars with new solutions we find several binary pulsars with very low mass companions (members of the so-called 'black widow' class) and we are able to place constraints on the mass-to-light ratio in two clusters. We confirm that one of the pulsars in NGC 6624 is indeed a member of the rare class of non-recycled pulsars found in GCs. We have also measured the orbital precession and Shapiro delay for a relativistic binary in NGC 6544. If we assume that the orbital precession can be described entirely by general relativity, which is likely, we are able to measure the total system mass (2.57190(73) M{sub Sun }) and companion mass (1.2064(20) M{sub Sun }), from which we derive the orbital inclination (sin i = 0.9956(14)) and the pulsar mass (1.3655(21) M{sub Sun }), the most precise such measurement ever obtained for a millisecond pulsar. The companion is the most massive known around a fully recycled pulsar.« less

Analysis of the Precision of Pulsar Time Clock Modeltwo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Cheng-shi; Tong, Ming-lei; Gao, Yu-ping; Yang, Ting-gao

2018-04-01

Millisecond pulsars have a very high rotation stability, which can be applied to many research fields, such as the establishment of the pulsar time standard, the detection of gravitational wave, the spacecraft navigation by using X-ray pulsars and so on. In this paper, we employ two millisecond pulsars PSR J0437-4715 and J1713+0743, which are observed by the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA), to analyze the precision of pulsar clock parameter and the prediction accuracy of pulse time of arrival (TOA). It is found that the uncertainty of spin frequency is 10-15 Hz, the uncertainty of the first derivative of spin frequency is 10-23 s-2, and the precision of measured rotational parameters increases by one order of magnitude with the accumulated observational data every 4∼5 years. In addition, the errors of TOAs within 4.8 yr which are predicted by the clock model established by the 10 yr data of J0437-4715 are less than 1 μs. Therefore, one can use the pulsar time standard to calibrate the atomic clock, and make the atomic time deviate from the TT (Terrestrial Time) less than 1 μs within 4.8 yr.

GMRT Galactic Plane Pulsar and Transient Survey and the Discovery of PSR J1838+1523

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surnis, Mayuresh P.; Joshi, Bhal Chandra; McLaughlin, Maura A.; Lorimer, Duncan R.; M A, Krishnakumar; Manoharan, P. K.; Naidu, Arun

2018-05-01

We report the results of a blind pulsar survey carried out with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at 325 MHz. The survey covered about 10% of the region between Galactic longitude 45° < l < 135° and Galactic latitude 1°< |b| < 10° with a dwell time of 1800 s, resulting in the detection of 28 pulsars. One of these, PSR J1838+1523, was previously unknown and has a period of 549 ms and a dispersion measure of 68 pc cm-3. We also present the timing solution of this pulsar obtained from multi-frequency timing observations carried out with the GMRT and the Ooty Radio Telescope. The measured flux density of this pulsar is 4.3±1.8 and 1.2±0.7 mJy at 325 and 610 MHz, respectively. This implies a spectral index of -2 ±0.8, thus making the expected flux density at 1.4 GHz to be about 0.2 mJy, which would be just detectable in the high frequency pulsar surveys like the Northern High Time Resolution Universe pulsar survey. This discovery underlines the importance of low frequency pulsar surveys in detecting steep spectrum pulsars, thus providing complementary coverage of the pulsar population.

PINT, A Modern Software Package for Pulsar Timing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Jing; Ransom, Scott M.; Demorest, Paul; Ray, Paul S.; Stovall, Kevin; Jenet, Fredrick; Ellis, Justin; van Haasteren, Rutger; Bachetti, Matteo; NANOGrav PINT developer team

2018-01-01

Pulsar timing, first developed decades ago, has provided an extremely wide range of knowledge about our universe. It has been responsible for many important discoveries, such as the discovery of the first exoplanet and the orbital period decay of double neutron star systems. Currently pulsar timing is the leading technique for detecting low frequency (about 10^-9 Hertz) gravitational waves (GW) using an array of pulsars as the detectors. To achieve this goal, high precision pulsar timing data, at about nanoseconds level, is required. Most high precision pulsar timing data are analyzed using the widely adopted software TEMPO/TEMPO2. But for a robust and believable GW detection, it is important to have independent software that can cross-check the result. In this poster we present the new generation pulsar timing software PINT. This package will provide a robust system to cross check high-precision timing results, completely independent of TEMPO and TEMPO2. In addition, PINT is designed to be a package that is easy to extend and modify, through use of flexible code architecture and a modern programming language, Python, with modern technology and libraries.

Detecting stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves with pulsar timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siemens, Xavier

2016-03-01

For the past decade the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has been using the Green Bank Telescope and the Arecibo Observatory to monitor millisecond pulsars. NANOGrav, along with two other international collaborations, the European Pulsar Timing Array and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array in Australia, form a consortium of consortia: the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). The goal of the IPTA is to directly detect low-frequency gravitational waves which cause small changes to the times of arrival of radio pulses from millisecond pulsars. In this talk I will discuss the work of NANOGrav and the IPTA, as well as our sensitivity to stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves. I will show that a detection of the background produced by supermassive black hole binaries is possible by the end of the decade. Supported by the NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center.

THE DISTURBANCE OF A MILLISECOND PULSAR MAGNETOSPHERE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shannon, R. M.; Kerr, M.; Dai, S.

2016-09-01

Pulsar timing has enabled some of the strongest tests of fundamental physics. Central to the technique is the assumption that the detected radio pulses can be used to accurately measure the rotation of the pulsar. Here, we report on a broadband variation in the pulse profile of the millisecond pulsar J1643−1224. A new component of emission suddenly appears in the pulse profile, decays over four months, and results in a permanently modified pulse shape. Profile variations such as these may be the origin of timing noise observed in other millisecond pulsars. The sensitivity of pulsar-timing observations to gravitational radiation canmore » be increased by accounting for this variability.« less

The High Time Resolution Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailes, Matthew; Possenti, Andrea; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Burgay, Marta; Bhat, Ramesh; Keith, Michael; Burke-Spolaor, Sarah; van Straten, Willem; Stappers, Benjamin; Bates, Samuel

2008-04-01

The Parkes multibeam surveys heralded a new era in pulsar surveys, more than doubling the number of pulsars known. However, at high time resolution, they were severely limited by the analogue backend system, which limited the volume of sky they could effectively survey to just the local 2-3 kpc. Here we propose to use a new digital backend coupled with Australia's most powerful (16 Tflop) supercomputing cluster to conduct three ambitious surveys for millisecond and relativistic pulsars with the Parkes telescope. We hope to discover over 200 new millisecond and relativistic pulsars that will define the recycled pulsar period distribution, supply pulsars for the timing array and aid in our understanding of binary evolution.

High precision pulsar timing and spin frequency second derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X. J.; Bassa, C. G.; Stappers, B. W.

2018-05-01

We investigate the impact of intrinsic, kinematic and gravitational effects on high precision pulsar timing. We present an analytical derivation and a numerical computation of the impact of these effects on the first and second derivative of the pulsar spin frequency. In addition, in the presence of white noise, we derive an expression to determine the expected measurement uncertainty of a second derivative of the spin frequency for a given timing precision, observing cadence and timing baseline and find that it strongly depends on the latter (∝t-7/2). We show that for pulsars with significant proper motion, the spin frequency second derivative is dominated by a term dependent on the radial velocity of the pulsar. Considering the data sets from three Pulsar Timing Arrays, we find that for PSR J0437-4715 a detectable spin frequency second derivative will be present if the absolute value of the radial velocity exceeds 33 km s-1. Similarly, at the current timing precision and cadence, continued timing observations of PSR J1909-3744 for about another eleven years, will allow the measurement of its frequency second derivative and determine the radial velocity with an accuracy better than 14 km s-1. With the ever increasing timing precision and observing baselines, the impact of the, largely unknown, radial velocities of pulsars on high precision pulsar timing can not be neglected.

The noise properties of 42 millisecond pulsars from the European Pulsar Timing Array and their impact on gravitational-wave searches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caballero, R. N.; Lee, K. J.; Lentati, L.; Desvignes, G.; Champion, D. J.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Janssen, G. H.; Stappers, B. W.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Possenti, A.; Tiburzi, C.; Perrodin, D.; Osłowski, S.; Babak, S.; Bassa, C. G.; Brem, P.; Burgay, M.; Cognard, I.; Gair, J. R.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Karuppusamy, R.; Lassus, A.; Liu, K.; McKee, J.; Mingarelli, C. M. F.; Petiteau, A.; Purver, M. B.; Rosado, P. A.; Sanidas, S.; Sesana, A.; Shaifullah, G.; Smits, R.; Taylor, S. R.; Theureau, G.; van Haasteren, R.; Vecchio, A.

2016-04-01

The sensitivity of Pulsar Timing Arrays to gravitational waves (GWs) depends on the noise present in the individual pulsar timing data. Noise may be either intrinsic or extrinsic to the pulsar. Intrinsic sources of noise will include rotational instabilities, for example. Extrinsic sources of noise include contributions from physical processes which are not sufficiently well modelled, for example, dispersion and scattering effects, analysis errors and instrumental instabilities. We present the results from a noise analysis for 42 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed with the European Pulsar Timing Array. For characterizing the low-frequency, stochastic and achromatic noise component, or `timing noise', we employ two methods, based on Bayesian and frequentist statistics. For 25 MSPs, we achieve statistically significant measurements of their timing noise parameters and find that the two methods give consistent results. For the remaining 17 MSPs, we place upper limits on the timing noise amplitude at the 95 per cent confidence level. We additionally place an upper limit on the contribution to the pulsar noise budget from errors in the reference terrestrial time standards (below 1 per cent), and we find evidence for a noise component which is present only in the data of one of the four used telescopes. Finally, we estimate that the timing noise of individual pulsars reduces the sensitivity of this data set to an isotropic, stochastic GW background by a factor of >9.1 and by a factor of >2.3 for continuous GWs from resolvable, inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries with circular orbits.

The High Time Resolution Universe surveys for pulsars and fast transients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keith, Michael J.

2013-03-01

The High Time Resolution Universe survey for pulsars and transients is the first truly all-sky pulsar survey, taking place at the Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia and the Effelsberg Radio Telescope in Germany. Utilising multibeam receivers with custom built all-digital recorders the survey targets the fastest millisecond pulsars and radio transients on timescales of 64 μs to a few seconds. The new multibeam digital filter-bank system at has a factor of eight improvement in frequency resolution over previous Parkes multibeam surveys, allowing us to probe further into the Galactic plane for short duration signals. The survey is split into low, mid and high Galactic latitude regions. The mid-latitude portion of the southern hemisphere survey is now completed, discovering 107 previously unknown pulsars, including 26 millisecond pulsars. To date, the total number of discoveries in the combined survey is 135 and 29 MSPs These discoveries include the first magnetar to be discovered by it's radio emission, unusual low-mass binaries, gamma-ray pulsars and pulsars suitable for pulsar timing array experiments.

On the origins of part-time radio pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Bing; Gil, Janusz; Dyks, Jaroslaw

2007-01-01

Growing evidence suggests that some radio pulsars only act sporadically. These `part-time' pulsars include long-term nulls, quasi-periodic radio flares in PSR B1931+24, as well as the so-called Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs). Based on the assumption that these objects are isolated neutron stars similar to conventional radio pulsars, we discuss two possible interpretations to the phenomenon. The first interpretation suggests that these objects are pulsars slightly below the radio emission `death line', which become occasionally active only when the conditions for pair production and coherent emission are satisfied. The second interpretation invokes a radio emission direction reversal in conventional pulsars, as has been introduced to interpret the peculiar mode changing phenomenon in PSR B1822-09. In this picture, our line of sight misses the main radio emission beam of the pulsar but happens to sweep the emission beam when the radio emission direction is reversed. These part-time pulsars are therefore the other half of `nulling' pulsars. We suggest that X-ray observations may provide clues to differentiate between these two possibilities.

The Green Bank North Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey: New Pulsars and Future Prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynch, Ryan S.; Swiggum, Joe; Stovall, Kevin; Chawla, Pragya; DeCesar, Megan E.; Fonseca, Emmanuel; Levin, Lina; Cui, Bingyi; Kondratiev, Vlad; Archibald, Anne; Boyles, Jason; Hessels, Jason W. T.; Jenet, Fredrick; Kaplan, David; Karako-Argaman, Chen; Kaspi, Victoria; Martinez, Jose; McLaughlin, Maura; Ransom, Scott M.; Roberts, Mallory; Siemens, Xavier; Spiewak, Renee; Stairs, Ingrid; van Leeuwn, Joeri; Green Bank North Celestial Cap Survey Collaboration

2018-01-01

The Green Bank North Celestial Cap pulsar survey is the most successful low frequency pulsar survey ever. GBNCC uses the Green Bank telescope to cover the full visible sky at 350 MHz. With the survey over 70% complete, we have discovered over 150 pulsars, including 20 MSPs and 11 RRATs. I will report on the current status of the survey and plans for its completion in the coming years. I will also report on several discoveries including: timing solutions for dozens of new pulsars; new high precision MSPs and their suitability for inclusion in pulsar timing arrays; a new relativistic double neutron star system; new pulsar mass measurements; proper motion measurements for several MSPs; a new mode changing pulsar; interesting new MSP binaries; nulling fraction analyses; and possible implications of the lack of any fast radio bursts in the survey so far.

The NANOGrav Observing Program: High-precision Millisecond Pulsar Timing and the Search for Nanohertz Gravitational Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nice, David; NANOGrav

2018-01-01

The North American Observatory for Nanohertz Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration is thirteen years into a program of long-term, high-precision millisecond pulsar timing, undertaken with the goal of detecting and characterization nanohertz gravitational waves (i.e., gravitational waves with periods of many years) by measuring their effect on observed pulse arrival times. Our primary instruments are the Arecibo Observatory, used to observe 37 pulsars with declinations between 0 and 39 degrees; and the Green Bank Telescope, used for 24 pulsars, of which 22 are outside the Arecibo range, and 2 are overlaps with the Arecibo source list. Additional observations are made with the VLA and (soon) CHIME.Most pulsars in our program are observed at intervals of three to four weeks, and seven are observed weekly. Observations of each pulsar are made over a wide range of radio frequencies at each epoch in order to measure and mitigate effects of the ionized interstellar medium on the pulse arrival times. Our targets are pulsars for which we can achieve timing precision of 1 microsecond or better in at each epoch; we achieve precision better than 100 nanoseconds in the best cases. Observing a large number of pulsars will allow for robust measurements of gravitational waves by analyzing correlations in the timing of pairs of pulsars depending on their separation on the sky. Our data are pooled with data from telescopes worldwide via the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) collaboration, further increasing our sensitivity to gravitational waves.We release data at regular intervals. We will describe the NANOGrav 5-, 9- and 11-year data sets and give a status report on the NANOGrav 12.5-year data set.

Millisecond Pulsar Observation at CRL

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-11-01

32nd Annual Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) Meeting MILLISECOND PULSAR OBSERVATION AT CRL Y. Hanado, Y . Shibuya, M. Hosokawa, M. Sekido...status of millisecond pulsar timing observation at CRL.. Weekly observation of PSR1937+21 using the 34-m antenna at Kashima Space Research Center has...been on going since November 1997. Recently we eliminated systematic trends that were apparent in the data, and estimated the pulsar parameters of

A Crash Course in using Pulsars to Detect Gravitational Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lommen, Andrea N.; NANOGrav

2014-01-01

A collection of well-timed millisecond pulsars makes a “pulsar timing array”, an “observatory” capable of detecting and characterizing small perturbations in spacetime called gravitational waves. In this 12-minute crash course you will learn how pulsars are timed, how you can use them to detect gravitational waves, who and what telescopes are engaged in this international enterprise, and how you can get involved.

A dynamical approach in exploring the unknown mass in the Solar system using pulsar timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Y. J.; Lee, K. J.; Caballero, R. N.

2018-04-01

The error in the Solar system ephemeris will lead to dipolar correlations in the residuals of pulsar timing array for widely separated pulsars. In this paper, we utilize such correlated signals, and construct a Bayesian data-analysis framework to detect the unknown mass in the Solar system and to measure the orbital parameters. The algorithm is designed to calculate the waveform of the induced pulsar-timing residuals due to the unmodelled objects following the Keplerian orbits in the Solar system. The algorithm incorporates a Bayesian-analysis suit used to simultaneously analyse the pulsar-timing data of multiple pulsars to search for coherent waveforms, evaluate the detection significance of unknown objects, and to measure their parameters. When the object is not detectable, our algorithm can be used to place upper limits on the mass. The algorithm is verified using simulated data sets, and cross-checked with analytical calculations. We also investigate the capability of future pulsar-timing-array experiments in detecting the unknown objects. We expect that the future pulsar-timing data can limit the unknown massive objects in the Solar system to be lighter than 10-11-10-12 M⊙, or measure the mass of Jovian system to a fractional precision of 10-8-10-9.

Gamma-Ray Pulsar Candidates for GLAST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.

2008-01-01

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will be launched this year, and its Large Area Telescope (LAT) is expected to discover scores to hundreds of gamma-ray pulsars. This poster discusses which of the over 1700 known pulsars, mostly visible only at radio frequencies, are likely to emit greater than 100 MeV gamma rays with intensities detectable by the LAT. The main figure of merit used to select gamma-ray pulsar candidates is sqrt(E-dot)/d2, where E-dot is the energy loss due to rotational spin-down, and d is the distance to the pulsar. The figure of merit incorporates spin-down flux at earth (proportional to E-dot/d2) times efficiency, assumed proportional to l/sqrt(E-dot). A few individual objects are cited to illustrate the issues. Since large E-dot pulsars also tend to have large timing noise and occasional glitches, their ephemerides can become inaccurate in weeks to months. To detect and study the gamma-ray emission the photons must be accurately tagged with the pulse phase. With hours to days between gamma-ray photon arrival times from a pulsar and months to years of LAT exposure needed for good detections, GLAST will rely on radio and X-ray timing measurements throughout the continuous gamma-ray observations. The poster will describe efforts to coordinate pulsar timing of the candidate gamma-ray pulsars.

Gamma-Ray Pulsar Candidates for GLAST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.; Smith, D. A.; Dumora, D.; Guillemot, L.; Parent, D.; Reposeur, T.; Grove, E.; Romani, R. W.; Thorsett, S. E.

2007-01-01

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will be launched less than a year from now, and its Large Area Telescope (LAT) is expected to discover scores to hundreds of gamma-ray pulsars. This poster discusses which of the over 1700 known pulsars, mostly visible only at radio Erequencies, are likely to emit greater than l00 MeV gamma rays with intensities detectable by the LAT. The main figure of merit used to select gamma-ray pulsar candidates is sqrt(E-dot)/d^2, where E-dot is the energy loss due to rotational spindown, and d is the distance to the pulsar. The figure of merit incorporates spin-down flux at earth (proportional to E-dot/d^2) times efficiency, assumed proportional to 1/sqrt(E-dot). A few individual objects are cited to illustrate the issues. Since large E-dot pulsars also tend to have large timing noise and occasional glitches, their ephemerides can become inaccurate in weeks to months. To detect and study the gamma-ray emission the photons must be accurately tagged with the pulse phase. With hours to days between gamma-ray photon arrival times from a pulsar and months to years of LAT exposure needed for good detections, GLAST will need timing measurements throughout the continuous gamma-ray observations. The poster will describe efforts to coordinate pulsar timing of the candidate gamma-ray pulsars.

Comparison of pulsar positions from timing and very long baseline astrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J. B.; Coles, W. A.; Hobbs, G.; Shannon, R. M.; Manchester, R. N.; Kerr, M.; Yuan, J. P.; Wang, N.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Dai, S.; Dempsey, J.; Keith, M. J.; Lasky, P. D.; Levin, Y.; Osłowski, S.; Ravi, V.; Reardon, D. J.; Rosado, P. A.; Russell, C. J.; Spiewak, R.; van Straten, W.; Toomey, L.; Wen, L.; You, X.-P.; Zhu, X.-J.

2017-07-01

Pulsar positions can be measured with high precision using both pulsar timing methods and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). Pulsar timing positions are referenced to a solar-system ephemeris, whereas VLBI positions are referenced to distant quasars. Here, we compare pulsar positions from published VLBI measurements with those obtained from pulsar timing data from the Nanshan and Parkes radio telescopes in order to relate the two reference frames. We find that the timing positions differ significantly from the VLBI positions (and also differ between different ephemerides). A statistically significant change in the obliquity of the ecliptic of 2.16 ± 0.33 mas is found for the JPL ephemeris DE405, but no significant rotation is found in subsequent JPL ephemerides. The accuracy with which we can relate the two frames is limited by the current uncertainties in the VLBI reference source positions and in matching the pulsars to their reference source. Not only do the timing positions depend on the ephemeris used in computing them, but also different segments of the timing data lead to varying position estimates. These variations are mostly common to all ephemerides, but slight changes are seen at the 10 μas level between ephemerides.

Pulsar timing for the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope

DOE PAGES

Smith, D. A.; Guillemot, L.; Camilo, F.; ...

2008-10-27

Here, we describe a comprehensive pulsar monitoring campaign for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST). The detection and study of pulsars in gamma rays give insights into the populations of neutron stars and supernova rates in the Galaxy, into particle acceleration mechanisms in neutron star magnetospheres, and into the “engines” driving pulsar wind nebulae. LAT's unprecedented sensitivity between 20 MeV and 300 GeV together with its 2.4 sr field-of-view makes detection of many gamma-ray pulsars likely, justifying the monitoring of over two hundred pulsars with large spin-down powers. To search for gamma-ray pulsationsmore » from most of these pulsars requires a set of phase-connected timing solutions spanning a year or more to properly align the sparse photon arrival times. We describe the choice of pulsars and the instruments involved in the campaign. Attention is paid to verifications of the LAT pulsar software, using for example giant radio pulses from the Crab and from PSR B1937+21 recorded at Nançay, and using X-ray data on PSR J0218+4232 from XMM-Newton. We demonstrate accuracy of the pulsar phase calculations at the microsecond level.« less

Outlook for Detecting Gravitational Waves with Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-04-01

Though the recent discovery of GW150914 is a thrilling success in the field of gravitational-wave astronomy, LIGO is only one tool the scientific community is using to hunt for these elusive signals. After 10 years of unsuccessful searching, how likely is it that pulsar-timing-array projects will make their own first detection soon?Frequency ranges for gravitational waves produced by different astrophysical sources. Pulsar timing arrays such as the EPTA and IPTA are used to detect low-frequency gravitational waves generated by the stochastic background and supermassive black hole binaries. [Christopher Moore, Robert Cole and Christopher Berry]Supermassive BackgroundGround-based laser interferometers like LIGO are ideal for probing ripples in space-time caused by the merger of stellar-mass black holes; these mergers cause chirps in the frequency range of tens to thousands of hertz. But how do we pick up the extremely low-frequency, nanohertz background signal caused by the orbits of pairs of supermassive black holes? For that, we need pulsar timing arrays.Pulsar timing arrays are sets of pulsars whose signals are analyzed to look for correlations in the pulse arrival time. As the space-time between us and a pulsar is stretched and then compressed by a passing gravitational wave, the pulsars pulses should arrive a little late and then a little early. Comparing these timing residuals in an array of pulsars could theoretically allow for the detection of the gravitational waves causing them.Globally, there are currently four pulsar timing array projects actively searching for this signal, with a fifth planned for the future. Now a team of scientists led by Stephen Taylor (NASA-JPL/Caltech) has estimated the likelihood that these projects will successfully detect gravitational waves in the future.Probability for SuccessExpected detection probability of the gravitational-wave background as a function of observing time, for five different pulsar timing arrays. Optimistic and conservative assumptions are made for merger rates (blue and red lines, respectively) and environmental conditions (solid and dashed lines, respectively). [Taylor et al. 2016]Taylor and collaborators statistically analyzed the detection probability for each of the projects as a function of their observing time, based on the projects estimated sensitivities and both conservative and optimistic assumptions about merger rates and environmental influences.First the bad news: based on the authors estimates, small arrays which contain only a few pulsars that each have minimal timing noise will not be likely to detect gravitational waves within the next two decades. These arrays are more useful for setting upper limits on the amplitude of the gravitational-wave background.On the other hand, large pulsar timing arrays have far more promising detection probabilities. These include the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, the European Pulsar Timing Array, andNANOGrav which each targettens ofpulsars,withthe intent toadd more in the future as well as the International Pulsar Timing Array, which combines the efforts of all three of these projects. There is an 80% chance that, within the next decade, these projects will successfully detect the gravitational-wave background created by orbiting supermassive black holes.Based on this study, the outlook for these large arrays remains optimistic even in non-ideal conditions (such as if supermassive-black-hole merger rates are lower than we thought). So, though we may still have to wait a few years, the possibility of probing an otherwise inaccessible range of frequencies continues to make pulsar timing arrays a promising avenue of study for gravitational waves.CitationS. R. Taylor et al 2016 ApJ 819 L6. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/819/1/L6

Resolving discrete pulsar spin-down states with current and future instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, B.; Stappers, B. W.; Weltevrede, P.

2018-04-01

An understanding of pulsar timing noise offers the potential to improve the timing precision of a large number of pulsars as well as facilitating our understanding of pulsar magnetospheres. For some sources, timing noise is attributable to a pulsar switching between two different spin-down rates (\\dot{ν }). Such transitions may be common but difficult to resolve using current techniques. In this work, we use simulations of \\dot{ν }-variable pulsars to investigate the likelihood of resolving individual \\dot{ν } transitions. We inject step changes in the value of \\dot{ν } with a wide range of amplitudes and switching time-scales. We then attempt to redetect these transitions using standard pulsar timing techniques. The pulse arrival-time precision and the observing cadence are varied. Limits on \\dot{ν } detectability based on the effects such transitions have on the timing residuals are derived. With the typical cadences and timing precision of current timing programmes, we find that we are insensitive to a large region of Δ \\dot{ν } parameter space that encompasses small, short time-scale switches. We find, where the rotation and emission states are correlated, that using changes to the pulse shape to estimate \\dot{ν } transition epochs can improve detectability in certain scenarios. The effects of cadence on Δ \\dot{ν } detectability are discussed, and we make comparisons with a known population of intermittent and mode-switching pulsars. We conclude that for short time-scale, small switches, cadence should not be compromised when new generations of ultra-sensitive radio telescopes are online.

Constraining Alternative Theories of Gravity Using Pulsar Timing Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornish, Neil J.; O'Beirne, Logan; Taylor, Stephen R.; Yunes, Nicolás

2018-05-01

The opening of the gravitational wave window by ground-based laser interferometers has made possible many new tests of gravity, including the first constraints on polarization. It is hoped that, within the next decade, pulsar timing will extend the window by making the first detections in the nanohertz frequency regime. Pulsar timing offers several advantages over ground-based interferometers for constraining the polarization of gravitational waves due to the many projections of the polarization pattern provided by the different lines of sight to the pulsars, and the enhanced response to longitudinal polarizations. Here, we show that existing results from pulsar timing arrays can be used to place stringent limits on the energy density of longitudinal stochastic gravitational waves. However, unambiguously distinguishing these modes from noise will be very difficult due to the large variances in the pulsar-pulsar correlation patterns. Existing upper limits on the power spectrum of pulsar timing residuals imply that the amplitude of vector longitudinal (VL) and scalar longitudinal (SL) modes at frequencies of 1/year are constrained, AVL<4 ×10-16 and ASL<4 ×10-17, while the bounds on the energy density for a scale invariant cosmological background are ΩVLh2<4 ×10-11 and ΩSLh2<3 ×10-13.

Constraining Alternative Theories of Gravity Using Pulsar Timing Arrays.

PubMed

Cornish, Neil J; O'Beirne, Logan; Taylor, Stephen R; Yunes, Nicolás

2018-05-04

The opening of the gravitational wave window by ground-based laser interferometers has made possible many new tests of gravity, including the first constraints on polarization. It is hoped that, within the next decade, pulsar timing will extend the window by making the first detections in the nanohertz frequency regime. Pulsar timing offers several advantages over ground-based interferometers for constraining the polarization of gravitational waves due to the many projections of the polarization pattern provided by the different lines of sight to the pulsars, and the enhanced response to longitudinal polarizations. Here, we show that existing results from pulsar timing arrays can be used to place stringent limits on the energy density of longitudinal stochastic gravitational waves. However, unambiguously distinguishing these modes from noise will be very difficult due to the large variances in the pulsar-pulsar correlation patterns. Existing upper limits on the power spectrum of pulsar timing residuals imply that the amplitude of vector longitudinal (VL) and scalar longitudinal (SL) modes at frequencies of 1/year are constrained, A_{VL}<4×10^{-16} and A_{SL}<4×10^{-17}, while the bounds on the energy density for a scale invariant cosmological background are Ω_{VL}h^{2}<4×10^{-11} and Ω_{SL}h^{2}<3×10^{-13}.

Pulsar wind model for the spin-down behavior of intermittent pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, L.; Tong, H.; Yan, W. M.

Intermittent pulsars are part-time radio pulsars. They have higher slow down rates in the on state (radio-loud) than in the off state (radio-quiet). This gives evidence that particle wind may play an important role in pulsar spindown. The effect of particle acceleration is included in modeling the rotational energy loss rate of the neutron star. Applying the pulsar wind model to the three intermittent pulsars (PSR B1931+24, PSR J1841–0500, and PSR J1832+0029) allows their magnetic fields and inclination angles to be calculated simultaneously. The theoretical braking indices of intermittent pulsars are also given. In the pulsar wind model, the densitymore » of the particle wind can always be the Goldreich-Julian density. This may ensure that different on states of intermittent pulsars are stable. The duty cycle of particle wind can be determined from timing observations. It is consistent with the duty cycle of the on state. Inclination angle and braking index observations of intermittent pulsars may help to test different models of particle acceleration. At present, the inverse Compton scattering induced space charge limited flow with field saturation model can be ruled out.« less

Pulsar Wind Model for the Spin-down Behavior of Intermittent Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L.; Tong, H.; Yan, W. M.; Yuan, J. P.; Xu, R. X.; Wang, N.

2014-06-01

Intermittent pulsars are part-time radio pulsars. They have higher slow down rates in the on state (radio-loud) than in the off state (radio-quiet). This gives evidence that particle wind may play an important role in pulsar spindown. The effect of particle acceleration is included in modeling the rotational energy loss rate of the neutron star. Applying the pulsar wind model to the three intermittent pulsars (PSR B1931+24, PSR J1841-0500, and PSR J1832+0029) allows their magnetic fields and inclination angles to be calculated simultaneously. The theoretical braking indices of intermittent pulsars are also given. In the pulsar wind model, the density of the particle wind can always be the Goldreich-Julian density. This may ensure that different on states of intermittent pulsars are stable. The duty cycle of particle wind can be determined from timing observations. It is consistent with the duty cycle of the on state. Inclination angle and braking index observations of intermittent pulsars may help to test different models of particle acceleration. At present, the inverse Compton scattering induced space charge limited flow with field saturation model can be ruled out.

Nanohertz gravitational wave searches with interferometric pulsar timing experiments.

PubMed

Tinto, Massimo

2011-05-13

We estimate the sensitivity to nano-Hertz gravitational waves of pulsar timing experiments in which two highly stable millisecond pulsars are tracked simultaneously with two neighboring radio telescopes that are referenced to the same timekeeping subsystem (i.e., "the clock"). By taking the difference of the two time-of-arrival residual data streams we can exactly cancel the clock noise in the combined data set, thereby enhancing the sensitivity to gravitational waves. We estimate that, in the band (10(-9)-10(-8))  Hz, this "interferometric" pulsar timing technique can potentially improve the sensitivity to gravitational radiation by almost 2 orders of magnitude over that of single-telescopes. Interferometric pulsar timing experiments could be performed with neighboring pairs of antennas of the NASA's Deep Space Network and the forthcoming large arraying projects.

Timing Young Pulsars: Challenges to Standard Pulsar Spin-Down Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livingstone, Margaret Anne

Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars which are often noted for their very regular rotation rates. Young pulsars, however, frequently exhibit two types of deviations from steady spin down, "glitches" - sudden jumps in spin frequency, which provide insight into pulsar interiors, and "timing noise," a smooth stochastic wander of the pulse phase over long time periods. The youngest pulsars also offer a window into the physics that govern pulsar spin down via the measurement of the "braking index" - a parameter that relates the observable spin frequency of the pulsar with the slowing down torque acting on the neutron star. This thesis discusses long-term timing observations of two young pulsars. First, we present observations of PSR J0205+6449, acquired with the Green Bank Telescope, the Jodrell Bank Observatory and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer . We present phase-coherent timing analyses showing timing noise and two spin-up glitches. We also present an X-ray pulse profile analysis showing that the pulsar is detected up to ∼40 keV and does not vary appreciably over four years. We report the phase offset between the radio and X-ray pulse, showing that the radio pulse leads by φ = 0.10 ± 0.01 in phase. We compile measurements of phase offsets for this and other X-ray and γ-ray pulsars and show that there is no relationship between pulse period and phase offset. Next, we present 10 years of monitoring of PSR J1846-0258 with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer . We report the first measurement of the braking index for this pulsar, n = 2.65 ± 0.01, only the sixth such measurement ever made, and show that the pulsar experienced a small glitch in 2001. In May 2006, PSR J1846-0258 was briefly transformed: it exhibited a series of X-ray bursts, a dramatic increase in the source flux, and significant softening of its X-ray spectrum - behaviours best explained in the context of the magnetar model. PSR J1846-0258 was thus identified as the first rotation-powered pulsar/magnetar transition object. We quantify the properties of a large glitch that occurred contemporaneously with the outburst, and show that it is unique among pulsar glitches in that it had an over-shoot recovery of 870 ± 250%, resulting in a net decrease of the spin-frequency. We also report torque variations over a period of several hundred days during the period of glitch recovery, that are reminiscent of behaviour seen in some magnetars. Finally, we report that the post-outburst braking index for PSR J1846-0258 is n = 2.16±0.13, corresponding to a decrease of 18±5% relative to its pre-burst value, the first significant change measured in any braking index. We also show that four years after the outburst, the timing noise remains at a higher state than its pre-burst quiescent level.

Youngest Radio Pulsar Revealed with Green Bank Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-04-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's (NSF) newly commissioned Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) have detected remarkably faint radio signals from an 820 year-old pulsar, making it the youngest radio-emitting pulsar known. This discovery pushes the boundaries of radio telescope sensitivity for discovering pulsars, and will enable scientists to conduct observations that could lead to a better understanding of how these stars evolve. The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope "Important questions about pulsars may be answered by long-term monitoring of objects such as the one we just detected," said Fernando Camilo of Columbia University in New York City. "Young pulsars are particularly rare, and being able to study such a young one at radio wavelengths provides an outstanding opportunity to learn critical facts about their evolution and workings." The results of this research, based on observations conducted on February 22-23, 2002, were accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Scientists have long suspected that a pulsar - a rapidly spinning, superdense neutron star - was born when a giant star ended its life in a cataclysmic supernova explosion observed in late summer of 1181, as suggested by Japanese and Chinese historical records. For the past 20 years, astronomers have searched this supernova remnant (3C58), located 10,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia, for the telltale pulsations of a newly born pulsar. Late in 2001, data from NASA's Chandra X-ray satellite confirmed its existence, but it remained an elusive quarry for radio telescopes. "We believed from historical records and certainly knew from recent X-ray observations that this star was there," Camilo remarked, "but despite many attempts, no one had been able to find any radio pulsations from it because the signals are, it turns out, incredibly weak." For comparison, this pulsar's radio emission is some 250 times weaker than that from the famous pulsar in the Crab Nebula (the remnant of an explosion in the year 1054 recorded by Chinese astronomers and possibly also by Native Americans of the Anasazi tribe in modern-day Arizona and New Mexico). "Although we knew what we were looking for," said Camilo "it took the new Green Bank Telescope with its unmatched sensitivity -- and, importantly, location in the National Radio Quiet Zone -- to make this remarkable detection." A pulsar is formed when a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and dies in a cataclysmic explosion called a supernova. The outer layers of the star are blown off into space, and are often seen as an expanding remnant shell of hot gas. The core of the star, with 40 percent more mass than our Sun, collapses under its own gravity to a sphere only about 10 miles in diameter, composed mostly of neutrons. These densest objects known in the Universe typically are born spinning very rapidly; the newly detected pulsar, known as PSR J0205+6449, presently rotates 15 times every second. Pulsar Diagram Pulsar Diagram: Click on image for more detail. The spinning neutron star has very powerful magnetic and electric fields that accelerate electrons and other subatomic particles, causing them to emit beams of radio waves, X-rays, and other forms of radiation. If these beams intersect the Earth as the star rotates, we can then detect the pulsar, as it appears to flash on-and-off, much like a lighthouse. As the pulsar ages, it gradually slows down and loses its rotational energy. After a few million years it is no longer powerful enough to generate radio emission and "turns-off." By detecting this pulsar in the radio spectrum, astronomers may now follow its evolution with greater ease and flexibility than with X-ray telescopes on satellites, study the pulsar emission mechanisms, and also characterize the dynamic interstellar medium between the Earth and the pulsar. "Finding a radio pulsar this young could be somewhat of a gold mine for years to come," noted Camilo. "We can very precisely measure how its rate of rotation changes over time, potentially inferring fundamental clues about what causes a magnetized neutron star to spin down. We also will make valuable comparisons to the X-ray data, which may help us determine exactly how these objects generate and emit radiation." The researchers also point to the fact that this discovery bodes well for the GBT being able to study additional young pulsars that have previously escaped detection. "By using this magnificent new telescope, we should be able to discover other very young pulsars that we surmise are there, but are simply too weak to detect by any other means," said Camilo. "Measuring the luminosity and spectrum of a large sample of these stars will be crucial for making an accurate census of pulsars in our Galaxy." The researchers used the new Berkeley-Caltech Pulsar Machine to process the signals from the GBT and record them for later analysis. The group led by Camilo in this investigation consists also of: Ingrid H. Stairs (NRAO Green Bank, West Virginia); Duncan R. Lorimer, Michael Kramer, Maura A. McLaughlin (University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, U.K.); Donald C. Backer (University of California, Berkeley); Scott M. Ransom (McGill University, Montreal, Canada); Bernd Klein, Richard Wielebinski, Peter Muller (Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany); and Zaven Arzoumanian (Universities Space Research Association/NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland). The GBT is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. It was dedicated on August 25, 2000. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Did the Crab Pulsar Undergo a Small Glitch in 2006 Late March/Early April?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vivekanand, M.

2016-08-01

On 2006 August 23 the Crab Pulsar underwent a glitch, which was reported by the Jodrell Bank and the Xinjiang radio observatories. Neither data are available to the public. However, the Jodrell group publishes monthly arrival times of the Crab Pulsar pulse (their actual observations are done daily), and using these, it is shown that about 5 months earlier the Crab Pulsar probably underwent a small glitch, which has not been reported before. Neither observatory discusses the detailed analysis of data from 2006 March to August; either they may not have detected this small glitch, or they may have attributed it to timing noise in the Crab Pulsar. The above result is verified using X-ray data from RXTE. If this is indeed true, this is probably the smallest glitch observed in the Crab Pulsar so far, whose implications are discussed. This work addresses the confusion possible between small-magnitude glitches and timing noise in pulsars.

DID THE CRAB PULSAR UNDERGO A SMALL GLITCH IN 2006 LATE MARCH/EARLY APRIL?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vivekanand, M., E-mail: viv.maddali@gmail.com

2016-08-01

On 2006 August 23 the Crab Pulsar underwent a glitch, which was reported by the Jodrell Bank and the Xinjiang radio observatories. Neither data are available to the public. However, the Jodrell group publishes monthly arrival times of the Crab Pulsar pulse (their actual observations are done daily), and using these, it is shown that about 5 months earlier the Crab Pulsar probably underwent a small glitch, which has not been reported before. Neither observatory discusses the detailed analysis of data from 2006 March to August; either they may not have detected this small glitch, or they may have attributedmore » it to timing noise in the Crab Pulsar. The above result is verified using X-ray data from RXTE . If this is indeed true, this is probably the smallest glitch observed in the Crab Pulsar so far, whose implications are discussed. This work addresses the confusion possible between small-magnitude glitches and timing noise in pulsars.« less

The braking index of a radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar

DOE PAGES

Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Wu, J.; ...

2016-11-16

Here, we report the discovery and timing measurements of PSR J1208-6238, a young and highly magnetized gamma-ray pulsar, with a spin period of 440 ms. The pulsar was discovered in gamma-ray photon data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) during a blind-search survey of unidentified LAT sources, running on the distributed volunteer computing system Einstein@Home. No radio pulsations were detected in dedicated follow-up searches with the Parkes radio telescope, with a flux density upper limit at 1369 MHz of 30 μJy. Furthermore, by timing this pulsar's gamma-ray pulsations, we measure its braking index over five years of LAT observationsmore » to be n = 2.598 ± 0.001 ± 0.1, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second estimates the bias due to timing noise. Assuming its braking index has been similar since birth, the pulsar has an estimated age of around 2700 years, making it the youngest pulsar to be found in a blind search of gamma-ray data and the youngest known radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar. Despite its young age, the pulsar is not associated with any known supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula. The pulsar's inferred dipolar surface magnetic field strength is 3.8 × 10 13 G, almost 90% of the quantum-critical level. Finally, we investigate some potential physical causes of the braking index deviating from the simple dipole model but find that LAT data covering a longer time interval will be necessary to distinguish between these.« less

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2014-10-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6397 at 10cm, for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the role played by the high energy photons released from the pulsar in the ejection of matter from the binary system.

A glitch in the Crab pulsar (PSR B0531+21)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, Benjamin; Lyne, Andrew; Bassa, Cees; Breton, Rene; Jordan, Christine; Keith, Michael; Mickaliger, Mitchell B.; Stappers, Benjamin; Weltevrede, Patrick

2018-05-01

We have detected a glitch in the Crab pulsar, B0531+21, on 2018-04-29. The Crab pulsar is regularly monitored with the 42-ft and Lovell telescopes at the Jodrell Bank Observatory as part of the pulsar timing programme.

High-Precision Timing of Several Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferdman, R. D.; Stairs, I. H.; Backer, D. C.; Ramachandran, R.; Demorest, P.; Nice, D. J.; Lyne, A. G.; Kramer, M.; Lorimer, D.; McLaughlin, M.; Manchester, D.; Camilo, F.; D'Amico, N.; Possenti, A.; Burgay, M.; Joshi, B. C.; Freire, P. C.

2004-12-01

The highest precision pulsar timing is achieved by reproducing as accurately as possible the pulse profile as emitted by the pulsar, in high signal-to-noise observations. The best profile reconstruction can be accomplished with several-bit voltage sampling and coherent removal of the dispersion suffered by pulsar signals as they traverse the interstellar medium. The Arecibo Signal Processor (ASP) and its counterpart the Green Bank Astronomical Signal Processor (GASP) are flexible, state-of-the-art wide-bandwidth observing systems, built primarily for high-precision long-term timing of millisecond and binary pulsars. ASP and GASP are in use at the 300-m Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico and the 100-m Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, respectively, taking advantage of the enormous sensitivities of these telescopes. These instruments result in high-precision science through 4 and 8-bit sampling and perform coherent dedispersion on the incoming data stream in real or near-real time. This is done using a network of personal computers, over an observing bandwidth of 64 to 128 MHz, in each of two polarizations. We present preliminary results of timing and polarimetric observations with ASP/GASP for several pulsars, including the recently-discovered relativistic double-pulsar binary J0737-3039. These data are compared to simultaneous observations with other pulsar instruments, such as the new "spigot card" spectrometer on the GBT and the Princeton Mark IV instrument at Arecibo, the precursor timing system to ASP. We also briefly discuss several upcoming observations with ASP/GASP.

Einstein@Home Discovery of 24 Pulsars in the Parkes Multi-beam Pulsar Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knispel, B.; Eatough, R. P.; Kim, H.; Keane, E. F.; Allen, B.; Anderson, D.; Aulbert, C.; Bock, O.; Crawford, F.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Fehrmann, H.; Hammer, D.; Kramer, M.; Lyne, A. G.; Machenschalk, B.; Miller, R. B.; Papa, M. A.; Rastawicki, D.; Sarkissian, J.; Siemens, X.; Stappers, B. W.

2013-09-01

We have conducted a new search for radio pulsars in compact binary systems in the Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey (PMPS) data, employing novel methods to remove the Doppler modulation from binary motion. This has yielded unparalleled sensitivity to pulsars in compact binaries. The required computation time of ≈17, 000 CPU core years was provided by the distributed volunteer computing project Einstein@Home, which has a sustained computing power of about 1 PFlop s-1. We discovered 24 new pulsars in our search, 18 of which were isolated pulsars, and 6 were members of binary systems. Despite the wide filterbank channels and relatively slow sampling time of the PMPS data, we found pulsars with very large ratios of dispersion measure (DM) to spin period. Among those is PSR J1748-3009, the millisecond pulsar with the highest known DM (≈420 pc cm-3). We also discovered PSR J1840-0643, which is in a binary system with an orbital period of 937 days, the fourth largest known. The new pulsar J1750-2536 likely belongs to the rare class of intermediate-mass binary pulsars. Three of the isolated pulsars show long-term nulling or intermittency in their emission, further increasing this growing family. Our discoveries demonstrate the value of distributed volunteer computing for data-driven astronomy and the importance of applying new analysis methods to extensively searched data.

Precision timing measurements of PSR J1012+5307

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lange, Ch.; Camilo, F.; Wex, N.; Kramer, M.; Backer, D. C.; Lyne, A. G.; Doroshenko, O.

2001-09-01

We present results and applications of high-precision timing measurements of the binary millisecond pulsar J1012+5307. Combining our radio timing measurements with results based on optical observations, we derive complete 3D velocity information for this system. Correcting for Doppler effects, we derive the intrinsic spin parameters of this pulsar and a characteristic age of 8.6+/-1.9Gyr. Our upper limit for the orbital eccentricity of only 8×10-7 (68 per cent confidence level) is the smallest ever measured for a binary system. We demonstrate that this makes the pulsar an ideal laboratory in which to test certain aspects of alternative theories of gravitation. Our precision measurements suggest deviations from a simple pulsar spin-down timing model, which are consistent with timing noise and the extrapolation of the known behaviour of slowly rotating pulsars.

BOOK REVIEW: Rotation and Accretion Powered Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaspi, V. M.

2008-03-01

Pulsar astrophysics has come a long way in the 40 years since the discovery of the first pulsar by Bell and Hewish. From humble beginnings as bits of 'scruff' on the Cambridge University group's chart recorder paper, the field of pulsars has blossomed into a major area of mainstream astrophysics, with an unparalleled diversity of astrophysical applications. These range from Nobel-celebrated testing of general relativity in the strong-field regime to constraining the equation-of-state of ultradense matter; from probing the winds of massive stars to globular cluster evolution. Previous notable books on the subject of pulsars have tended to focus on some particular topic in the field. The classic text Pulsars by Manchester and Taylor (1977 San Francisco, CA: Freeman) targeted almost exclusively rotation-powered radio pulsars, while the Mészáros book High-Energy Radiation from Magnetized Neutron Stars (1992 Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press) considered both rotation- and accretion-powered neutron stars, but focused on their radiation at x-ray energies and above. The recent book Neutron Stars 1 by Haensel et al (2007 Berlin: Springer) considers only the equation of state and neutron-star structure. Into this context appears Rotation and Accretion Powered Pulsars, by Pranab Ghosh. In contrast to other books, here the author takes an encyclopedic approach and attempts to synthesize practically all of the major aspects of the two main types of neutron star. This is ambitious. The only comparable undertaking is the useful but more elementary Lyne and Graham-Smith text Pulsar Astronomy (1998 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), or Compact Stellar X-ray Sources (eds Lewin and van der Klis, 2006 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), an anthology of technical review articles that also includes black hole topics. Rotation and Accretion Powered Pulsars thus fills a clear void in the field, providing a readable, graduate-level book that covers nearly everything you ever wanted to know about pulsars but were afraid to ask. Chapter 1 begins a brief and interesting account of the discovery of pulsars, followed by an overview of the rotation-powered and accretion-powered populations. The following four chapters are fairly detailed and reasonably quantitative descriptions of neutron star interiors. This is no easy feat, given that a description of the physics of neutron stars demands a deep understanding of all major physical forces, and must include general relativity as well as detailed particle physics. The historical notes at the beginning of Chapter 2 are particularly fascinating, recounting the path to today's understanding of neutron stars in very interesting detail. Chapter 7 presents rotation-powered pulsar radio properties, and a nice description of pulsar timing, including relativistic and non-relativistic binaries and GR tests. The remaining chapters tackle a variety of topics including binary evolution, superfluidity, accretion-powered pulsar properties, magnetospheres and emission mechanisms, magnetic fields, spin evolution and strange stars. The coverage is somewhat uneven, with the strange star chapter, for example, an obvious afterthought. The utility of an encyclopedia lies in its breadth and in how up-to-date it is. Although admirable in its intentions, the Ghosh book does omit some major pulsar topics. This book leaves the impression that rotation-powered pulsars produce only radio emission; hardly (if at all) mentioned is the vast literature on their infrared, optical, and even more importantly, x-ray and gamma-ray emission, the latter being far more relevant to the pulsar 'machine' than the energetically puny radio output. Also absent are pulsar winds; this is particularly puzzling given both the lovely wind nebula that graces the book's cover, and the central role the wind plays as primary sink of the rotation power. One of the most actively pursued topics in pulsar astrophysics in the past decade, magnetars, receives only a passing mention, though admittedly, they are neither rotation- nor accretion-powered. Also, some sections are slightly out of date: the fastest known pulsar has frequency 716 Hz, not 642 Hz; there are more braking indexes measured as well as a second braking index; nulling has been tied to spin-down. Still, this book stands alone in its bold attempt at a unifying, advanced picture of the two main areas of neutron-star science: rotation and accretion powered pulsars. It is thus a valuable and unique asset for anyone interested in the topic; I am delighted to own a copy. I personally very much hope author Ghosh will consider filling in some of the gaps in his book in a second edition, as his text is accessible and a pleasure to read, and his vision and ambition are admirable.

Pulsar simulations for the Fermi Large Area Telescope

DOE PAGES

Razzano, M.; Harding, Alice K.; Baldini, L.; ...

2009-05-21

Pulsars are among the prime targets for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the recently launched Fermi observatory. The LAT will study the gamma-ray Universe between 20 MeV and 300 GeV with unprecedented detail. Increasing numbers of gamma-ray pulsars are being firmly identified, yet their emission mechanisms are far from being understood. To better investigate and exploit the LAT capabilities for pulsar science, a set of new detailed pulsar simulation tools have been developed within the LAT collaboration. The structure of the pulsar simulator package ( PulsarSpectrum) is presented here. Starting from photon distributions in energy and phase obtained frommore » theoretical calculations or phenomenological considerations, gamma-rays are generated and their arrival times at the spacecraft are determined by taking into account effects such as barycentric effects and timing noise. Pulsars in binary systems also can be simulated given orbital parameters. As a result, we present how simulations can be used for generating a realistic set of gamma-rays as observed by the LAT, focusing on some case studies that show the performance of the LAT for pulsar observations.« less

Post-outburst timing of the magnetically active pulsar J1846-0258

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livingstone, Margaret A.; Ng, C.-Y.; Kaspi, Victoria M.; Gavriil, Fotis P.; Gotthelf, E. V.

2011-08-01

The ~800 yr-old pulsar PSR J1846-0258 in the supernova remnant Kes 75 is a unique transition object between rotation-powered pulsars and magnetars. While it typically behaves as a rotation-powered pulsar, in 2006 it exhibited a distinctly magnetar-like outburst accompanied by a large glitch with an unusual over-recovery. We present X-ray timing observations taken with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer after the X-ray outburst and accompanying glitch had recovered. We observe that the braking index of the pulsar, previously measured to be n = 2.65+/-0.01 has decreased by 18+/-5%. We also note a persistent increase in the timing noise relative to the pre-outburst level, reminiscent of behavior previously observed from some magnetars.

Discovery of the Millisecond Pulsar PSR J2043+1711 in a Fermi Source with the Nancay Radio Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guillemot, L.; Freire, P. C. C.; Cognard, I.; Johnson, T. J.; Takahashi, Y.; Kataoka, J.; Desvignes, G.; Camilo, F.; Ferrara, E. C.; Harding, A. K.;

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Wu, J.

Here, we report the discovery and timing measurements of PSR J1208-6238, a young and highly magnetized gamma-ray pulsar, with a spin period of 440 ms. The pulsar was discovered in gamma-ray photon data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) during a blind-search survey of unidentified LAT sources, running on the distributed volunteer computing system Einstein@Home. No radio pulsations were detected in dedicated follow-up searches with the Parkes radio telescope, with a flux density upper limit at 1369 MHz of 30 μJy. Furthermore, by timing this pulsar's gamma-ray pulsations, we measure its braking index over five years of LAT observationsmore » to be n = 2.598 ± 0.001 ± 0.1, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second estimates the bias due to timing noise. Assuming its braking index has been similar since birth, the pulsar has an estimated age of around 2700 years, making it the youngest pulsar to be found in a blind search of gamma-ray data and the youngest known radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar. Despite its young age, the pulsar is not associated with any known supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula. The pulsar's inferred dipolar surface magnetic field strength is 3.8 × 10 13 G, almost 90% of the quantum-critical level. Finally, we investigate some potential physical causes of the braking index deviating from the simple dipole model but find that LAT data covering a longer time interval will be necessary to distinguish between these.« less

An algorithm for determining the rotation count of pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freire, Paulo C. C.; Ridolfi, Alessandro

2018-06-01

We present here a simple, systematic method for determining the correct global rotation count of a radio pulsar; an essential step for the derivation of an accurate phase-coherent ephemeris. We then build on this method by developing a new algorithm for determining the global rotational count for pulsars with sparse timing data sets. This makes it possible to obtain phase-coherent ephemerides for pulsars for which this has been impossible until now. As an example, we do this for PSR J0024-7205aa, an extremely faint Millisecond pulsar (MSP) recently discovered in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. This algorithm has the potential to significantly reduce the number of observations and the amount of telescope time needed to follow up on new pulsar discoveries.

On the evolution of the Galactic pulsar population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sierpowska, A.; Bednarek, W.

2001-09-01

We analyse the evolution of periods of the observed population of radio pulsars from their birth up to the present time assuming that pulsars lose rotational energy in emission of electromagnetic dipole and gravitational radiation. We consider the hypothesis that all pulsars are born with the same period close to 10 ms. We found strong correlation between the ellipticity of pulsars and their surface magnetic field. Such correlation is expected if the deformation of the pulsar shape is due to the strong magnetic field.

First light from the Vela pulsar with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razzano, M.

2009-04-01

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, launched in June 2008, is an international space mission entirely devoted to the study of the high-energy gamma rays from the Universe. The main instrument aboard Fermi is the Large Area Telescope (LAT), a pair conversion telescope equipped with the state-of-the art in gamma-ray detectors technology. Thanks to its large field of view and effective area, combined with its excellent timing capability, Fermi-LAT is a perfect instrument for probing physics of gamma-ray emission in pulsars. LAT is expected to discover tens of new pulsars, both radio-loud and radio-quiet (Geminga-like). Moreover, LAT will observe with unprecedented statistics the brightest pulsars, investigating the details of magnetospheric emission. The first two months of the mission have been focused on the commissioning and first light, during which the LAT firmly detected the six previously known EGRET gamma-ray pulsars. One of the main sources of interest during our first light observations has been the Vela pulsar, the brightest persistent source in the whole gamma-ray sky. Thanks to its brightness, the Vela pulsar is an ideal candidate for calibrating the LAT and testing its performance. In addition, observations of Vela will help answer many questions related to the physics of pulsar emission processes. We present here some recent results obtained by the LAT on the Vela pulsar, using high-quality timing solutions provided by radio observations carried out within the Fermi pulsar radio timing campaign.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christy, Brian; Anella, Ryan; Lommen, Andrea

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are a collection of precisely timed millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that can search for gravitational waves (GWs) in the nanohertz frequency range by observing characteristic signatures in the timing residuals. The sensitivity of a PTA depends on the direction of the propagating GW source, the timing accuracy of the pulsars, and the allocation of the available observing time. The goal of this paper is to determine the optimal time allocation strategy among the MSPs in the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) for a single source of GW under a particular set of assumptions. Wemore » consider both an isotropic distribution of sources across the sky and a specific source in the Virgo cluster. This work improves on previous efforts by modeling the effect of intrinsic spin noise for each pulsar. We find that, in general, the array is optimized by maximizing time spent on the best-timed pulsars, with sensitivity improvements typically ranging from a factor of 1.5 to 4.« less

AN ASTEROID BELT INTERPRETATION FOR THE TIMING VARIATIONS OF THE MILLISECOND PULSAR B1937+21

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shannon, R. M.; Cordes, J. M.; Metcalfe, T. S.

Pulsar timing observations have revealed companions to neutron stars that include other neutron stars, white dwarfs, main-sequence stars, and planets. We demonstrate that the correlated and apparently stochastic residual times of arrival from the millisecond pulsar B1937+21 are consistent with the signature of an asteroid belt having a total mass {approx}< 0.05 M{sub Circled-Plus }. Unlike the solar system's asteroid belt, the best fit pulsar asteroid belt extends over a wide range of radii, consistent with the absence of any shepherding companions. We suggest that any pulsar that has undergone accretion-driven spin-up and subsequently evaporated its companion may harbor orbitingmore » asteroid mass objects. The resulting timing variations may fundamentally limit the timing precision of some of the other millisecond pulsars. Observational tests of the asteroid belt model include identifying periodicities from individual asteroids, which are difficult; testing for statistical stationarity, which becomes possible when observations are conducted over a longer observing span; and searching for reflected radio emission.« less

The green bank northern celestial cap pulsar survey. I. Survey description, data analysis, and initial results

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stovall, K.; Dartez, L. P.; Ford, A. J.

We describe an ongoing search for pulsars and dispersed pulses of radio emission, such as those from rotating radio transients (RRATs) and fast radio bursts, at 350 MHz using the Green Bank Telescope. With the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument, we record 100 MHz of bandwidth divided into 4096 channels every 81.92 μs. This survey will cover the entire sky visible to the Green Bank Telescope (δ > –40°, or 82% of the sky) and outside of the Galactic Plane will be sensitive enough to detect slow pulsars and low dispersion measure (<30 pc cm{sup –3}) millisecond pulsars (MSPs)more » with a 0.08 duty cycle down to 1.1 mJy. For pulsars with a spectral index of –1.6, we will be 2.5 times more sensitive than previous and ongoing surveys over much of our survey region. Here we describe the survey, the data analysis pipeline, initial discovery parameters for 62 pulsars, and timing solutions for 5 new pulsars. PSR J0214+5222 is an MSP in a long-period (512 days) orbit and has an optical counterpart identified in archival data. PSR J0636+5129 is an MSP in a very short-period (96 minutes) orbit with a very low mass companion (8 M{sub J}). PSR J0645+5158 is an isolated MSP with a timing residual RMS of 500 ns and has been added to pulsar timing array experiments. PSR J1434+7257 is an isolated, intermediate-period pulsar that has been partially recycled. PSR J1816+4510 is an eclipsing MSP in a short-period orbit (8.7 hr) and may have recently completed its spin-up phase.« less

Timing and searching millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2010-04-01

Timing the dozen pulsars discovered in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the eclipse region and the orbital secular evolution). We also request time for performing observations for a new deeper than ever search for millisecond pulsars in a subset of suitable clusters. This revamped search (as well as the requested timing observations) will exploit the new back-ends (APSR and DFB4) now available at Parkes.

Timing of 29 Pulsars Discovered in the PALFA Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyne, A. G.; Stappers, B. W.; Bogdanov, S.; Ferdman, R. D.; Freire, P. C. C.; Kaspi, V. M.; Knispel, B.; Lynch, R.; Allen, B.; Brazier, A.; Camilo, F.; Cardoso, F.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J. S.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Jenet, F. A.; Lazarus, P.; van Leeuwen, J.; Lorimer, D. R.; Madsen, E.; McKee, J.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Parent, E.; Patel, C.; Ransom, S. M.; Scholz, P.; Seymour, A.; Siemens, X.; Spitler, L. G.; Stairs, I. H.; Stovall, K.; Swiggum, J.; Wharton, R. S.; Zhu, W. W.; Aulbert, C.; Bock, O.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Fehrmann, H.; Machenschalk, B.

2017-01-01

We report on the discovery and timing observations of 29 distant long-period pulsars found in the ongoing Arecibo L-band Feed Array pulsar survey. Following discovery with the Arecibo Telescope, confirmation and timing observations of these pulsars over several years at Jodrell Bank Observatory have yielded high-precision positions and measurements of rotation and radiation properties. We have used multi-frequency data to measure the interstellar scattering properties of some of these pulsars. Most of the pulsars have properties that mirror those of the previously known pulsar population, although four show some notable characteristics. PSRs J1907+0631 and J1925+1720 are young and are associated with supernova remnants or plerionic nebulae: J1907+0631 lies close to the center of SNR G40.5-0.5, while J1925+1720 is coincident with a high-energy Fermi γ-ray source. One pulsar, J1932+1500, is in a surprisingly eccentric, 199 day binary orbit with a companion having a minimum mass of 0.33 M⊙. Several of the sources exhibit timing noise, and two, PSRs J0611+1436 and J1907+0631, have both suffered large glitches, but with very different post-glitch rotation properties. In particular, the rotational period of PSR J0611+1436 will not recover to its pre-glitch value for about 12 years, a far greater recovery timescale than seen following any other large glitches.

Science highlights from high-sensitivity pulsar observations with the MWA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McSweeney, Samuel; Bhat, Ramesh; Tremblay, Steven; Ord, Stephen

2016-01-01

Pulsars are exquisite probes of the turbulent interstellar medium (ISM), capable of resolving structures down to tens of thousands of kilometres. Understanding the ISM is important for many areas of astrophysics, such as galactic dynamics, the chemical evolution of the galaxy, and the identification of timing noise in the search for gravitational waves using pulsar timing arrays. Low frequency observations of pulsars are key, because the strength of propagation effects scales strongly with frequency.We present the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) as a key science tool for making high quality observations of pulsars at low frequencies (~80-300 MHz). Recently commissioned software for making tied-array beams and the MWA's high time resolution voltage capture system (VCS) allow an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity, vital for pulsar and other time-domain science. A pipeline has now been developed for observing the scintillation patterns of important pulsars at low frequencies, including a new computational technique for measuring the curvature of parabolic arcs in noisy secondary spectra. A program of MWA observations is being undertaken to sample a large number of millisecond pulsars. We present recent highlights including PSR J0437-4715, which yielded a new measurement of scattering screen distance of ~120 pc from Earth, consistent with a Parkes observation at ~730 MHz, and matching the predicted perimeter of the Local Bubble.

Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stappers, Benjamin W.

2012-04-01

Pulsars can be considered as the ultimate time-variable source. They show variations on time-scales ranging from nanoseconds to as long as years, and they emit over almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The dominant modulation is associated with the rotation period, which can vary from slighty more than a millisecond to upwards of ten seconds (if we include the magnetars). Variations on time-scales shorter than the pulse period are mostly associated with emission processes and are manifested as giant pulses, microstructure and sub-pulses (to name a few). On time-scales of a rotation to a few hundred rotations are other phenomena also associated with the emission, such as nulling, moding, drifting and intermittency. By probing these and slightly longer time-scales we find that pulsars exhibit ``glitches'', which are rapid variations in spin rates. They are believed to be related to the interaction between the superfluid interior of the neutron star and the outer crust. Detailed studies of glitches can reveal much about the properties of the constituents of neutron stars-the only way to probe the physics of material at such extreme densities. Time-scales of about an hour or longer reveal that some pulsars are in binary systems, in particular the most rapidly rotating systems. Discovering and studying those binary systems provides vital clues to the evolution of massive stars, while some of the systems are also the best probes of strong-field gravity theories; the elusive pulsar-black hole binary would be the ultimate system. Pulsars are tools that allow us to probe a range of phenomena and time-scales. It is possible to measure the time of arrival of pulses from some pulsars to better than a few tens of nanoseconds over years, making them some of the most accurate clocks known. Concerning their rotation, deviations from sphericity may cause pulsars to emit gravitational waves which might then be detected by next-generation gravitational-wave detectors. Pulsars themselves can be used as the arms of a Galactic-scale gravitational-wave detector. Measuring correlated deviations in the arrival times of pulses from a number of pulsars distributed throughout the Galaxy could give rise to a direct detection of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, which is associated with the astrophysics of the early Universe-most likely from supermassive black-hole binary systems, but potentially also from cosmic strings. While they are famed for their clock-like rotational stability, some pulsars-in particular the more youthful ones-exhibit modulation in pulse arrival times, often called timing noise. It was recently demonstrated that in at least some cases this variability is deterministic and is associated with modulations in the pulsar emission properties and the spin-down rate. This breakthrough may lead to further improvements in the precision which can be achieved with pulsar timing, and enhance still further the ability to test theories of gravity directly and to make a direct detection of gravitational waves. I presented some of the history of what is known about the variations in pulsars on all these time-scales and reviewed some of the recent achievements in our understanding of the phenomena. I also highlighted how new transients associated with radio-emitting neutron stars are being discovered, and how other transient sources are being identified by the same techniques. These continued improvements have come about without new telescopes, but the next generation of very sensitive wide-field instruments will permit observational cadences which will reveal many new manifestations and will further revolutionise our understanding of this class of objects which have such high astrophysical potential.

EINSTEIN-HOME DISCOVERY OF 24 PULSARS IN THE PARKES MULTI-BEAM PULSAR SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knispel, B.; Kim, H.; Allen, B.

2013-09-10

We have conducted a new search for radio pulsars in compact binary systems in the Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey (PMPS) data, employing novel methods to remove the Doppler modulation from binary motion. This has yielded unparalleled sensitivity to pulsars in compact binaries. The required computation time of Almost-Equal-To 17, 000 CPU core years was provided by the distributed volunteer computing project Einstein-Home, which has a sustained computing power of about 1 PFlop s{sup -1}. We discovered 24 new pulsars in our search, 18 of which were isolated pulsars, and 6 were members of binary systems. Despite the wide filterbank channelsmore » and relatively slow sampling time of the PMPS data, we found pulsars with very large ratios of dispersion measure (DM) to spin period. Among those is PSR J1748-3009, the millisecond pulsar with the highest known DM ( Almost-Equal-To 420 pc cm{sup -3}). We also discovered PSR J1840-0643, which is in a binary system with an orbital period of 937 days, the fourth largest known. The new pulsar J1750-2536 likely belongs to the rare class of intermediate-mass binary pulsars. Three of the isolated pulsars show long-term nulling or intermittency in their emission, further increasing this growing family. Our discoveries demonstrate the value of distributed volunteer computing for data-driven astronomy and the importance of applying new analysis methods to extensively searched data.« less

A Census of Southern Pulsars at 185 MHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Mengyao; Bhat, N. D. R.; Tremblay, S. E.; Ord, S. M.; Sobey, C.; Swainston, N. A.; Kaplan, D. L.; Johnston, Simon; Meyers, B. W.; McSweeney, S. J.

2017-12-01

The Murchison Widefield Array, and its recently developed Voltage Capture System, facilitates extending the low-frequency range of pulsar observations at high-time and -frequency resolution in the Southern Hemisphere, providing further information about pulsars and the ISM. We present the results of an initial time-resolved census of known pulsars using the Murchison Widefield Array. To significantly reduce the processing load, we incoherently sum the detected powers from the 128 Murchison Widefield Array tiles, which yields 10% of the attainable sensitivity of the coherent sum. This preserves the large field-of-view ( 450 deg2 at 185 MHz), allowing multiple pulsars to be observed simultaneously. We developed a WIde-field Pulsar Pipeline that processes the data from each observation and automatically folds every known pulsar located within the beam. We have detected 50 pulsars to date, 6 of which are millisecond pulsars. This is consistent with our expectation, given the telescope sensitivity and the sky coverage of the processed data ( 17 000 deg2). For 10 pulsars, we present the lowest frequency detections published. For a subset of the pulsars, we present multi-frequency pulse profiles by combining our data with published profiles from other telescopes. Since the Murchison Widefield Array is a low-frequency precursor to the Square Kilometre Array, we use our census results to forecast that a survey using the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array Phase 1 can potentially detect around 9 400 pulsars.

Constraining Nonperturbative Strong-Field Effects in Scalar-Tensor Gravity by Combining Pulsar Timing and Laser-Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Lijing; Sennett, Noah; Buonanno, Alessandra; Kramer, Michael; Wex, Norbert

2017-10-01

Pulsar timing and laser-interferometer gravitational-wave (GW) detectors are superb laboratories to study gravity theories in the strong-field regime. Here, we combine these tools to test the mono-scalar-tensor theory of Damour and Esposito-Farèse (DEF), which predicts nonperturbative scalarization phenomena for neutron stars (NSs). First, applying Markov-chain Monte Carlo techniques, we use the absence of dipolar radiation in the pulsar-timing observations of five binary systems composed of a NS and a white dwarf, and eleven equations of state (EOSs) for NSs, to derive the most stringent constraints on the two free parameters of the DEF scalar-tensor theory. Since the binary-pulsar bounds depend on the NS mass and the EOS, we find that current pulsar-timing observations leave scalarization windows, i.e., regions of parameter space where scalarization can still be prominent. Then, we investigate if these scalarization windows could be closed and if pulsar-timing constraints could be improved by laser-interferometer GW detectors, when spontaneous (or dynamical) scalarization sets in during the early (or late) stages of a binary NS (BNS) evolution. For the early inspiral of a BNS carrying constant scalar charge, we employ a Fisher-matrix analysis to show that Advanced LIGO can improve pulsar-timing constraints for some EOSs, and next-generation detectors, such as the Cosmic Explorer and Einstein Telescope, will be able to improve those bounds for all eleven EOSs. Using the late inspiral of a BNS, we estimate that for some of the EOSs under consideration, the onset of dynamical scalarization can happen early enough to improve the constraints on the DEF parameters obtained by combining the five binary pulsars. Thus, in the near future, the complementarity of pulsar timing and direct observations of GWs on the ground will be extremely valuable in probing gravity theories in the strong-field regime.

Timing gamma-ray pulsars with the Fermi large area telescope: Timing noise and astrometry

DOE PAGES

Kerr, Matthew; Ray, P. S.; Johnston, S.; ...

2015-11-25

We have constructed timing solutions for 81 γ-ray pulsars covering more than five years of Fermi data. The sample includes 37 radio-quiet or radio-faint pulsars which cannot be timed with other telescopes. These timing solutions and the corresponding pulse times of arrival are prerequisites for further study, e.g., phase-resolved spectroscopy or searches for mode switches. Many γ-ray pulsars are strongly affected by timing noise (TN), and we present a new method for characterizing the noise process and mitigating its effects on other facets of the timing model. We present an analysis of TN over the population using a new metric for characterizing its strength and spectral shape, namely, its time-domain correlation. The dependence of the strength on ν andmore » $$\\dot{\

A Machine Learning Classifier for Fast Radio Burst Detection at the VLBA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagstaff, Kiri L.; Tang, Benyang; Thompson, David R.; Khudikyan, Shakeh; Wyngaard, Jane; Deller, Adam T.; Palaniswamy, Divya; Tingay, Steven J.; Wayth, Randall B.

2016-08-01

Time domain radio astronomy observing campaigns frequently generate large volumes of data. Our goal is to develop automated methods that can identify events of interest buried within the larger data stream. The V-FASTR fast transient system was designed to detect rare fast radio bursts within data collected by the Very Long Baseline Array. The resulting event candidates constitute a significant burden in terms of subsequent human reviewing time. We have trained and deployed a machine learning classifier that marks each candidate detection as a pulse from a known pulsar, an artifact due to radio frequency interference, or a potential new discovery. The classifier maintains high reliability by restricting its predictions to those with at least 90% confidence. We have also implemented several efficiency and usability improvements to the V-FASTR web-based candidate review system. Overall, we found that time spent reviewing decreased and the fraction of interesting candidates increased. The classifier now classifies (and therefore filters) 80%-90% of the candidates, with an accuracy greater than 98%, leaving only the 10%-20% most promising candidates to be reviewed by humans.

The Pulsar Search Collaboratory: Discovery and Timing of Five New Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosen, R.; Swiggum, J.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Lorimer, D. R.; Yun, M.; Heatherly, S. A.; Boyles, J.; Lynch, R.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Scoles, S.; Ransom, S. M.; Moniot, M. L.; Cottrill, A.; Weaver, M.; Snider, A.; Thompson, C.; Raycraft, M.; Dudenhoefer, J.; Allphin, L.; Thorley, J.; Meadows, B.; Marchiny, G.; Liska, A.; O'Dwyer, A. M.; Butler, B.; Bloxton, S.; Mabry, H.; Abate, H.; Boothe, J.; Pritt, S.; Alberth, J.; Green, A.; Crowley, R. J.; Agee, A.; Nagley, S.; Sargent, N.; Hinson, E.; Smith, K.; McNeely, R.; Quigley, H.; Pennington, A.; Chen, S.; Maynard, T.; Loope, L.; Bielski, N.; McGough, J. R.; Gural, J. C.; Colvin, S.; Tso, S.; Ewen, Z.; Zhang, M.; Ciccarella, N.; Bukowski, B.; Novotny, C. B.; Gore, J.; Sarver, K.; Johnson, S.; Cunningham, H.; Collins, D.; Gardner, D.; Monteleone, A.; Hall, J.; Schweinhagen, R.; Ayers, J.; Jay, S.; Uosseph, B.; Dunkum, D.; Pal, J.; Dydiw, S.; Sterling, M.; Phan, E.

2013-05-01

We present the discovery and timing solutions of five new pulsars by students involved in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, a NSF-funded joint program between the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and West Virginia University designed to excite and engage high-school students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and related fields. We encourage students to pursue STEM fields by apprenticing them within a professional scientific community doing cutting edge research, specifically by teaching them to search for pulsars. The students are analyzing 300 hr of drift-scan survey data taken with the Green Bank Telescope at 350 MHz. These data cover 2876 deg2 of the sky. Over the course of five years, more than 700 students have inspected diagnostic plots through a web-based graphical interface designed for this project. The five pulsars discovered in the data have spin periods ranging from 3.1 ms to 4.8 s. Among the new discoveries are PSR J1926-1314, a long period, nulling pulsar; PSR J1821+0155, an isolated, partially recycled 33 ms pulsar; and PSR J1400-1438, a millisecond pulsar in a 9.5 day orbit whose companion is likely a white dwarf star.

Pulsar searching and timing with the Parkes telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, C. W. Y.

2014-11-01

Pulsars are highly magnetised, rapidly rotating neutron stars that radiate a beam of coherent radio emission from their magnetic poles. An introduction to the pulsar phenomenology is presented in Chapter 1 of this thesis. The extreme conditions found in and around such compact objects make pulsars fantastic natural laboratories, as their strong gravitational fields provide exclusive insights to a rich variety of fundamental physics and astronomy. The discovery of pulsars is therefore a gateway to new science. An overview of the standard pulsar searching technique is described in Chapter 2, as well as a discussion on notable pulsar searching efforts undertaken thus far with various telescopes. The High Time Resolution Universe (HTRU) Pulsar Survey conducted with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope in Australia forms the bulk of this PhD. In particular, the author has led the search effort of the HTRU low-latitude Galactic plane project part which is introduced in Chapter 3. We discuss the computational challenges arising from the processing of the petabyte-sized survey data. Two new radio interference mitigation techniques are introduced, as well as a partially-coherent segmented acceleration search algorithm which aims to increase our chances of discovering highly-relativistic short-orbit binary systems, covering a parameter space including the potential pulsar-black hole binaries. We show that under a linear acceleration approximation, a ratio of ~0.1 of data length over orbital period results in the highest effectiveness for this search algorithm. Chapter 4 presents the initial results from the HTRU low-latitude Galactic plane survey. From the 37 per cent of data processed thus far, we have re-detected 348 previously known pulsars and discovered a further 47 pulsars. Two of which are fast-spinning pulsars with periods less than 30 ms. PSR J1101-6424 is a millisecond pulsar (MSP) with a heavy white dwarf companion while its short spin period of 5 ms indicates contradictory full-recycling. PSR J1757-27 is likely to be an isolated pulsar with an unexpectedly long spin period of 17 ms. In addition, PSR J1847-0427 is likely to be an aligned rotator, and PSR J1759-24 exhibits transient emission property. We compare this newly-discovered pulsar population to that previously known, and we suggest that our current pulsar detection yield is as expected from population synthesis. The discovery of pulsars is just a first step and, in fact, the most interesting science can usually only be revealed when a follow-up timing campaign is carried out. Chapter 5 focuses on the timing of 16 MSPs discovered by the HTRU. We reveal new observational parameters such as five proper motion measurements and significant temporal dispersion measure variations in PSR J1017-7156. We discuss the case of PSR J1801-3210, which shows no significant period derivative after four years of timing data. Our best-fit solution shows a period derivative of the order of 10 to the power -23, an extremely small number compared to that of a typical MSP. However, it is likely that the pulsar lies beyond the Galactic Centre, and an unremarkable intrinsic period derivative is reduced to close to zero by the Galactic potential acceleration. Furthermore, we highlight the potential to employ PSR J1801-3210 in the strong equivalence principle test due to its wide and circular orbit. In a broader comparison with the known MSP population, we suggest a correlation between higher mass functions and the presence of eclipses in 'very low-mass binary pulsars', implying that eclipses are observed in systems with high orbital inclinations. We also suggest that the distribution of the total mass of binary systems is inversely-related to the Galactic height distribution. We report on the first detection of PSRs J1543-5149 and J1811-2404 as gamma-ray pulsars. Further discussion and conclusions arise from the pulsar searching and timing efforts conducted with the HTRU survey can be found in Chapter 6. Finally, this thesis is closed with a consideration of future work. We examine the prospects of continuing data processing and follow-up timing of discoveries from the HTRU Galactic plane survey. We also suggest potential improvements in the search algorithms aiming at increasing pulsar detectability.

A Search for Pulsar Companions to OB Runaway Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaspi, V. M.

1995-01-01

We have searched for radio pulsar companions to 40 nearby OB runaway stars. Observations were made at 474 and 770 MHz with the NRAO 140 ft telescope. The survey was sensitive to long- period pulsars with flux densities of 1 mJy or more. One previously unknown pulsar was discovered, PSRJ2044+4614, while observing towards target O star BD+45,3260. Follow-up timing observations of the pulsar measured its position to high precision, revealing a 9' separation between the pulsar and the target star, unequivocally indicating they are not associated.

Searching for Planets Around Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2015-09-01

Did you know that the very first exoplanets ever confirmed were found around a pulsar? The precise timing measurements of pulsar PSR 1257+12 were what made the discovery of its planetary companions possible. Yet surprisingly, though weve discovered thousands of exoplanets since then, only one other planet has ever been confirmed around a pulsar. Now, a team of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science researchers are trying to figure out why.Formation ChallengesThe lack of detected pulsar planets may simply reflect the fact that getting a pulsar-planet system is challenging! There are three main pathways:The planet formed before the host star became a pulsar which means it somehow survived its star going supernova (yikes!).The planet formed elsewhere and was captured by the pulsar.The planet formed out of the debris of the supernova explosion.The first two options, if even possible, are likely to be rare occurrences but the third option shows some promise. In this scenario, after the supernova explosion, a small fraction of the material falls back toward the stellar remnant and is recaptured, forming what is known as a supernova fallback disk. According to this model, planets could potentially form out of this disk.Disk ImplicationsLed by Matthew Kerr, the CSIRO astronomers set out to systematically look for these potential planets that might have formed in situ around pulsars. They searched a sample of 151 young, energetic pulsars, scouring seven years of pulse time-of-arrival data for periodic variation that could signal the presence of planetary companions. Their methods to mitigate pulsar timing noise and model realistic orbits allowed them to have good sensitivity to low-mass planets.The results? They found no conclusive evidence that any of these pulsars have planets.This outcome carries with it some significant implications. The pulsar sample spans 2 Myr in age, in which planets should have had enough time to form in debris disks. The fact that none were detected suggests that long-lived supernova fallback disks may actually be much rarer than thought, or they exist only in conditions that arent compatible with planet formation.So if thats the case, what about the planets found around PSR 1257+12? This pulsar may actually be somewhat unique, in that it was born with an unusually weak magnetic field. This birth defect might have allowed it to form a fallback disk and, subsequently, planets where the sample of energetic pulsars studied here could not.CitationM. Kerr et al.2015 ApJ 809 L11 doi:10.1088/2041-8205/809/1/L11

Limits to the Stability of Pulsar Time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petit, Gerard

1996-01-01

The regularity of the rotation rate of millisecond pulsars is the underlying hypothesis for using these neutron stars as 'celestial clocks'. Given their remote location in our galaxy and to our lack of precise knowledge on the galactic environment, a number of phenomena effect the apparent rotation rate observed on Earth. This paper reviews these phenomena and estimates the order of magnitude of their effect. It concludes that an ensemble pulsar time based on a number of selected millisecond pulsars should have a fractional frequency stability close to 2 x 10(sup -15) for an averaging time of a few years.

THE EINSTEIN@HOME GAMMA-RAY PULSAR SURVEY. I. SEARCH METHODS, SENSITIVITY, AND DISCOVERY OF NEW YOUNG GAMMA-RAY PULSARS

DOE PAGES

Clark, C. J.; Wu, J.; Pletsch, H. J.; ...

2017-01-05

Here, we report on the results of a recent blind search survey for gamma-ray pulsars in Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data being carried out on the distributed volunteer computing system, Einstein@Home. The survey has searched for pulsations in 118 unidentified pulsar-like sources, requiring about 10,000 years of CPU core time. In total, this survey has resulted in the discovery of 17 new gamma-ray pulsars, of which 13 are newly reported in this work, and an accompanying paper. These pulsars are all young, isolated pulsars with characteristic ages between 12 kyr and 2 Myr, and spin-down powers between 10 34 and 4 × 10 36 erg s -1. Two of these are the slowest spinning gamma-ray pulsars yet known. One pulsar experienced a very large glitchmore » $${\\rm{\\Delta }}f/f\\approx 3.5\\times {10}^{-6}$$ during the Fermi mission. In this, the first of two associated papers, we describe the search scheme used in this survey, and estimate the sensitivity of our search to pulsations in unidentified Fermi-LAT sources. One such estimate results in an upper limit of 57% for the fraction of pulsed emission from the gamma-ray source associated with the Cas A supernova remnant, constraining the pulsed gamma-ray photon flux that can be produced by the neutron star at its center. Lastly, we also present the results of precise timing analyses for each of the newly detected pulsars.« less

THE EINSTEIN@HOME GAMMA-RAY PULSAR SURVEY. I. SEARCH METHODS, SENSITIVITY, AND DISCOVERY OF NEW YOUNG GAMMA-RAY PULSARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, C. J.; Wu, J.; Pletsch, H. J.

Here, we report on the results of a recent blind search survey for gamma-ray pulsars in Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data being carried out on the distributed volunteer computing system, Einstein@Home. The survey has searched for pulsations in 118 unidentified pulsar-like sources, requiring about 10,000 years of CPU core time. In total, this survey has resulted in the discovery of 17 new gamma-ray pulsars, of which 13 are newly reported in this work, and an accompanying paper. These pulsars are all young, isolated pulsars with characteristic ages between 12 kyr and 2 Myr, and spin-down powers between 10 34 and 4 × 10 36 erg s -1. Two of these are the slowest spinning gamma-ray pulsars yet known. One pulsar experienced a very large glitchmore » $${\\rm{\\Delta }}f/f\\approx 3.5\\times {10}^{-6}$$ during the Fermi mission. In this, the first of two associated papers, we describe the search scheme used in this survey, and estimate the sensitivity of our search to pulsations in unidentified Fermi-LAT sources. One such estimate results in an upper limit of 57% for the fraction of pulsed emission from the gamma-ray source associated with the Cas A supernova remnant, constraining the pulsed gamma-ray photon flux that can be produced by the neutron star at its center. Lastly, we also present the results of precise timing analyses for each of the newly detected pulsars.« less

The Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey. II. The Discovery and Timing of 10 Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawash, A. M.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Kaplan, D. L.; DeCesar, M. E.; Levin, L.; Lorimer, D. R.; Lynch, R. S.; Stovall, K.; Swiggum, J. K.; Fonseca, E.; Archibald, A. M.; Banaszak, S.; Biwer, C. M.; Boyles, J.; Cui, B.; Dartez, L. P.; Day, D.; Ernst, S.; Ford, A. J.; Flanigan, J.; Heatherly, S. A.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Hinojosa, J.; Jenet, F. A.; Karako-Argaman, C.; Kaspi, V. M.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Leake, S.; Lunsford, G.; Martinez, J. G.; Mata, A.; Matheny, T. D.; Mcewen, A. E.; Mingyar, M. G.; Orsini, A. L.; Ransom, S. M.; Roberts, M. S. E.; Rohr, M. D.; Siemens, X.; Spiewak, R.; Stairs, I. H.; van Leeuwen, J.; Walker, A. N.; Wells, B. L.

2018-04-01

We present timing solutions for 10 pulsars discovered in 350 MHz searches with the Green Bank Telescope. Nine of these were discovered in the Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap survey and one was discovered by students in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory program during an analysis of drift-scan data. Following the discovery and confirmation with the Green Bank Telescope, timing has yielded phase-connected solutions with high-precision measurements of rotational and astrometric parameters. Eight of the pulsars are slow and isolated, including PSR J0930‑2301, a pulsar with a nulling fraction lower limit of ∼30% and a nulling timescale of seconds to minutes. This pulsar also shows evidence of mode changing. The remaining two pulsars have undergone recycling, accreting material from binary companions, resulting in higher spin frequencies. PSR J0557‑2948 is an isolated, 44 ms pulsar that has been partially recycled and is likely a former member of a binary system that was disrupted by a second supernova. The paucity of such so-called “disrupted binary pulsars” (DRPs) compared to double neutron star (DNS) binaries can be used to test current evolutionary scenarios, especially the kicks imparted on the neutron stars in the second supernova. There is some evidence that DRPs have larger space velocities, which could explain their small numbers. PSR J1806+2819 is a 15 ms pulsar in a 44-day orbit with a low-mass white dwarf companion. We did not detect the companion in archival optical data, indicating that it must be older than 1200 Myr.

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2013-10-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the role played by the high energy photons released from the pulsar in the ejection of matter from the binary system).

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2014-04-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the role played by the high energy photons released from the pulsar in the ejection of matter from the binary system).

Pulsar Timing and Its Application for Navigation and Gravitational Wave Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Werner; Kramer, Michael; Sesana, Alberto

2018-02-01

Pulsars are natural cosmic clocks. On long timescales they rival the precision of terrestrial atomic clocks. Using a technique called pulsar timing, the exact measurement of pulse arrival times allows a number of applications, ranging from testing theories of gravity to detecting gravitational waves. Also an external reference system suitable for autonomous space navigation can be defined by pulsars, using them as natural navigation beacons, not unlike the use of GPS satellites for navigation on Earth. By comparing pulse arrival times measured on-board a spacecraft with predicted pulse arrivals at a reference location (e.g. the solar system barycenter), the spacecraft position can be determined autonomously and with high accuracy everywhere in the solar system and beyond. We describe the unique properties of pulsars that suggest that such a navigation system will certainly have its application in future astronautics. We also describe the on-going experiments to use the clock-like nature of pulsars to "construct" a galactic-sized gravitational wave detector for low-frequency (f_{GW}˜ 10^{-9} - 10^{-7} Hz) gravitational waves. We present the current status and provide an outlook for the future.

Discovery of the millisecond pulsar PSR J2043+1711 in a Fermi source with the Nançay Radio Telescope

DOE PAGES

Guillemot, L.; Freire, P. C. C.; Cognard, I.; ...

2012-04-25

Here, we report the discovery of the millisecond pulsar PSR J2043+1711 in a search of a Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) source with no known associations, with the Nançay Radio Telescope. The new pulsar, confirmed with the Green Bank Telescope, has a spin period of 2.38 ms, is relatively nearby (d ≲ 2 kpc) and is in a 1.48-d orbit around a low-mass companion, probably an He-type white dwarf. Using an ephemeris based on Arecibo, Nançay and Westerbork timing measurements, pulsed gamma-ray emission was detected in the data recorded by the Fermi LAT. The gamma-ray light curve and spectral propertiesmore » are typical of other gamma-ray millisecond pulsars seen with Fermi. X-ray observations of the pulsar with Suzaku and the Swift X-ray Telescope yielded no detection. At 1.4 GHz, we also observe strong flux density variations because of interstellar diffractive scintillation; however, a sharp peak can be observed at this frequency during bright scintillation states. At 327 MHz, the pulsar is detected with a much higher signal-to-noise ratio and its flux density is far more steady. However, at that frequency the Arecibo instrumentation cannot yet fully resolve the pulse profile. Despite that, our pulse time-of-arrival measurements have a post-fit residual rms of 2 μs. Furthermore, this and the expected stability of this system have made PSR J2043+1711 one of the first new Fermi-selected millisecond pulsars to be added to pulsar gravitational wave timing arrays. It has also allowed a significant measurement of relativistic delays in the times of arrival of the pulses due to the curvature of space–time near the companion, but not yet with enough precision to derive useful masses for the pulsar and the companion. Nevertheless, a mass for the pulsar between 1.7 and 2.0 M⊙ can be derived if a standard millisecond pulsar formation model is assumed. In this paper, we also present a comprehensive summary of pulsar searches in Fermi LAT sources with the Nançay Radio Telescope to date.« less

Localizing New Pulsars with Intensity Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swiggum, Joe; Gentile, Peter

2018-01-01

Although low-frequency, single dish pulsar surveys provide an efficient means of searching large regions of sky quickly, the localization of new discoveries is poor. For example, discoveries from 350 MHz surveys using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) have position uncertainties up to the FWHM of the telescope's "beam" on the sky, over half a degree! Before finding a coherent timing solution (requires 8-12 months of dedicated timing observations) a "gridding" method is usually employed to improve localization of new pulsars, whereby a grid of higher frequency beam positions is used to tile the initial error region. This method often requires over an hour of observing time to achieve arcminute-precision localization (provided the pulsar is detectable at higher frequencies).Here, we describe another method that uses the same observing frequency as the discovery observation and scans over Right Ascension and Declination directions around the nominal position. A Gaussian beam model is fit to folded pulse profile intensities as a function of time/position to provide improved localization. Using five test cases, we show that intensity mapping localization at 350 MHz with the GBT yields pulsar positions to 1 arcminute precision, facilitating high-frequency follow-up and higher significance detections for future pulsar timing. This method is also well suited to be directly implemented in future low-frequency drift scan pulsar surveys (e.g. with the Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope; FAST).

Shapiro effect as a possible cause of the low-frequency pulsar timing noise in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larchenkova, T. I.; Kopeikin, S. M.

2006-01-01

A prolonged timing of millisecond pulsars has revealed low-frequency uncorrelated (infrared) noise, presumably of astrophysical origin, in the pulse arrival time (PAT) residuals for some of them. Currently available pulsar timing methods allow the statistical parameters of this noise to be reliably measured by decomposing the PAT residual function into orthogonal Fourier harmonics. In most cases, pulsars in globular clusters show a low-frequency modulation of their rotational phase and spin rate. The relativistic time delay of the pulsar signal in the curved spacetime of randomly distributed and moving globular cluster stars (the Shapiro effect) is suggested as a possible cause of this modulation. Extremely important (from an astrophysical point of view) information about the structure of the globular cluster core, which is inaccessible to study by other observational methods, could be obtained by analyzing the spectral parameters of the low-frequency noise caused by the Shapiro effect and attributable to the random passages of stars near the line of sight to the pulsar. Given the smallness of the aberration corrections that arise from the nonstationarity of the gravitational field of the randomly distributed ensemble of stars under consideration, a formula is derived for the Shapiro effect for a pulsar in a globular cluster. The derived formula is used to calculate the autocorrelation function of the low-frequency pulsar noise, the slope of its power spectrum, and the behavior of the σz statistic that characterizes the spectral properties of this noise in the form of a time function. The Shapiro effect under discussion is shown to manifest itself for large impact parameters as a low-frequency noise of the pulsar spin rate with a spectral index of n = -1.8 that depends weakly on the specific model distribution of stars in the globular cluster. For small impact parameters, the spectral index of the noise is n = -1.5.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tong, H.; Kou, F. F., E-mail: htong_2005@163.com

The coupled evolution of pulsar rotation and inclination angle in the wind braking model is calculated. The oblique pulsar tends to align. The pulsar alignment affects its spin-down behavior. As a pulsar evolves from the magneto-dipole radiation dominated case to the particle wind dominated case, the braking index first increases and then decreases. In the early time, the braking index may be larger than three. During the following long time, the braking index is always smaller than three. The minimum braking index is about one. This can explain the existence of a high braking index larger than three and amore » low braking index simultaneously. The pulsar braking index is expected to evolve from larger than three to about one. The general trend is for the pulsar braking index to evolve from the Crab-like case to the Vela-like case.« less

THE NANOGRAV NINE-YEAR DATA SET: EXCESS NOISE IN MILLISECOND PULSAR ARRIVAL TIMES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lam, M. T.; Jones, M. L.; McLaughlin, M. A.

Gravitational wave (GW) astronomy using a pulsar timing array requires high-quality millisecond pulsars (MSPs), correctable interstellar propagation delays, and high-precision measurements of pulse times of arrival. Here we identify noise in timing residuals that exceeds that predicted for arrival time estimation for MSPs observed by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves. We characterize the excess noise using variance and structure function analyses. We find that 26 out of 37 pulsars show inconsistencies with a white-noise-only model based on the short timescale analysis of each pulsar, and we demonstrate that the excess noise has a red power spectrum formore » 15 pulsars. We also decompose the excess noise into chromatic (radio-frequency-dependent) and achromatic components. Associating the achromatic red-noise component with spin noise and including additional power-spectrum-based estimates from the literature, we estimate a scaling law in terms of spin parameters (frequency and frequency derivative) and data-span length and compare it to the scaling law of Shannon and Cordes. We briefly discuss our results in terms of detection of GWs at nanohertz frequencies.« less

Precise γ-ray timing and radio observations of 17 FERMI γ-ray pulsars

DOE PAGES

Ray, Paul S.; Kerr, M.; Parent, D.; ...

2011-04-29

Here, we present precise phase-connected pulse timing solutions for 16 γ-ray-selected pulsars recently discovered using the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope plus one very faint radio pulsar (PSR J1124–5916) that is more effectively timed with the LAT. We describe the analysis techniques including a maximum likelihood method for determining pulse times of arrival from unbinned photon data. A major result of this work is improved position determinations, which are crucial for multiwavelength follow-up. For most of the pulsars, we overlay the timing localizations on X-ray images from Swift and describe the status of X-ray counterpartmore » associations. We report glitches measured in PSRs J0007+7303, J1124–5916, and J1813–1246. We analyze a new 20 ks Chandra ACIS observation of PSR J0633+0632 that reveals an arcminute-scale X-ray nebula extending to the south of the pulsar. We were also able to precisely localize the X-ray point source counterpart to the pulsar and find a spectrum that can be described by an absorbed blackbody or neutron star atmosphere with a hard power-law component. Another Chandra ACIS image of PSR J1732–3131 reveals a faint X-ray point source at a location consistent with the timing position of the pulsar. Finally, we present a compilation of new and archival searches for radio pulsations from each of the γ-ray-selected pulsars as well as a new Parkes radio observation of PSR J1124–5916 to establish the γ-ray to radio phase offset.« less

TIMING OF 29 PULSARS DISCOVERED IN THE PALFA SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lyne, A. G.; Stappers, B. W.; Bogdanov, S.

2017-01-10

We report on the discovery and timing observations of 29 distant long-period pulsars found in the ongoing Arecibo L-band Feed Array pulsar survey. Following discovery with the Arecibo Telescope, confirmation and timing observations of these pulsars over several years at Jodrell Bank Observatory have yielded high-precision positions and measurements of rotation and radiation properties. We have used multi-frequency data to measure the interstellar scattering properties of some of these pulsars. Most of the pulsars have properties that mirror those of the previously known pulsar population, although four show some notable characteristics. PSRs J1907+0631 and J1925+1720 are young and are associatedmore » with supernova remnants or plerionic nebulae: J1907+0631 lies close to the center of SNR G40.5−0.5, while J1925+1720 is coincident with a high-energy Fermi γ -ray source. One pulsar, J1932+1500, is in a surprisingly eccentric, 199 day binary orbit with a companion having a minimum mass of 0.33 M {sub ⊙}. Several of the sources exhibit timing noise, and two, PSRs J0611+1436 and J1907+0631, have both suffered large glitches, but with very different post-glitch rotation properties. In particular, the rotational period of PSR J0611+1436 will not recover to its pre-glitch value for about 12 years, a far greater recovery timescale than seen following any other large glitches.« less

Visualization of Pulsar Search Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, R. S.; Wolszczan, A.

1993-05-01

The search for periodic signals from rotating neutron stars or pulsars has been a computationally taxing problem to astronomers for more than twenty-five years. Over this time interval, increases in computational capability have allowed ever more sensitive searches, covering a larger parameter space. The volume of input data and the general presence of radio frequency interference typically produce numerous spurious signals. Visualization of the search output and enhanced real-time processing of significant candidate events allow the pulsar searcher to optimally processes and search for new radio pulsars. The pulsar search algorithm and visualization system presented in this paper currently runs on serial RISC based workstations, a traditional vector based super computer, and a massively parallel computer. A description of the serial software algorithm and its modifications for massively parallel computing are describe. The results of four successive searches for millisecond period radio pulsars using the Arecibo telescope at 430 MHz have resulted in the successful detection of new long-period and millisecond period radio pulsars.

A search of the SAS-2 data for pulsed gamma-ray emission from radio pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ogelman, H.; Fichtel, C. E.; Kniffen, D. A.; Thompson, D. J.

1976-01-01

Data from the SAS-2 high-energy (above 35 MeV) gamma-ray experiment have been examined for pulsed emission from each of 75 radio pulsars which were viewed by the instrument and which have sufficiently well-defined period and period-derivative information from radio observations to allow for gamma-ray periodicity searches. When gamma-ray arrival times were converted to pulsar phase using the radio reference timing information, two pulsars, PSR 1747-46 and PSR 1818-04, showed positive effects, each with a probability of less than 1 part in 10,000 of being a random fluctuation in the data for that pulsar. These are in addition to PSR 0531+21 and PSR 0833-45, previously reported. The results of this study suggest that gamma-ray astronomy has reached the detection threshold for gamma-ray pulsars and that work in the near future should give important new information on the nature of pulsars.

Pulsar timing arrays: the promise of gravitational wave detection.

PubMed

Lommen, Andrea N

2015-12-01

We describe the history, methods, tools, and challenges of using pulsars to detect gravitational waves. Pulsars act as celestial clocks detecting gravitational perturbations in space-time at wavelengths of light-years. The field is poised to make its first detection of nanohertz gravitational waves in the next 10 years. Controversies remain over how far we can reduce the noise in the pulsars, how many pulsars should be in the array, what kind of source we will detect first, and how we can best accommodate our large bandwidth systems. We conclude by considering the important question of how to plan for a post-detection era, beyond the first detection of gravitational waves.

Local constraints on cosmic string loops from photometry and pulsar timing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pshirkov, M. S.; Tuntsov, A. V.; Sternberg Astronomical Institute, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992

2010-04-15

We constrain the cosmological density of cosmic string loops using two observational signatures--gravitational microlensing and the Kaiser-Stebbins effect. Photometry from RXTE and CoRoT space missions and pulsar timing from Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, Arecibo and Green Bank radio telescopes allow us to probe cosmic strings in a wide range of tensions G{mu}/c{sup 2}=10{sup -16} divide 10{sup -10}. We find that pulsar timing data provide the most stringent constraints on the abundance of light strings at the level {Omega}{sub s{approx}}10{sup -3}. Future observational facilities such as the Square Kilometer Array will allow one to improve these constraints by orders of magnitude.

Accelerated Bayesian model-selection and parameter-estimation in continuous gravitational-wave searches with pulsar-timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Stephen; Ellis, Justin; Gair, Jonathan

2014-11-01

We describe several new techniques which accelerate Bayesian searches for continuous gravitational-wave emission from supermassive black-hole binaries using pulsar-timing arrays. These techniques mitigate the problematic increase of search dimensionality with the size of the pulsar array which arises from having to include an extra parameter per pulsar as the array is expanded. This extra parameter corresponds to searching over the phase of the gravitational wave as it propagates past each pulsar so that we can coherently include the pulsar term in our search strategies. Our techniques make the analysis tractable with powerful evidence-evaluation packages like MultiNest. We find good agreement of our techniques with the parameter-estimation and Bayes factor evaluation performed with full signal templates and conclude that these techniques make excellent first-cut tools for detection and characterization of continuous gravitational-wave signals with pulsar-timing arrays. Crucially, at low to moderate signal-to-noise ratios the factor by which the analysis is sped up can be ≳100 , permitting rigorous programs of systematic injection and recovery of signals to establish robust detection criteria within a Bayesian formalism.

Curious properties of the recycled pulsars and the potential of high precision timing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailes, Matthew

2010-03-01

Binary and Millisecond pulsars have a great deal to teach us about stellar evolution and are invaluable tools for tests of relativistic theories of gravity. Our understanding of these objects has been transformed by large-scale surveys that have uncovered a great deal of new objects, exquisitely timed by ever-improving instrumentation. Here we argue that there exists a fundamental relation between the spin period of a pulsar and its companion mass, and that this determines many of the observable properties of a binary pulsar. No recycled pulsars exist in which the minimum companion mass exceeds (P/10 ms) M ⊙. Furthermore, the three fastest disk millisecond pulsars are either single, or possess extremely low-mass companions ( Mc ˜ 0.02 M ⊙), consistent with this relation. Finally, the four relativistic binaries for which we have actual measurements of neutron star masses, suggest that not only are their spin periods related to the companion neutron star mass, but that the kick imparted to the system depends upon it too, leading to a correlation between orbital eccentricity and spin period. The isolation of the relativistic binary pulsars in the magnetic field-Period diagram is used to argue that this must be because the kicks imparted to proto-relativistic systems are usually small, leading to very few if any isolated runaway mildly-recycled pulsars. This calls into question the magnitude of supernova kicks in close binaries, which have been usually assumed to be similar to those imparted to the bulk of the pulsar population. Finally, we review some of the highlights of the Parkes precision timing efforts, which suggest 10 ns timing is obtainable on PSR J1909-3744 that will aid us in searching for a cosmological sources of gravitational waves.

Timing and searching millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew

2009-10-01

Timing the dozen pulsars discovered in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the eclipse region and the orbital secular evolution). We also request time for performing pilot observations for a new deeper than ever search for millisecond pulsars in a subset of suitable clusters. This revamped search (as well as the requested timing observations) will exploit the new back-ends (APSR and DFB4) now available at Parkes.

The Arecibo Remote Command Center Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crawford, Fronefield; Jenet, Fredrick; Christy, Brian; Dolch, Timothy; Guerreo-Miller, Alma; Quetschke, Volker; Siemens, Xavier; Smith, Tristan L.; Stovall, Kevin; Wade, Leslie; Wade, Madeline

2017-01-01

The Arecibo Remote Command Center (ARCC) network is an education, research, and training program for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs spanning multiple institutions. ARCC members use the Arecibo 305-m radio telescope to remotely conduct pulsar survey and timing observations, and they search the data collected to find new radio pulsars using a custom pulsar candidate viewer. Timing data are used in the ongoing NANOGrav search for gravitational waves using pulsar timing arrays. The ARCC program also serves as an effective introduction for students to radio pulsar research. Currently ARCC has seven institutional members and dozens of participants. Our poster provides some general background about the ARCC program at Franklin and Marshall College and serves as a catalyst for in-person conversations and discussions about ARCC, including the benefits of joining the ARCC network and some specifics on how to join.

The SUrvey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts - I. Survey description and overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keane, E. F.; Barr, E. D.; Jameson, A.; Morello, V.; Caleb, M.; Bhandari, S.; Petroff, E.; Possenti, A.; Burgay, M.; Tiburzi, C.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Eatough, R. P.; Flynn, C.; Jankowski, F.; Johnston, S.; Kramer, M.; Levin, L.; Ng, C.; van Straten, W.; Krishnan, V. Venkatraman

2018-01-01

We describe the Survey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts (SUPERB), an ongoing pulsar and fast transient survey using the Parkes radio telescope. SUPERB involves real-time acceleration searches for pulsars and single-pulse searches for pulsars and fast radio bursts. We report on the observational set-up, data analysis, multiwavelength/messenger connections, survey sensitivities to pulsars and fast radio bursts and the impact of radio frequency interference. We further report on the first 10 pulsars discovered in the project. Among these is PSR J1306-40, a millisecond pulsar in a binary system where it appears to be eclipsed for a large fraction of the orbit. PSR J1421-4407 is another binary millisecond pulsar; its orbital period is 30.7 d. This orbital period is in a range where only highly eccentric binaries are known, and expected by theory; despite this its orbit has an eccentricity of 10-5.

SEXTANT X-Ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Initial On-Orbit Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Jason W.; Winternitz, Luke B.; Hassouneh, Munther A.; Price, Samuel R.; Semper, Sean R.; Yu, Wayne H.; Ray, Paul S.; Wolf, Michael T.; Kerr, Matthew; Wood, Kent S.;

Algorithms for searching Fast radio bursts and pulsars in tight binary systems.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zackay, Barak

2017-01-01

Fast radio bursts (FRB's) are an exciting, recently discovered, astrophysical transients which their origins are unknown.Currently, these bursts are believed to be coming from cosmological distances, allowing us to probe the electron content on cosmological length scales. Even though their precise localization is crucial for the determination of their origin, radio interferometers were not extensively employed in searching for them due to computational limitations.I will briefly present the Fast Dispersion Measure Transform (FDMT) algorithm,that allows to reduce the operation count in blind incoherent dedispersion by 2-3 orders of magnitude.In addition, FDMT enables to probe the unexplored domain of sub-microsecond astrophysical pulses.Pulsars in tight binary systems are among the most important astrophysical objects as they provide us our best tests of general relativity in the strong field regime.I will provide a preview to a novel algorithm that enables the detection of pulsars in short binary systems using observation times longer than an orbital period.Current pulsar search programs limit their searches for integration times shorter than a few percents of the orbital period.Until now, searching for pulsars in binary systems using observation times longer than an orbital period was considered impossible as one has to blindly enumerate all options for the Keplerian parameters, the pulsar rotation period, and the unknown DM.Using the current state of the art pulsar search techniques and all computers on the earth, such an enumeration would take longer than a Hubble time. I will demonstrate that using the new algorithm, it is possible to conduct such an enumeration on a laptop using real data of the double pulsar PSR J0737-3039.Among the other applications of this algorithm are:1) Searching for all pulsars on all sky positions in gamma ray observations of the Fermi LAT satellite.2) Blind searching for continuous gravitational wave sources emitted by pulsars with non-axis-symmetric matter distribution.Previous attempts to conduct all of the above searches contained substantial sensitivity compromises.

HIGH-FIDELITY RADIO ASTRONOMICAL POLARIMETRY USING A MILLISECOND PULSAR AS A POLARIZED REFERENCE SOURCE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Straten, W., E-mail: vanstraten.willem@gmail.com

2013-01-15

A new method of polarimetric calibration is presented in which the instrumental response is derived from regular observations of PSR J0437-4715 based on the assumption that the mean polarized emission from this millisecond pulsar remains constant over time. The technique is applicable to any experiment in which high-fidelity polarimetry is required over long timescales; it is demonstrated by calibrating 7.2 years of high-precision timing observations of PSR J1022+1001 made at the Parkes Observatory. Application of the new technique followed by arrival time estimation using matrix template matching yields post-fit residuals with an uncertainty-weighted standard deviation of 880 ns, two timesmore » smaller than that of arrival time residuals obtained via conventional methods of calibration and arrival time estimation. The precision achieved by this experiment yields the first significant measurements of the secular variation of the projected semimajor axis, the precession of periastron, and the Shapiro delay; it also places PSR J1022+1001 among the 10 best pulsars regularly observed as part of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project. It is shown that the timing accuracy of a large fraction of the pulsars in the PPTA is currently limited by the systematic timing error due to instrumental polarization artifacts. More importantly, long-term variations of systematic error are correlated between different pulsars, which adversely affects the primary objectives of any pulsar timing array experiment. These limitations may be overcome by adopting the techniques presented in this work, which relax the demand for instrumental polarization purity and thereby have the potential to reduce the development cost of next-generation telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array.« less

The hunt for new and interesting pulsars with the Green Bank Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynch, Ryan Sean

2011-01-01

Pulsars are excellent tools for studying a variety of phenomena in physics and astronomy. Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are particularly useful because of their clock-like precision and because they are often part of exotic systems. The majority of MSPs have been found in globular clusters (GCs) or in large-area surveys, but most surveys are still sensitivity limited, meaning that many fascinating systems are waiting to be found. A number of technical advances made over the past decade have enabled more sensitive pulsar surveys. This thesis presents the results of several projects with over-arching goals that focused on the discovery and study of new pulsars, with an emphasis on MSPs. Seven new pulsars have been discovered in surveys of 17 GCs, and the majority of these are fully recycled MSPs. These surveys provide insight into which factors influence the total pulsar content of GCs. New timing solutions have been obtained for an additional six GC pulsars that were previously known but not fully characterized; updated solutions are also presented for five well-studied pulsars. Highlights include the discovery of the most massive companion to a fully recycled MSP, and confirmation of a rare, non-recycled GC pulsar. A detailed study of the population of non-recycled pulsars that originate in GCs is also presented, with an emphasis on those pulsars that escape from their host GCs and enter the field of the Galaxy. These results suggest that non-recycled pulsars in GCs are formed via electron capture supernovae, and that these must induce smaller natal kicks than core collapse supernovae. The total population of non-recycled pulsars that have escaped from clusters may be significant, but the chance of identifying them as a separate population is presently small. Finally, early results of the Green Bank Telescope Drift Scan survey are reported. The survey has discovered 26 new pulsars so far, and timing solutions for ten are discussed here, including two recycled pulsars. One of these looks to be an excellent laboratory for studying extreme physics. Future avenues of research are also presented, along with a description of the author's role in education and public outreach projects.

The Emerging Population of Pulsar Wind Nebulae in Hard X-rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattana, F.; Götz, D.; Terrier, R.; Renaud, M.; Falanga, M.

2009-05-01

The hard X-ray synchrotron emission from Pulsar Wind Nebulae probes energetic particles, closely related to the pulsar injection power at the present time. INTEGRAL has disclosed the yet poorly known population of hard X-ray pulsar/PWN systems. We summarize the properties of the class, with emphasys on the first hard X-ray bow-shock (CTB 80 powered by PSR B1951+32), and highlight some prospects for the study of Pulsar Wind Nebulae with the Simbol-X mission.

SCINTILLATION ARCS IN LOW-FREQUENCY OBSERVATIONS OF THE TIMING-ARRAY MILLISECOND PULSAR PSR J0437–4715

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhat, N. D. R.; Ord, S. M.; Tremblay, S. E.

2016-02-10

Low-frequency observations of pulsars provide a powerful means for probing the microstructure in the turbulent interstellar medium (ISM). Here we report on high-resolution dynamic spectral analysis of our observations of the timing-array millisecond pulsar PSR J0437–4715 with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), enabled by our recently commissioned tied-array beam processing pipeline for voltage data recorded from the high time resolution mode of the MWA. A secondary spectral analysis reveals faint parabolic arcs akin to those seen in high-frequency observations of pulsars with the Green Bank and Arecibo telescopes. Data from Parkes observations at a higher frequency of 732 MHz revealmore » a similar parabolic feature with a curvature that scales approximately as the square of the observing wavelength (λ{sup 2}) to the MWA's frequency of 192 MHz. Our analysis suggests that scattering toward PSR J0437–4715 predominantly arises from a compact region about 115 pc from the Earth, which matches well with the expected location of the edge of the Local Bubble that envelopes the local Solar neighborhood. As well as demonstrating new and improved pulsar science capabilities of the MWA, our analysis underscores the potential of low-frequency pulsar observations for gaining valuable insights into the local ISM and for characterizing the ISM toward timing-array pulsars.« less

Two-frequency timing of the pulsar B1937+21 in Kalyazin and Kashima in 1997 2002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilyasov, Yu. P.; Imae, M.; Hanado, Y.; Oreshko, V. V.; Potapov, V. A.; Rodin, A. E.; Sekido, M.

2005-01-01

We present the results from our timing of the millisecond pulsar B1937+21, performed jointly since 1997 on two radio telescopes: the RT-64 in Kalyazin (Russia) at a frequency of 0.6GHz and RT-34 in Kashima (Japan) at a frequency of 2.15 GHz. The rms value of the pulse time of arrival (TOA) residuals for the pulsar at the barycenter of the Solar system is 1.8 μs (the relative variation is ≈10-14 over the observing period). The TOA residuals are shown to be dominated by white phase noise, which allows this pulsar to be used as an independent time scale keeper. The upper limit for the gravitational background energy density Ωg h 2 at frequencies ≈6.5 × 10-9 Hz is estimated to be no higher than 10-6. Based on the long-term timing of the pulsar, we have improved its parameters and accurately determined the dispersion measure and its time variation over the period 1984 2002, which was, on average, -0.00114(3) pc cm-3 yr-1.

Development of Pulsar Detection Methods for a Galactic Center Search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornton, Stephen; Wharton, Robert; Cordes, James; Chatterjee, Shami

2018-01-01

Finding pulsars within the inner parsec of the galactic center would be incredibly beneficial: for pulsars sufficiently close to Sagittarius A*, extremely precise tests of general relativity in the strong field regime could be performed through measurement of post-Keplerian parameters. Binary pulsar systems with sufficiently short orbital periods could provide the same laboratories with which to test existing theories. Fast and efficient methods are needed to parse large sets of time-domain data from different telescopes to search for periodicity in signals and differentiate radio frequency interference (RFI) from pulsar signals. Here we demonstrate several techniques to reduce red noise (low-frequency interference), generate signals from pulsars in binary orbits, and create plots that allow for fast detection of both RFI and pulsars.

X-Ray Detection and Processing Models for Spacecraft Navigation and Timing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheikh, Suneel; Hanson, John

2013-01-01

The current primary method of deepspace navigation is the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN). High-performance navigation is achieved using Delta Differential One-Way Range techniques that utilize simultaneous observations from multiple DSN sites, and incorporate observations of quasars near the line-of-sight to a spacecraft in order to improve the range and angle measurement accuracies. Over the past four decades, x-ray astronomers have identified a number of xray pulsars with pulsed emissions having stabilities comparable to atomic clocks. The x-ray pulsar-based navigation and time determination (XNAV) system uses phase measurements from these sources to establish autonomously the position of the detector, and thus the spacecraft, relative to a known reference frame, much as the Global Positioning System (GPS) uses phase measurements from radio signals from several satellites to establish the position of the user relative to an Earth-centered fixed frame of reference. While a GPS receiver uses an antenna to detect the radio signals, XNAV uses a detector array to capture the individual xray photons from the x-ray pulsars. The navigation solution relies on detailed xray source models, signal processing, navigation and timing algorithms, and analytical tools that form the basis of an autonomous XNAV system. Through previous XNAV development efforts, some techniques have been established to utilize a pulsar pulse time-of-arrival (TOA) measurement to correct a position estimate. One well-studied approach, based upon Kalman filter methods, optimally adjusts a dynamic orbit propagation solution based upon the offset in measured and predicted pulse TOA. In this delta position estimator scheme, previously estimated values of spacecraft position and velocity are utilized from an onboard orbit propagator. Using these estimated values, the detected arrival times at the spacecraft of pulses from a pulsar are compared to the predicted arrival times defined by the pulsar s pulse timing model. A discrepancy provides an estimate of the spacecraft position offset, since an error in position will relate to the measured time offset of a pulse along the line of sight to the pulsar. XNAV researchers have been developing additional enhanced approaches to process the photon TOAs to arrive at an estimate of spacecraft position, including those using maximum-likelihood estimation, digital phase locked loops, and "single photon processing" schemes that utilize all available time data associated with each photon. Using pulsars from separate, non-coplanar locations provides range and range-rate measurements in each pulsar s direction. Combining these different pulsar measurements solves for offsets in position and velocity in three dimensions, and provides accurate overall navigation for deep space vehicles.

A Pulsar Time Scale Based on Parkes Observations in 1995-2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodin, A. E.; Fedorova, V. A.

2018-06-01

Timing of highly stable millisecond pulsars provides the possibility of independently verifying terrestrial time scales on intervals longer than a year. An ensemble pulsar time scale is constructed based on pulsar timing data obtained on the 64-m Parkes telescope (Australia) in 1995-2010. Optimal Wiener filters were applied to enhance the accuracy of the ensemble time scale. The run of the time-scale difference PTens-TT(BIPM2011) does not exceed 0.8 ± 0.4 μs over the entire studied time interval. The fractional instability of the difference PTens-TT(BIPM2011) over 15 years is σ z = (0.6 ± 1.6) × 10-15, which corresponds to an upper limit for the energy density of the gravitational-wave background Ω g h 2 10-10 and variations in the gravitational potential 10-15 Hz at the frequency 2 × 10-9 Hz.

Modelling and mitigating refractive propagation effects in precision pulsar timing observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shannon, R. M.; Cordes, J. M.

2017-01-01

To obtain the most accurate pulse arrival times from radio pulsars, it is necessary to correct or mitigate the effects of the propagation of radio waves through the warm and ionized interstellar medium. We examine both the strength of propagation effects associated with large-scale electron-density variations and the methodology used to estimate infinite frequency arrival times. Using simulations of two-dimensional phase-varying screens, we assess the strength and non-stationarity of timing perturbations associated with large-scale density variations. We identify additional contributions to arrival times that are stochastic in both radio frequency and time and therefore not amenable to correction solely using times of arrival. We attribute this to the frequency dependence of the trajectories of the propagating radio waves. We find that this limits the efficacy of low-frequency (metre-wavelength) observations. Incorporating low-frequency pulsar observations into precision timing campaigns is increasingly problematic for pulsars with larger dispersion measures.

Search for and detection of pulsars inmonitoring observations at 111 MHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyul'bashev, S. A.; Tyul'bashev, V. S.; Kitaeva, M. A.; Chernyshova, A. I.; Malofeev, V. M.; Chashei, I. V.; Shishov, V. I.; Dagkesamanskii, R. D.; Klimenko, S. V.; Nikitin, I. N.; Nikitina, L. D.

2017-10-01

In the course of monitoring interplanetary scintillations of a large number of sources using the Big Scanning Antenna of the Lebedev Physical Institute, a search for pulsars with periods ≥0.4 s at declinations -9◦ < δ < 42◦ and right ascensions 0h < α < 24h was simultaneously carried out. The search was conducted using four years of observations carried out at 110.25MHz in six frequency channels making up a 2.5 MHz band and having a time resolution of 100 ms. The initial identification of pulsar candidates was done using Fourier power spectra averaged over the entire observational period; the pulsar candidates were then verified using observations with higher frequency and time resolution: 32 frequency channels and a time resolution of 12.5 ms. Eighteen new pulsars were discovered in the studied area, whose main characteristics are presented.

Proper motion of the radio pulsar B1727-47 and its association with the supernova remnant RCW 114

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shternin, P. S.; Yu, M.; Kirichenko, A. Yu; Shibanov, Yu A.; Danilenko, A. A.; Voronkov, M. A.; Zyuzin, D. A.

2017-12-01

We report preliminary results of the analysis of the proper motion of the bright radio pulsar B1727-47. Using archival Parkes timing data, as well as original and archival ATCA interferometry observations, we, for the first time, constrain the pulsar proper motion at the level of 148±11 mas yr-1. The backward extrapolation of the proper motion vector to the pulsar birth epoch points at the center of the Galactic supernova remnant RCW 114 suggesting the genuine association between the two objects. We discuss the implications of the association and argue that the distance to the system is less than 1 kpc. This value is at least two times lower than the dispersion measure distance estimates. This suggests that the existing Galaxy electron density models are incomplete in the direction to the pulsar.

The Einstein@Home Gamma-ray Pulsar Survey. I. Search Methods, Sensitivity, and Discovery of New Young Gamma-Ray Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, C. J.; Wu, J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Guillemot, L.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.; Beer, C.; Bock, O.; Cuéllar, A.; Eggenstein, H. B.; Fehrmann, H.; Kramer, M.; Machenschalk, B.; Nieder, L.

2017-01-01

We report on the results of a recent blind search survey for gamma-ray pulsars in Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data being carried out on the distributed volunteer computing system, Einstein@Home. The survey has searched for pulsations in 118 unidentified pulsar-like sources, requiring about 10,000 years of CPU core time. In total, this survey has resulted in the discovery of 17 new gamma-ray pulsars, of which 13 are newly reported in this work, and an accompanying paper. These pulsars are all young, isolated pulsars with characteristic ages between 12 kyr and 2 Myr, and spin-down powers between 1034 and 4 × 1036 erg s-1. Two of these are the slowest spinning gamma-ray pulsars yet known. One pulsar experienced a very large glitch {{Δ }}f/f≈ 3.5× {10}-6 during the Fermi mission. In this, the first of two associated papers, we describe the search scheme used in this survey, and estimate the sensitivity of our search to pulsations in unidentified Fermi-LAT sources. One such estimate results in an upper limit of 57% for the fraction of pulsed emission from the gamma-ray source associated with the Cas A supernova remnant, constraining the pulsed gamma-ray photon flux that can be produced by the neutron star at its center. We also present the results of precise timing analyses for each of the newly detected pulsars.

21 year timing of the black-widow pulsar J2051-0827

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaifullah, G.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Freire, P. C. C.; Tauris, T. M.; Wex, N.; Osłowski, S.; Stappers, B. W.; Bassa, C. G.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Desvignes, G.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Janssen, G. H.; Jessner, A.; Jordan, C.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lazaridis, K.; Lazarus, P.; Lyne, A. G.; McKee, J. W.; Perrodin, D.; Possenti, A.; Tiburzi, C.

2016-10-01

Timing results for the black-widow pulsar J2051-0827 are presented, using a 21 year data set from four European Pulsar Timing Array telescopes and the Parkes radio telescope. This data set, which is the longest published to date for a black-widow system, allows for an improved analysis that addresses previously unknown biases. While secular variations, as identified in previous analyses, are recovered, short-term variations are detected for the first time. Concurrently, a significant decrease of ˜ 2.5 × 10- 3 cm- 3 pc in the dispersion measure associated with PSR J2051-0827 is measured for the first time and improvements are also made to estimates of the proper motion. Finally, PSR J2051-0827 is shown to have entered a relatively stable state suggesting the possibility of its eventual inclusion in pulsar timing arrays.

A 24 hr global campaign to assess precision timing of the millisecond pulsar J1713+0747

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dolch, T.; Lam, M. T.; Cordes, J.

2014-10-10

The radio millisecond pulsar J1713+0747 is regarded as one of the highest-precision clocks in the sky and is regularly timed for the purpose of detecting gravitational waves. The International Pulsar Timing Array Collaboration undertook a 24 hr global observation of PSR J1713+0747 in an effort to better quantify sources of timing noise in this pulsar, particularly on intermediate (1-24 hr) timescales. We observed the pulsar continuously over 24 hr with the Arecibo, Effelsberg, GMRT, Green Bank, LOFAR, Lovell, Nançay, Parkes, and WSRT radio telescopes. The combined pulse times-of-arrival presented here provide an estimate of what sources of timing noise, excludingmore » DM variations, would be present as compared to an idealized √N improvement in timing precision, where N is the number of pulses analyzed. In the case of this particular pulsar, we find that intrinsic pulse phase jitter dominates arrival time precision when the signal-to-noise ratio of single pulses exceeds unity, as measured using the eight telescopes that observed at L band/1.4 GHz. We present first results of specific phenomena probed on the unusually long timescale (for a single continuous observing session) of tens of hours, in particular interstellar scintillation, and discuss the degree to which scintillation and profile evolution affect precision timing. This paper presents the data set as a basis for future, deeper studies.« less

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2010-10-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the eclipse region and the orbital secular evolution).

Spacecraft Navigation Using X-ray Pulsars

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

95FEATURED RESEARCH 2006 NRL REVIEW Spacecraft Navigation Using X-ray Pulsars P.S. Ray, K.S. Wood, and B.F. Phlips E.O. Hulburt Center for Space...satellites and computes the range (technically pseudorange) to each satellite Pulsars are the collapsed remnants of massive stars that have become...relatively simple structure, pulsars are exceptionally stable rotators whose timing stability rivals that of conventional atomic clocks. A navigation

Detection of long nulls in PSR B1706-16, a pulsar with large timing irregularities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naidu, Arun; Joshi, Bhal Chandra; Manoharan, P. K.; Krishnakumar, M. A.

2018-04-01

Single pulse observations, characterizing in detail, the nulling behaviour of PSR B1706-16 are being reported for the first time in this paper. Our regular long duration monitoring of this pulsar reveals long nulls of 2-5 h with an overall nulling fraction of 31 ± 2 per cent. The pulsar shows two distinct phases of emission. It is usually in an active phase, characterized by pulsations interspersed with shorter nulls, with a nulling fraction of about 15 per cent, but it also rarely switches to an inactive phase, consisting of long nulls. The nulls in this pulsar are concurrent between 326.5 and 610 MHz. Profile mode changes accompanied by changes in fluctuation properties are seen in this pulsar, which switches from mode A before a null to mode B after the null. The distribution of null durations in this pulsar is bimodal. With its occasional long nulls, PSR B1706-16 joins the small group of intermediate nullers, which lie between the classical nullers and the intermittent pulsars. Similar to other intermediate nullers, PSR B1706-16 shows high timing noise, which could be due to its rare long nulls if one assumes that the slowdown rate during such nulls is different from that during the bursts.

High energy X-ray observations of the 38-second pulsar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byrne, P. F.; Levine, A. M.; Bautz, M.; Howe, S. K.; Lang, F. L.; Primini, F. A.; Lewin, W. H. G.; Gruber, D. E.; Knight, F. K.; Nolan, P. L.

1981-01-01

The results of observations of the 38-second pulsar obtained at high X-ray energies (13-180 keV) with the UCSD/MIT instrument aboard HEAO 1 are reported. The results include a measurement of the source location, measurement of the pulse profile, and determination of the average intensity and spectrum during each of three time intervals spanning a baseline of 1 year. The total intensity of the pulsar is seen to vary on a 6-month time scale. The spectrum is hard but, like other X-ray pulsars, steepens at energies above 20 keV.

Simulated low-intensity optical pulsar observation with single-photon detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leeb, W. R.; Alves, J.; Meingast, S.; Brunner, M.

2015-02-01

Context. Optical radiation of pulsars offers valuable clues to the physics of neutron stars, which are our only probes of the most extreme states of matter in the present-day universe. Still, only about 1% of all cataloged pulsars have known optical counterparts. Aims: The goal of this work is to develop an observational method optimized for discovering faint optical pulsars. Methods: A single-photon detector transforms the signal received by the telescope into a pulse sequence. The events obtained are time tagged and transformed into a histogram of event time differences. The histogram envelope presents the autocorrelation of the recorded optical signal and thus displays any periodicity of the input signal. Results: Simulations show that faint pulsars radiating in the optical regime can be detected in a straightforward way. As an example, a fictitious pulsar with a V-magnitude of 24.6 mag and a signature like the Crab pulsar can be discovered within one minute using an 8-m class telescope. At the detector's peak sensitivity the average optical flux density would then amount to Fν = 0.63 μJy. With a 40-m class telescope, such as the forthcoming European ELT, the detection of optical pulsars with magnitudes V< 30 mag is within reach for a measurement time of one minute. A two-hour "blind search" with the ELT could reach V ~ 31.3 mag. Conclusions: This method allows detecting faint periodic optical radiation with simple equipment and easy signal processing.

An investigation of pulsar searching techniques with the fast folding algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cameron, A. D.; Barr, E. D.; Champion, D. J.; Kramer, M.; Zhu, W. W.

2017-06-01

Here, we present an in-depth study of the behaviour of the fast folding algorithm (FFA), an alternative pulsar searching technique to the fast Fourier transform (FFT). Weaknesses in the FFT, including a susceptibility to red noise, leave it insensitive to pulsars with long rotational periods (P > 1 s). This sensitivity gap has the potential to bias our understanding of the period distribution of the pulsar population. The FFA, a time-domain based pulsar searching technique, has the potential to overcome some of these biases. Modern distributed-computing frameworks now allow for the application of this algorithm to all-sky blind pulsar surveys for the first time. However, many aspects of the behaviour of this search technique remain poorly understood, including its responsiveness to variations in pulse shape and the presence of red noise. Using a custom CPU-based implementation of the FFA, ffancy, we have conducted an in-depth study into the behaviour of the FFA in both an ideal, white noise regime as well as a trial on observational data from the High Time Resolution Universe South Low Latitude pulsar survey, including a comparison to the behaviour of the FFT. We are able to both confirm and expand upon earlier studies that demonstrate the ability of the FFA to outperform the FFT under ideal white noise conditions, and demonstrate a significant improvement in sensitivity to long-period pulsars in real observational data through the use of the FFA.

Why Do the Braking Indices of Pulsars Span a Range of More Than 100 Millions?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shuang-Nan; Xie, Yi

2012-12-01

Here we report that the observed braking indices of the 366 pulsars in the sample of Hobbs et al. range from about -108 to about +108 and are significantly correlated with their characteristic ages. Using the model of magnetic field evolution we developed previously based on the same data, we derive an analytical expression for the braking index which agrees with all the observed statistical properties of the braking indices of the pulsars in the sample of Hobbs et al. Our model is, however, incompatible with the previous interpretation that magnetic field growth is responsible for the small values of braking indices (<3) observed for "baby" pulsars with characteristic ages of less than 2 × 103 yr. We find that the "instantaneous" braking index of a pulsar may be different from the "averaged" braking index obtained from fitting the data over a certain time span. The close match between our model-predicted "instantaneous" braking indices and the observed "averaged" braking indices suggests that the time spans used previously are usually smaller than or comparable to their magnetic field oscillation periods. Our model can be tested with the existing data by calculating the braking index as a function of the time span for each pulsar. In doing so, one can obtain for each pulsar all the parameters in our magnetic field evolution model, and may be able to improve the sensitivity of using pulsars to detect gravitational waves.

Pulsar discovery by global volunteer computing.

PubMed

Knispel, B; Allen, B; Cordes, J M; Deneva, J S; Anderson, D; Aulbert, C; Bhat, N D R; Bock, O; Bogdanov, S; Brazier, A; Camilo, F; Champion, D J; Chatterjee, S; Crawford, F; Demorest, P B; Fehrmann, H; Freire, P C C; Gonzalez, M E; Hammer, D; Hessels, J W T; Jenet, F A; Kasian, L; Kaspi, V M; Kramer, M; Lazarus, P; van Leeuwen, J; Lorimer, D R; Lyne, A G; Machenschalk, B; McLaughlin, M A; Messenger, C; Nice, D J; Papa, M A; Pletsch, H J; Prix, R; Ransom, S M; Siemens, X; Stairs, I H; Stappers, B W; Stovall, K; Venkataraman, A

2010-09-10

Einstein@Home aggregates the computer power of hundreds of thousands of volunteers from 192 countries to mine large data sets. It has now found a 40.8-hertz isolated pulsar in radio survey data from the Arecibo Observatory taken in February 2007. Additional timing observations indicate that this pulsar is likely a disrupted recycled pulsar. PSR J2007+2722's pulse profile is remarkably wide with emission over almost the entire spin period; the pulsar likely has closely aligned magnetic and spin axes. The massive computing power provided by volunteers should enable many more such discoveries.

Prospects for discovering pulsars in future continuum surveys using variance imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, S.; Johnston, S.; Hobbs, G.

2017-12-01

In our previous paper, we developed a formalism for computing variance images from standard, interferometric radio images containing time and frequency information. Variance imaging with future radio continuum surveys allows us to identify radio pulsars and serves as a complement to conventional pulsar searches that are most sensitive to strictly periodic signals. Here, we carry out simulations to predict the number of pulsars that we can uncover with variance imaging in future continuum surveys. We show that the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey can find ∼30 normal pulsars and ∼40 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) over and above the number known today, and similarly an all-sky continuum survey with SKA-MID can discover ∼140 normal pulsars and ∼110 MSPs with this technique. Variance imaging with EMU and SKA-MID will detect pulsars with large duty cycles and is therefore a potential tool for finding MSPs and pulsars in relativistic binary systems. Compared with current pulsar surveys at high Galactic latitudes in the Southern hemisphere, variance imaging with EMU and SKA-MID will be more sensitive, and will enable detection of pulsars with dispersion measures between ∼10 and 100 cm-3 pc.

A periodically active pulsar giving insight into magnetospheric physics.

PubMed

Kramer, M; Lyne, A G; O'Brien, J T; Jordan, C A; Lorimer, D R

2006-04-28

PSR B1931+24 (J1933+2421) behaves as an ordinary isolated radio pulsar during active phases that are 5 to 10 days long. However, when the radio emission ceases, it switches off in less than 10 seconds and remains undetectable for the next 25 to 35 days, then switches on again. This pattern repeats quasi-periodically. The origin of this behavior is unclear. Even more remarkably, the pulsar rotation slows down 50% faster when it is on than when it is off. This indicates a massive increase in magnetospheric currents when the pulsar switches on, proving that pulsar wind plays a substantial role in pulsar spin-down. This allows us, for the first time, to estimate the magnetospheric currents in a pulsar magnetosphere during the occurrence of radio emission.

Outer magnetospheric fluctuations and pulsar timing noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, K. S.

1987-01-01

The Cheng, Ho, and Ruderman (1986) outer-magnetosphere gap model was used to investigate the stability of Crab-type outer magnetosphere gaps for pulsars having the parameter (Omega-square B) similar to that of the Crab pulsar. The Lamb, Pines, and Shaham (1978) fluctuating magnetosphere noise model was applied to the Crab pulsar to examine the type of the equation of state that best describes the structure of the neutron star. The noise model was also applied to other pulsars, and the theoretical results were compared with observational data. The results of the comparison are consistent with the stiff equation of state, as suggested by the vortex creep model of the neutron star interior. The timing-noise observations also contribute to the evidence for the existence of superfluid in the core of the neutron star.

Regimes of high-energy shock emission from the Be star/pulsar system PSR 1259-63

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tavani, Marco; Arons, Jonathan; Kaspi, Victoria M.

1994-01-01

PSR B1259-63 is a 47 ms radio pulsar in a wide, eccentric orbit with a Be star. We study the shock interaction between the pulsar and the companion's mass outflow and investigate the time evolution of radiative shock regimes. We find that for small values of the Be star's mass-loss rate, inverse-Compton scattering is likely to dominate the shock emission. Alternately, for a large mass-loss rate, synchrotron emission will dominate. Multifrequency X-ray and gamma-ray observations near periastron can distinguish between these cases and yield unique constraints on the pulsar and Be star winds. The PSR B1259-63 system provides a unique laboratory to study the time-dependent interaction of a pulsar wind with the circumbinary material from its companion star.

Pulsar population synthesis using palfa detections and pulsar search collaboratory discoveries including a wide DNS system and a nearby MSP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swiggum, Joseph Karl

Using the ensemble of detections from pulsar surveys, we can learn about the sizes and characteristics of underlying populations. In this thesis, I analyze results from the Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array (PALFA) precursor and Green Bank Telescope 350 MHz Drift Scan surveys; I examine survey sensitivity to see how detections can inform pulsar population models, I look at new ways of including young scientists -- high school students -- in the discovery process and I present timing solutions for students' discoveries (including a nearby millisecond pulsar and a pulsar in a wide-orbit double neutron star system). The PALFA survey is on-going and uses the ALFA 7-beam receiver at 1400 MHz to search both inner and outer Galactic sectors visible from Arecibo (32° ?£? 77° and 168° ?£? 214°) close to the Galactic plane (|b| ? 5°) for pulsars. The PALFA precursor survey observed a subset of this region, (|b| ? 1°) and detected 45 pulsars, including one known millisecond pulsar (MSP) and 11 previously unknown, long-period (normal) pulsars. I assess the sensitivity of the PALFA precursor survey and use the number of normal pulsar and MSP detections to infer the size of each underlying Galactic population. Based on 44 normal pulsar detections and one MSP, we constrain each population size to 107,000+36,000-25,000 and 15,000 +85,000-6,000 respectively with 95% confidence. Based on these constraints, we predict yields for the full PALFA survey and find a deficiency in normal pulsar detections, possibly due to radio frequency interference and/or scintillation, neither of which are currently accounted for in population simulations. The GBT 350 MHz Drift Scan survey collected data in the summer of 2007 while the GBT was stationary, undergoing track replacement. Results discussed here come from ~20% of the survey data, which were processed and donated to the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC). The PSC is a joint outreach program between WVU and NRAO, involving high school students in the pulsar discovery process -- hands-on, cutting-edge research -- to foster their interest in pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related career paths. The PSC began in 2008; since then, over 100 teachers and 2,500 students from 18 states have participated and discovered seven pulsars. Of these seven, J1400--1431, a bright, nearby MSP shows promising characteristics for inclusion in pulsar timing arrays, which aim to detect gravitational waves by precisely timing an array of MSPs. Two others -- J1821+0155, a disrupted recycled pulsar and J1930--1852 show interesting properties due to interactions with binary companions. PSR J1930--1852 is a partially-recycled, first-to-evolve pulsar in a double neutron star (DNS) system with a high-eccentricity 45 day orbit. Its spin period and orbital period are factors of 2 and 3 higher, respectively, than any previously-known, primary DNS pulsars. We measure the relativistic advance of periastron o=0.00078(4), implying a total system mass of Mtot =2.59(4), which is consistent with other DNS systems. PSR J1930--1852's spin and orbital parameters, however, challenge current DNS evolution models, making it an important system for further investigation.

Search for Millisecond Pulsars for the Pulsar Timing Array project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milia, S.

2012-03-01

Pulsars are rapidly rotating highly magnetised neutron stars (i.e. ultra dense stars, where about one solar mass is concentrated in a sphere with a radius of ~ 10 km), which irradiate radio beams in a fashion similar to a lighthouse. As a consequence, whenever the beams cut our line of sight we perceive a radio pulses, one (or two) per pulsar rotation, with a frequency up to hundred of times a second. Owing to their compact nature, rapid spin and high inertia, pulsars are in general fairly stable rotators, hence the Times of Arrival (TOAs) of the pulses at a radio telescope can be used as the ticks of a clock. This holds true in particular for the sub­class of the millisecond pulsars (MSPs), having a spin period smaller than the conventional limit of 30 ms, whose very rapid rotation and relatively older age provide better rotational stability than the ordinary pulsars. Indeed, some MSPs rotate so regularly that they can rival the best atomic clocks on Earth over timespan of few months or years.This feature allows us to use MSPs as tools in a cosmic laboratory, by exploiting a procedure called timing, which consists in the repeated and regular measurement of the TOAs from a pulsar and then in the search for trends in the series of the TOAs over various timespans, from fraction of seconds to decades.For example the study of pulsars in binary systems has already provided the most stringent tests to date of General Relativity in strong gravitational fields and has unambiguously showed the occurrence of the emission of gravitational waves from a binary system comprising two massive bodies in a close orbit. In last decades a new exciting perspective has been opened, i.e. to use pulsars also for a direct detection of the so far elusive gravitational waves and thereby applying the pulsar timing for cosmological studies. In fact, the gravitational waves (GWs) going across our Galaxy pass over all the Galactic pulsars and the Earth, perturbing the space­time at the pulsar and Earth locations, as well as anywhere along the line­of­sight from the Earth and each of the pulsars. This in turn produces a modulation in the rhythm of the TOAs of the pulses from all the pulsars, with the variation in the TOAs having a strength which is proportional to the amplitude of the GW and a periodicity related to the frequency of the GW. Of course if they are caused by a common physical phenomenon (like a passing­by GW), these variations of the TOAs are expected to be somehow correlated between the various pulsars, allowing us to disentangle this effect from other effects which could mimic the occurrence of such modulation, like intrinsic irregularities in the rotation of a pulsar, changing interstellar medium along the line of sight, error in the reference clocks used for determining the TOAs and so on.The consideration of the aforementioned possible sources of additional effects which could mask the signature of a genuine GW shows that a safe direct detection of a GW cannot involve the observation and timing of a single pulsar. Instead, it has been theoretically shown that high precision timing over a 5­10 years data­span of a network of suitable MSPs forming a so­ called Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) ­ in which the pulsars are used as the endpoints of arms of a huge cosmic GW detector ­ would allow us to overcome the previous problems and open the possibility of a direct detection of GWs. In particular such apparatus is able to detect GWs in the frequency range between 10 ­9 and 10­7 Hz, with the best sensitivity around the nanoHz. Given the frequency range of operation, the most favorable source of GWs for a PTA appears to be the cosmological background of GWs produced by the coalescence of supermassive binary black­holes in the early stages of the Universe evolution, at redshift around 1­2. In order to set up a suitable PTA it is necessary on one hand to search for new MSPs having the required clock stability and signal intensity, and on another hand to perform regular high­precision timing observations of the available sample, combining the results from all the pulsars with the use of a solid and well tested software, capable of revealing the genuine GW signal which is searched for. This work focuses on the first task, in an attempt to enlarge the number of suitable MSPs, in the framework of the High Time Resolution Universe (HTRU) survey for pulsars and fast radio transients, that is currently underway at the 64­m Parkes Radio Telescope (NSW, Australia). This experiment has been designed in 2007 and started three years ago, with the main scope of largely increasing (possibly doubling) the total number of MSPs known in the Galactic Field (there were only about 40 of them until 2009). The enlarged sample may provide some very good MSP­clocks to be added to the still relatively poor list of objects well suited for belonging to a PTA. In the first chapter of this thesis an overview of the pulsar phenomenon is given, with also a description of the timing technique and its physical applications. The search methods that can be used to analyse the data in order to find isolated and binary pulsars are reported in the second chapter. The third chapter describes part of the work performed by me in the framework of the HTRU survey; in particular the search for MSPs in the HTRU data with a data reduction pipeline sensitive also to highly relativistic systems (i.e. to binary pulsars in close orbits). While performing the aforementioned search, it emerged the issue of the inspection of the hundreds of thousands of pulsar candidates produced by the adopted pipeline, the vast majority of them being the result of radio interferences. Therefore, a new approach has been explored for making manageable the human intervention in the procedure of selection of the trustable candidates, namely the use of an Artificial Neural Network on the pulsar candidates. The fourth chapter is devoted to report on that. At the end, a brief summary of this thesis work is given, as well as a list of the publications, in preparation and resulting from the HTRU collaborative effort.

The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey - XII. Galactic plane acceleration search and the discovery of 60 pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, C.; Champion, D. J.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Bates, S. D.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burgay, M.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Flynn, C. M. L.; Jameson, A.; Johnston, S.; Keith, M. J.; Kramer, M.; Levin, L.; Petroff, E.; Possenti, A.; Stappers, B. W.; van Straten, W.; Tiburzi, C.; Eatough, R. P.; Lyne, A. G.

2015-07-01

We present initial results from the low-latitude Galactic plane region of the High Time Resolution Universe pulsar survey conducted at the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. We discuss the computational challenges arising from the processing of the terabyte-sized survey data. Two new radio interference mitigation techniques are introduced, as well as a partially coherent segmented acceleration search algorithm which aims to increase our chances of discovering highly relativistic short-orbit binary systems, covering a parameter space including potential pulsar-black hole binaries. We show that under a constant acceleration approximation, a ratio of data length over orbital period of ≈0.1 results in the highest effectiveness for this search algorithm. From the 50 per cent of data processed thus far, we have redetected 435 previously known pulsars and discovered a further 60 pulsars, two of which are fast-spinning pulsars with periods less than 30 ms. PSR J1101-6424 is a millisecond pulsar whose heavy white dwarf (WD) companion and short spin period of 5.1 ms indicate a rare example of full-recycling via Case A Roche lobe overflow. PSR J1757-27 appears to be an isolated recycled pulsar with a relatively long spin period of 17 ms. In addition, PSR J1244-6359 is a mildly recycled binary system with a heavy WD companion, PSR J1755-25 has a significant orbital eccentricity of 0.09 and PSR J1759-24 is likely to be a long-orbit eclipsing binary with orbital period of the order of tens of years. Comparison of our newly discovered pulsar sample to the known population suggests that they belong to an older population. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our current pulsar detection yield is as expected from population synthesis.

The GMRT High Resolution Southern Sky Survey for Pulsars and Transients. I. Survey Description and Initial Discoveries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, B.; Cooper, S.; Malenta, M.; Roy, J.; Chengalur, J.; Keith, M.; Kudale, S.; McLaughlin, M.; Ransom, S. M.; Ray, P. S.; Stappers, B. W.

2016-02-01

We are conducting a survey for pulsars and transients using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The GMRT High Resolution Southern Sky (GHRSS) survey is an off-Galactic plane (| b| > 5) survey in the declination range -40° to -54° at 322 MHz. With the high time (up to 30.72 μs) and frequency (up to 0.016275 MHz) resolution observing modes, the 5σ detection limit is 0.5 mJy for a 2 ms pulsar with a 10% duty cycle at 322 MHz. The total GHRSS sky coverage of 2866 deg2 will result from 1953 pointings, each covering 1.8 deg2. The 10σ detection limit for a 5 ms transient burst is 1.6 Jy for the GHRSS survey. In addition, the GHRSS survey can reveal transient events like rotating radio transients or fast radio bursts. With 35% of the survey completed (I.e., 1000 deg2), we report the discovery of 10 pulsars, 1 of which is a millisecond pulsar (MSP), which is among the highest pulsar per square degree discovery rates for any off-Galactic plane survey. We re-detected 23 known in-beam pulsars. Utilizing the imaging capability of the GMRT, we also localized four of the GHRSS pulsars (including the MSP) in the gated image plane within ±10″. We demonstrated rapid convergence in pulsar timing with a more precise position than is possible with single-dish discoveries. We also show that we can localize the brightest transient sources with simultaneously obtained lower time resolution imaging data, demonstrating a technique that may have application in the Square Kilometre Array.

Anomalous Radio-Wave Scattering from Interstellar Plasma Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-03-10

broadening time from the usually expected l~4 scaling law. We brieÑy discuss applications that include scattering of pulses from the Crab pulsar by... pulsars : general È scattering 1. INTRODUCTION Images of scattered radio sources and distorted pulses from pulsars provide some of the most used...distribution of di†racting irregu- larities. Third, observations of the Crab pulsar show anomalous scalings of pulse broadening with frequency. These are

PSR J1740-3052: a pulsar with a massive companion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stairs, I. H.; Manchester, R. N.; Lyne, A. G.; Kaspi, V. M.; Camilo, F.; Bell, J. F.; D'Amico, N.; Kramer, M.; Crawford, F.; Morris, D. J.; Possenti, A.; McKay, N. P. F.; Lumsden, S. L.; Tacconi-Garman, L. E.; Cannon, R. D.; Hambly, N. C.; Wood, P. R.

2001-08-01

We report on the discovery of a binary pulsar, PSR J1740-3052, during the Parkes multibeam survey. Timing observations of the 570-ms pulsar at Jodrell Bank and Parkes show that it is young, with a characteristic age of 350kyr, and is in a 231-d, highly eccentric orbit with a companion whose mass exceeds 11Msolar. An accurate position for the pulsar was obtained using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. Near-infrared 2.2-μm observations made with the telescopes at the Siding Spring observatory reveal a late-type star coincident with the pulsar position. However, we do not believe that this star is the companion of the pulsar, because a typical star of this spectral type and required mass would extend beyond the orbit of the pulsar. Furthermore, the measured advance of periastron of the pulsar suggests a more compact companion, for example, a main-sequence star with radius only a few times that of the Sun. Such a companion is also more consistent with the small dispersion measure variations seen near periastron. Although we cannot conclusively rule out a black hole companion, we believe that the companion is probably an early B star, making the system similar to the binary PSR J0045-7319.

Timing Noise in PSR 1821-24 : a Micro-Glitch Observed in a Recycled Millisecond Pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cognard, I.; Backer, D. C.

2005-07-01

We report the observation of a very small glitch observed for the first time in a millisecond pulsar, PSR B1821-24, located in the globular cluster M28. Timing observations were mainly conducted with the Nançay radiotelescope and confirmation comes from the 140-ft Green Bank telescope data. This event is characterized by a rotation frequency step of 3 nHz or 10-11 in fractional frequency change. Timing residuals of 1821-24 at Nançay and Green Bank (crux) obtained with a set of pulsar parameters adjusted up to Feb 2001 are shown in the left figure below. After March 2001, both TOAs from original set of parameters and TOAs obtained with a {Δ P}/P change of 10-11 are also shown. The evolution of the PSR B1821-24 rotational frequency is shown on the right. This glitch follows the main characteristics of those in the slow period pulsars, but is two orders of magnitude smaller than the smallest ever recorded. Such an event must be very rare in millisecond pulsars since no other glitches have been detected when the cumulated number of years of millisecond pulsar timing observations up to 2001 is around 500 for all these objects. We should, however, keep in mind that PSR B1821-24 is one of the youngest among the old recycled pulsars. While this event happens on a much smaller scale, the required adjustment of the star to a new equilibrium figure as it spins down is a likely common cause for all glitches.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Allen, B.

We report the discovery and timing measurements of PSR J1208−6238, a young and highly magnetized gamma-ray pulsar, with a spin period of 440 ms. The pulsar was discovered in gamma-ray photon data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) during a blind-search survey of unidentified LAT sources, running on the distributed volunteer computing system Einstein@Home . No radio pulsations were detected in dedicated follow-up searches with the Parkes radio telescope, with a flux density upper limit at 1369 MHz of 30 μ Jy. By timing this pulsar’s gamma-ray pulsations, we measure its braking index over five years of LAT observationsmore » to be n = 2.598 ± 0.001 ± 0.1, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second estimates the bias due to timing noise. Assuming its braking index has been similar since birth, the pulsar has an estimated age of around 2700 years, making it the youngest pulsar to be found in a blind search of gamma-ray data and the youngest known radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar. Despite its young age, the pulsar is not associated with any known supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula. The pulsar’s inferred dipolar surface magnetic field strength is 3.8 × 10{sup 13} G, almost 90% of the quantum-critical level. We investigate some potential physical causes of the braking index deviating from the simple dipole model but find that LAT data covering a longer time interval will be necessary to distinguish between these.« less

A millisecond pulsar in an extremely wide binary system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bassa, C. G.; Janssen, G. H.; Stappers, B. W.; Tauris, T. M.; Wevers, T.; Jonker, P. G.; Lentati, L.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Desvignes, G.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Freire, P. C. C.; Lazarus, P.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Jessner, A.; Jordan, C.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lazaridis, K.; Lee, K. J.; Liu, K.; Lyne, A. G.; McKee, J.; Osłowski, S.; Perrodin, D.; Sanidas, S.; Shaifullah, G.; Smits, R.; Theureau, G.; Tiburzi, C.; Zhu, W. W.

2016-08-01

We report on 22 yr of radio timing observations of the millisecond pulsar J1024-0719 by the telescopes participating in the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). These observations reveal a significant second derivative of the pulsar spin frequency and confirm the discrepancy between the parallax and Shklovskii distances that has been reported earlier. We also present optical astrometry, photometry and spectroscopy of 2MASS J10243869-0719190. We find that it is a low-metallicity main-sequence star (K7V spectral type, [M/H] = -1.0, Teff = 4050 ± 50 K) and that its position, proper motion and distance are consistent with those of PSR J1024-0719. We conclude that PSR J1024-0719 and 2MASS J10243869-0719190 form a common proper motion pair and are gravitationally bound. The gravitational interaction between the main-sequence star and the pulsar accounts for the spin frequency derivatives, which in turn resolves the distance discrepancy. Our observations suggest that the pulsar and main-sequence star are in an extremely wide (Pb > 200 yr) orbit. Combining the radial velocity of the companion and proper motion of the pulsar, we find that the binary system has a high spatial velocity of 384 ± 45 km s-1 with respect to the local standard of rest and has a Galactic orbit consistent with halo objects. Since the observed main-sequence companion star cannot have recycled the pulsar to millisecond spin periods, an exotic formation scenario is required. We demonstrate that this extremely wide-orbit binary could have evolved from a triple system that underwent an asymmetric supernova explosion, though find that significant fine-tuning during the explosion is required. Finally, we discuss the implications of the long period orbit on the timing stability of PSR J1024-0719 in light of its inclusion in pulsar timing arrays.

Testing the strong equivalence principle with the triple pulsar PSR J 0337 +1715

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Lijing

2016-04-01

Three conceptually different masses appear in equations of motion for objects under gravity, namely, the inertial mass, mI , the passive gravitational mass, mP, and the active gravitational mass, mA. It is assumed that, for any objects, mI=mP=mA in the Newtonian gravity, and mI=mP in the Einsteinian gravity, oblivious to objects' sophisticated internal structure. Empirical examination of the equivalence probes deep into gravity theories. We study the possibility of carrying out new tests based on pulsar timing of the stellar triple system, PSR J 0337 +1715 . Various machine-precision three-body simulations are performed, from which, the equivalence-violating parameters are extracted with Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling that takes full correlations into account. We show that the difference in masses could be probed to 3 ×1 0-8 , improving the current constraints from lunar laser ranging on the post-Newtonian parameters that govern violations of mP=mI and mA=mP by thousands and millions, respectively. The test of mP=mA would represent the first test of Newton's third law with compact objects.

The prospects of pulsar timing with new-generation radio telescopes and the Square Kilometre Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stappers, B. W.; Keane, E. F.; Kramer, M.; Possenti, A.; Stairs, I. H.

2018-05-01

Pulsars are highly magnetized and rapidly rotating neutron stars. As they spin, the lighthouse-like beam of radio emission from their magnetic poles sweeps across the Earth with a regularity approaching that of the most precise clocks known. This precision combined with the extreme environments in which they are found, often in compact orbits with other neutron stars and white dwarfs, makes them excellent tools for studying gravity. Present and near-future pulsar surveys, especially those using the new generation of telescopes, will find more extreme binary systems and pulsars that are more precise `clocks'. These telescopes will also greatly improve the precision to which we can measure the arrival times of the pulses. The Square Kilometre Array will revolutionize pulsar searches and timing precision. The increased number of sources will reveal rare sources, including possibly a pulsar-black hole binary, which can provide the most stringent tests of strong-field gravity. The improved timing precision will reveal new phenomena and also allow us to make a detection of gravitational waves in the nanohertz frequency regime. It is here where we expect to see the signature of the binary black holes that are formed as galaxies merge throughout cosmological history. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue `The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy'.

A LOFAR census of non-recycled pulsars: average profiles, dispersion measures, flux densities, and spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilous, A. V.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Kramer, M.; Keane, E. F.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Stappers, B. W.; Malofeev, V. M.; Sobey, C.; Breton, R. P.; Cooper, S.; Falcke, H.; Karastergiou, A.; Michilli, D.; Osłowski, S.; Sanidas, S.; ter Veen, S.; van Leeuwen, J.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Weltevrede, P.; Zarka, P.; Grießmeier, J.-M.; Serylak, M.; Bell, M. E.; Broderick, J. W.; Eislöffel, J.; Markoff, S.; Rowlinson, A.

2016-06-01

We present first results from a LOFAR census of non-recycled pulsars. The census includes almost all such pulsars known (194 sources) at declinations Dec > 8° and Galactic latitudes |Gb| > 3°, regardless of their expected flux densities and scattering times. Each pulsar was observed for ≥20 min in the contiguous frequency range of 110-188 MHz. Full-Stokes data were recorded. We present the dispersion measures, flux densities, and calibrated total intensity profiles for the 158 pulsars detected in the sample. The median uncertainty in census dispersion measures (1.5 × 10-3 pc cm-3) is ten times smaller, on average, than in the ATNF pulsar catalogue. We combined census flux densities with those in the literature and fitted the resulting broadband spectra with single or broken power-law functions. For 48 census pulsars such fits are being published for the first time. Typically, thechoice between single and broken power-laws, as well as the location of the spectral break, were highly influenced by the spectral coverage of the available flux density measurements. In particular, the inclusion of measurements below 100 MHz appears essential for investigating the low-frequency turnover in the spectra for most of the census pulsars. For several pulsars, we compared the spectral indices from different works and found the typical spread of values to be within 0.5-1.5, suggesting a prevailing underestimation of spectral index errors in the literature. The census observations yielded some unexpected individual source results, as we describe in the paper. Lastly, we will provide this unique sample of wide-band, low-frequency pulse profiles via the European Pulsar Network Database. Tables B.1-B.4 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/591/A134

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2011-04-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the mechanisms leading to the ejection of matter from the binary system).

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2012-10-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the mechanisms leading to the ejection of matter from the binary system).

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2012-04-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the mechanisms leading to the ejection of matter from the binary system).

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2011-10-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the mechanisms leading to the ejection of matter from the binary system).

Timing of millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Amico, Nichi; Possenti, Andrea; Manchester, Dick; Johnston, Simon; Kramer, Michael; Sarkissian, John; Lyne, Andrew; Burgay, Marta; Corongiu, Alessandro; Camilo, Fernando; Bailes, Matthew; van Straten, Willem

2013-04-01

Timing of the dozen pulsars discovered by us in P303 is ensuring high quality results: (a) the peculiarities (in position or projected acceleration) of all the 5 millisecond pulsars in NGC6752 suggested the presence of non thermal dynamics in the core, perhaps due to black-holes of intermediate mass; (b) the eclipsing pulsar in NGC6397 is a stereotype for studying the late evolution of exotic binaries. We propose to continue our timing project focusing mostly on NGC6752 at 20cm (in order to measure additional parameters useful to constrain the existence of a black-hole) and NGC6397 at 10cm (for studying the orbital secular evolution, the eclipse region, and the mechanisms leading to the ejection of matter from the binary system).

The population of TeV pulsar wind nebulae in the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

H. E. S. S. Collaboration; Abdalla, H.; Abramowski, A.; Aharonian, F.; Ait Benkhali, F.; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Andersson, T.; Angüner, E. O.; Arrieta, M.; Aubert, P.; Backes, M.; Balzer, A.; Barnard, M.; Becherini, Y.; Becker Tjus, J.; Berge, D.; Bernhard, S.; Bernlöhr, K.; Blackwell, R.; Böttcher, M.; Boisson, C.; Bolmont, J.; Bordas, P.; Bregeon, J.; Brun, F.; Brun, P.; Bryan, M.; Bulik, T.; Capasso, M.; Carr, J.; Carrigan, S.; Casanova, S.; Cerruti, M.; Chakraborty, N.; Chalme-Calvet, R.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chen, A.; Chevalier, J.; Chrétien, M.; Colafrancesco, S.; Cologna, G.; Condon, B.; Conrad, J.; Couturier, C.; Cui, Y.; Davids, I. D.; Degrange, B.; Deil, C.; Devin, J.; deWilt, P.; Dirson, L.; Djannati-Ataï, A.; Domainko, W.; Donath, A.; Drury, L. O.'C.; Dubus, G.; Dutson, K.; Dyks, J.; Edwards, T.; Egberts, K.; Eger, P.; Ernenwein, J.-P.; Eschbach, S.; Farnier, C.; Fegan, S.; Fernandes, M. V.; Fiasson, A.; Fontaine, G.; Förster, A.; Funk, S.; Füßling, M.; Gabici, S.; Gajdus, M.; Gallant, Y. A.; Garrigoux, T.; Giavitto, G.; Giebels, B.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Gottschall, D.; Goyal, A.; Grondin, M.-H.; Hadasch, D.; Hahn, J.; Haupt, M.; Hawkes, J.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hervet, O.; Hillert, A.; Hinton, J. A.; Hofmann, W.; Hoischen, C.; Holler, M.; Horns, D.; Ivascenko, A.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jamrozy, M.; Janiak, M.; Jankowsky, D.; Jankowsky, F.; Jingo, M.; Jogler, T.; Jouvin, L.; Jung-Richardt, I.; Kastendieck, M. A.; Katarzyński, K.; Katz, U.; Kerszberg, D.; Khélifi, B.; Kieffer, M.; King, J.; Klepser, S.; Klochkov, D.; Kluźniak, W.; Kolitzus, D.; Komin, Nu.; Kosack, K.; Krakau, S.; Kraus, M.; Krayzel, F.; Krüger, P. P.; Laffon, H.; Lamanna, G.; Lau, J.; Lees, J.-P.; Lefaucheur, J.; Lefranc, V.; Lemière, A.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Lenain, J.-P.; Leser, E.; Lohse, T.; Lorentz, M.; Liu, R.; López-Coto, R.; Lypova, I.; Marandon, V.; Marcowith, A.; Mariaud, C.; Marx, R.; Maurin, G.; Maxted, N.; Mayer, M.; Meintjes, P. J.; Meyer, M.; Mitchell, A. M. W.; Moderski, R.; Mohamed, M.; Mohrmann, L.; Morå, K.; Moulin, E.; Murach, T.; de Naurois, M.; Niederwanger, F.; Niemiec, J.; Oakes, L.; O'Brien, P.; Odaka, H.; Öttl, S.; Ohm, S.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Padovani, M.; Panter, M.; Parsons, R. D.; Paz Arribas, M.; Pekeur, N. W.; Pelletier, G.; Perennes, C.; Petrucci, P.-O.; Peyaud, B.; Pita, S.; Poon, H.; Prokhorov, D.; Prokoph, H.; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Raab, S.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renaud, M.; de los Reyes, R.; Rieger, F.; Romoli, C.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Rulten, C. B.; Sahakian, V.; Salek, D.; Sanchez, D. A.; Santangelo, A.; Sasaki, M.; Schlickeiser, R.; Schüssler, F.; Schulz, A.; Schwanke, U.; Schwemmer, S.; Settimo, M.; Seyffert, A. S.; Shafi, N.; Shilon, I.; Simoni, R.; Sol, H.; Spanier, F.; Spengler, G.; Spies, F.; Stawarz, Ł.; Steenkamp, R.; Stegmann, C.; Stinzing, F.; Stycz, K.; Sushch, I.; Tavernet, J.-P.; Tavernier, T.; Taylor, A. M.; Terrier, R.; Tibaldo, L.; Tiziani, D.; Tluczykont, M.; Trichard, C.; Tuffs, R.; Uchiyama, Y.; Valerius, K.; van der Walt, D. J.; van Eldik, C.; van Soelen, B.; Vasileiadis, G.; Veh, J.; Venter, C.; Viana, A.; Vincent, P.; Vink, J.; Voisin, F.; Völk, H. J.; Vuillaume, T.; Wadiasingh, Z.; Wagner, S. J.; Wagner, P.; Wagner, R. M.; White, R.; Wierzcholska, A.; Willmann, P.; Wörnlein, A.; Wouters, D.; Yang, R.; Zabalza, V.; Zaborov, D.; Zacharias, M.; Zdziarski, A. A.; Zech, A.; Zefi, F.; Ziegler, A.; Żywucka, N.

2018-04-01

The nine-year H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey (HGPS) has yielded the most uniform observation scan of the inner Milky Way in the TeV gamma-ray band to date. The sky maps and source catalogue of the HGPS allow for a systematic study of the population of TeV pulsar wind nebulae found throughout the last decade. To investigate the nature and evolution of pulsar wind nebulae, for the first time we also present several upper limits for regions around pulsars without a detected TeV wind nebula. Our data exhibit a correlation of TeV surface brightness with pulsar spin-down power Ė. This seems to be caused both by an increase of extension with decreasing Ė, and hence with time, compatible with a power law RPWN(Ė) Ė-0.65±0.20, and by a mild decrease of TeV gamma-ray luminosity with decreasing Ė, compatible with L1-10 TeV Ė0.59±0.21. We also find that the offsets of pulsars with respect to the wind nebula centre with ages around 10 kyr are frequently larger than can be plausibly explained by pulsar proper motion and could be due to an asymmetric environment. In the present data, it seems that a large pulsar offset is correlated with a high apparent TeV efficiency L1-10 TeV/Ė. In addition to 14 HGPS sources considered firmly identified pulsar wind nebulae and 5 additional pulsar wind nebulae taken from literature, we find 10 HGPS sources that are likely TeV pulsar wind nebula candidates. Using a model that subsumes the present common understanding of the very high-energy radiative evolution of pulsar wind nebulae, we find that the trends and variations of the TeV observables and limits can be reproduced to a good level, drawing a consistent picture of present-day TeV data and theory.

On the Nature of Part-Time Radio Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiang-Dong

2006-08-01

The recent discovery of rotating radio transients and the quasi-periodicity of pulsar activity in the radio pulsar PSR B1931+24 has challenged the conventional theory of radio pulsar emission. Here we suggest that these phenomena could be due to the interaction between the neutron star magnetosphere and the surrounding debris disk. The pattern of pulsar emission depends on whether the disk can penetrate the light cylinder and efficiently quench the processes of particle production and acceleration inside the magnetospheric gap. A precessing disk may naturally account for the switch-on/off behavior in PSR B1931+24.

Observations of Spin-Powered Pulsars with the AGILE Gamma-Ray Telescope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pellizzoni, A.; Pilia, M.; Possenti, M.

2008-12-24

AGILE is a small gamma-ray astronomy satellite mission of the Italian Space Agency dedicated to high-energy astrophysics launched in 2007 April. It provides large sky exposure levels (> or approx. 10{sup 9} cm{sup 2} s per year on the Galactic Plane) with sensitivity peaking at E{approx}400 MeV(and simultaneous X-ray monitoring in the 18-60 keV band) where the bulk of pulsar energy output is typically released. Its {approx}1 {mu}s is absolute time tagging capability makes it perfectly suited for the study of gamma-ray pulsars following up on the CGRO/EGRET heritage. In this paper we summarize the timing results obtained during themore » first year of AGILE observations of the known gamma-ray pulsars Vela, Crab, Geminga and B 1706-4. AGILE collected a large number of gamma-ray photons from EGRET pulsars ({approx}10,000 pulsed counts for Vela) in only few months of observations unveiling new interesting features at sub-millisecond level in the pulsars' high-energy light-curves and paving the way to the discovery of new gamma-ray pulsars.« less

European Pulsar Timing Array limits on continuous gravitational waves from individual supermassive black hole binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babak, S.; Petiteau, A.; Sesana, A.; Brem, P.; Rosado, P. A.; Taylor, S. R.; Lassus, A.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Bassa, C. G.; Burgay, M.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Desvignes, G.; Gair, J. R.; Guillemot, L.; Janssen, G. H.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Lee, K. J.; Lentati, L.; Liu, K.; Mingarelli, C. M. F.; Osłowski, S.; Perrodin, D.; Possenti, A.; Purver, M. B.; Sanidas, S.; Smits, R.; Stappers, B.; Theureau, G.; Tiburzi, C.; van Haasteren, R.; Vecchio, A.; Verbiest, J. P. W.

2016-01-01

We have searched for continuous gravitational wave (CGW) signals produced by individually resolvable, circular supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) in the latest European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) data set, which consists of ultraprecise timing data on 41-ms pulsars. We develop frequentist and Bayesian detection algorithms to search both for monochromatic and frequency-evolving systems. None of the adopted algorithms show evidence for the presence of such a CGW signal, indicating that the data are best described by pulsar and radiometer noise only. Depending on the adopted detection algorithm, the 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude lies in the range 6 × 10-15 < A < 1.5 × 10-14 at 5 nHz < f < 7 nHz. This limit varies by a factor of five, depending on the assumed source position and the most constraining limit is achieved towards the positions of the most sensitive pulsars in the timing array. The most robust upper limit - obtained via a full Bayesian analysis searching simultaneously over the signal and pulsar noise on the subset of ours six best pulsars - is A ≈ 10-14. These limits, the most stringent to date at f < 10 nHz, exclude the presence of sub-centiparsec binaries with chirp mass M_c>10^9 M_{⊙} out to a distance of about 25 Mpc, and with M_c>10^{10} M_{⊙} out to a distance of about 1Gpc (z ≈ 0.2). We show that state-of-the-art SMBHB population models predict <1 per cent probability of detecting a CGW with the current EPTA data set, consistent with the reported non-detection. We stress, however, that PTA limits on individual CGW have improved by almost an order of magnitude in the last five years. The continuing advances in pulsar timing data acquisition and analysis techniques will allow for strong astrophysical constraints on the population of nearby SMBHBs in the coming years.

Angular Momentum Transfer and Fractional Moment of Inertia in Pulsar Glitches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eya, I. O.; Urama, J. O.; Chukwude, A. E.

2017-05-01

We use the Jodrell Bank Observatory glitch database containing 472 glitches from 165 pulsars to investigate the angular momentum transfer during rotational glitches in pulsars. Our emphasis is on pulsars with at least five glitches, of which there are 26 that exhibit 261 glitches in total. This paper identifies four pulsars in which the angular momentum transfer, after many glitches, is almost linear with time. The Lilliefore test on the cumulative distribution of glitch spin-up sizes in these glitching pulsars shows that glitch sizes in 12 pulsars are normally distributed, suggesting that their glitches originate from the same momentum reservoir. In addition, the distribution of the fractional moment of inertia (I.e., the ratio of the moment of inertia of neutron star components that are involved in the glitch process) have a single mode, unlike the distribution of fractional glitch size (Δν/ν), which is usually bimodal. The mean fractional moment of inertia in the glitching pulsars we sampled has a very weak correlation with the pulsar spin properties, thereby supporting a neutron star interior mechanism for the glitch phenomenon.

Angular Momentum Transfer and Fractional Moment of Inertia in Pulsar Glitches

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eya, I. O.; Urama, J. O.; Chukwude, A. E., E-mail: innocent.eya@unn.edu.ng, E-mail: innocent.eya@gmail.com

We use the Jodrell Bank Observatory glitch database containing 472 glitches from 165 pulsars to investigate the angular momentum transfer during rotational glitches in pulsars. Our emphasis is on pulsars with at least five glitches, of which there are 26 that exhibit 261 glitches in total. This paper identifies four pulsars in which the angular momentum transfer, after many glitches, is almost linear with time. The Lilliefore test on the cumulative distribution of glitch spin-up sizes in these glitching pulsars shows that glitch sizes in 12 pulsars are normally distributed, suggesting that their glitches originate from the same momentum reservoir.more » In addition, the distribution of the fractional moment of inertia (i.e., the ratio of the moment of inertia of neutron star components that are involved in the glitch process) have a single mode, unlike the distribution of fractional glitch size (Δ ν / ν ), which is usually bimodal. The mean fractional moment of inertia in the glitching pulsars we sampled has a very weak correlation with the pulsar spin properties, thereby supporting a neutron star interior mechanism for the glitch phenomenon.« less

Pulsar timing and general relativity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Backer, D. C.; Hellings, R. W.

1986-01-01

Techniques are described for accounting for relativistic effects in the analysis of pulsar signals. Design features of instrumentation used to achieve millisecond accuracy in the signal measurements are discussed. The accuracy of the data permits modeling the pulsar physical characteristics from the natural glitches in the emissions. Relativistic corrections are defined for adjusting for differences between the pulsar motion in its spacetime coordinate system relative to the terrestrial coordinate system, the earth's motion, and the gravitational potentials of solar system bodies. Modifications of the model to allow for a binary pulsar system are outlined, including treatment of the system as a point mass. Finally, a quadrupole model is presented for gravitational radiation and techniques are defined for using pulsars in the search for gravitational waves.

Europe's space camera unmasks a cosmic gamma-ray machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1996-11-01

The new-found neutron star is the visible counterpart of a pulsating radio source, Pulsar 1055-52. It is a mere 20 kilometres wide. Although the neutron star is very hot, at about a million degrees C, very little of its radiant energy takes the form of visible light. It emits mainly gamma-rays, an extremely energetic form of radiation. By examining it at visible wavelengths, astronomers hope to figure out why Pulsar 1055-52 is the most efficient generator of gamma-rays known so far, anywhere the Universe. The Faint Object Camera found Pulsar 1055-52 in near ultraviolet light at 3400 angstroms, a little shorter in wavelength than the violet light at the extremity of the human visual range. Roberto Mignani, Patrizia Caraveo and Giovanni Bignami of the Istituto di Fisica Cosmica in Milan, Italy, report its optical identification in a forthcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters (1 January 1997). The formal name of the object is PSR 1055-52. Evading the glare of an adjacent star The Italian team had tried since 1988 to spot Pulsar 1055-52 with two of the most powerful ground-based optical telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere. These were the 3.6-metre Telescope and the 3.5-metre New Technology Telescope of the European Southern Observatory at La Silla, Chile. Unfortunately an ordinary star 100,000 times brighter lay in almost the same direction in the sky, separated from the neutron star by only a thousandth of a degree. The Earth's atmosphere defocused the star's light sufficiently to mask the glimmer from Pulsar 1055-52. The astronomers therefore needed an instrument in space. The Faint Object Camera offered the best precision and sensitivity to continue the hunt. Devised by European astronomers to complement the American wide field camera in the Hubble Space Telescope, the Faint Object Camera has a relatively narrow field of view. It intensifies the image of a faint object by repeatedly accelerating electrons from photo-electric films, so as to produce brighter flashes when the electrons hit a phosphor screen. Since Hubble's launch in 1990, the Faint Object Camera has examined many different kinds of cosmic objects, from the moons of Jupiter to remote galaxies and quasars. When the space telescope's optics were corrected at the end of 1993 the Faint Object Camera immediately celebrated the event with the discovery of primeval helium in intergalactic gas. In their search for Pulsar 1055-52, the astronomers chose a near-ultraviolet filter to sharpen the Faint Object Camera's vision and reduce the adjacent star's huge advantage in intensity. In May 1996, the Hubble Space Telescope operators aimed at the spot which radio astronomers had indicated, as the source of the radio pulsations of Pulsar 1055-52. The neutron star appeared precisely in the centre of the field of view, and it was clearly separated from the glare of the adjacent star. At magnitude 24.9, Pulsar 1055-52 was comfortably within the power of the Faint Object Camera, which can see stars 20 times fainter still. "The Faint Object Camera is the instrument of choice for looking for neutron stars," says Giovanni Bignami, speaking on behalf of the Italian team. "Whenever it points to a judiciously selected neutron star it detects the corresponding visible or ultraviolet light. The Faint Object Camera has now identified three neutron stars in that way, including Pulsar 1055-52, and it has examined a few that were first detected by other instruments." Mysteries of the neutron stars The importance of the new result can be gauged by the tally of only eight neutron stars seen so far at optical wavelengths, compared with about 760 known from their radio pulsations, and about 21 seen emitting X-rays. Since the first pulsar was detected by radio astronomers in Cambridge, England, nearly 30 years ago, theorists have come to recognize neutron stars as fantastic objects. They are veritable cosmic laboratories in which Nature reveals the behaviour of matter under extreme stress, just one step short of a black hole. A neutron star is created by the force of a supernova explosion in a large star, which crushes the star's core to an unimaginable density. A mass greater than the Sun's is squeezed into a ball no wider than a city. The gravity and magnetic fields are billions of times stronger than the Earth's. The neutron star revolves rapidly, which causes it to wink like a cosmic lighthouse as it swivels its magnetic poles towards and away from the Earth. Pulsar 1055-52 spins at five revolutions per second. At its formation in a supernova explosion, a neutron star is endowed with two main forms of energy. One is heat, at temperatures of millions of degrees, which the neutron star radiates mainly as X-rays, with only a small proportion emerging as visible light. The other power supply for the neutron star comes from its high rate of spin and a gradual slowing of the rotation. By a variety of processes involving the magnetic field and accelerated particles in the neutron star's vicinity, the spin energy of the neutron star is converted into radiation at many different wavelengths, from radio waves to gamma-rays. The exceptional gamma-ray intensity of Pulsar 1055-52 was first appreciated in observations by NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The team in Milan recently used the Hubble Space Telescope to find the distance of the peculiar neutron star Geminga, which is not detectable by radio pulses but is a strong source of gamma-rays (see ESA Information Note 04-96, 28 March 1996). Pulsar 1055-52 is even more powerful in that respect. About 50 per cent of its radiant energy is gamma-rays, compared with 15 per cent from Geminga and 0.1 per cent from the famous Crab Pulsar, the first neutron star seen by visible light. Making the gamma-rays requires the acceleration of electrons through billions of volts. The magnetic environment of Pulsar 1055-52 fashions a natural gamma-ray machine of amazing power. The orientation of the neutron star's magnetic field with respect to the Earth may contribute to its brightness in gamma-rays. Geminga, Pulsar 1055-52 and another object, Pulsar 0656+14, make a trio that the Milanese astronomers call the Three Musketeers. All have been observed with the Faint Object Camera. They are isolated, elderly neutron stars, some hundreds of thousands of years old, contrasting with the 942 year-old Crab Pulsar which is still surrounded by dispersing debris of a supernova seen by Chinese astronomers in the 11th Century. The mysteries of the neutron stars will keep astronomers busy for years to come, and the Faint Object Camera in the Hubble Space Telescope will remain the best instrument for spotting their faint visible light. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. Note to editors: An image is available of (i) PSR 1055-52 seen by ESA's Faint Object Camera in the Hubble Space Telescope, and (ii) the same region of the sky seen by the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope, with the position of PSR 1055-52 indicated. The image is available on the World Wide Web at http://ecf.hq.eso.org/stecf-pubrel.html http://www.estec.esa.nl/spdwww/h2000/html/snlmain.htm

RADIO-QUIET AND RADIO-LOUD PULSARS: SIMILAR IN GAMMA-RAYS BUT DIFFERENT IN X-RAYS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marelli, M.; Mignani, R. P.; Luca, A. De

2015-04-01

We present new Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of a sample of eight radio-quiet (RQ) γ-ray pulsars detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. For all eight pulsars we identify the X-ray counterpart, based on the X-ray source localization and the best position obtained from γ-ray pulsar timing. For PSR J2030+4415 we found evidence for a ∼10″-long pulsar wind nebula. Our new results consolidate the work from Marelli et al. and confirm that, on average, the γ-ray-to-X-ray flux ratios (F{sub γ}/F{sub X}) of RQ pulsars are higher than for the radio-loud (RL) ones. Furthermore, while the F{sub γ}/F{sub X} distribution featuresmore » a single peak for the RQ pulsars, the distribution is more dispersed for the RL ones, possibly showing two peaks. We discuss possible implications of these different distributions based on current models for pulsar X-ray emission.« less

From spin noise to systematics: stochastic processes in the first International Pulsar Timing Array data release

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lentati, L.; Shannon, R. M.; Coles, W. A.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; van Haasteren, R.; Ellis, J. A.; Caballero, R. N.; Manchester, R. N.; Arzoumanian, Z.; Babak, S.; Bassa, C. G.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Brem, P.; Burgay, M.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Champion, D.; Chatterjee, S.; Cognard, I.; Cordes, J. M.; Dai, S.; Demorest, P.; Desvignes, G.; Dolch, T.; Ferdman, R. D.; Fonseca, E.; Gair, J. R.; Gonzalez, M. E.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Hobbs, G.; Janssen, G. H.; Jones, G.; Karuppusamy, R.; Keith, M.; Kerr, M.; Kramer, M.; Lam, M. T.; Lasky, P. D.; Lassus, A.; Lazarus, P.; Lazio, T. J. W.; Lee, K. J.; Levin, L.; Liu, K.; Lynch, R. S.; Madison, D. R.; McKee, J.; McLaughlin, M.; McWilliams, S. T.; Mingarelli, C. M. F.; Nice, D. J.; Osłowski, S.; Pennucci, T. T.; Perera, B. B. P.; Perrodin, D.; Petiteau, A.; Possenti, A.; Ransom, S. M.; Reardon, D.; Rosado, P. A.; Sanidas, S. A.; Sesana, A.; Shaifullah, G.; Siemens, X.; Smits, R.; Stairs, I.; Stappers, B.; Stinebring, D. R.; Stovall, K.; Swiggum, J.; Taylor, S. R.; Theureau, G.; Tiburzi, C.; Toomey, L.; Vallisneri, M.; van Straten, W.; Vecchio, A.; Wang, J.-B.; Wang, Y.; You, X. P.; Zhu, W. W.; Zhu, X.-J.

2016-05-01

We analyse the stochastic properties of the 49 pulsars that comprise the first International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) data release. We use Bayesian methodology, performing model selection to determine the optimal description of the stochastic signals present in each pulsar. In addition to spin-noise and dispersion-measure (DM) variations, these models can include timing noise unique to a single observing system, or frequency band. We show the improved radio-frequency coverage and presence of overlapping data from different observing systems in the IPTA data set enables us to separate both system and band-dependent effects with much greater efficacy than in the individual pulsar timing array (PTA) data sets. For example, we show that PSR J1643-1224 has, in addition to DM variations, significant band-dependent noise that is coherent between PTAs which we interpret as coming from time-variable scattering or refraction in the ionized interstellar medium. Failing to model these different contributions appropriately can dramatically alter the astrophysical interpretation of the stochastic signals observed in the residuals. In some cases, the spectral exponent of the spin-noise signal can vary from 1.6 to 4 depending upon the model, which has direct implications for the long-term sensitivity of the pulsar to a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background. By using a more appropriate model, however, we can greatly improve a pulsar's sensitivity to GWs. For example, including system and band-dependent signals in the PSR J0437-4715 data set improves the upper limit on a fiducial GW background by ˜60 per cent compared to a model that includes DM variations and spin-noise only.

X-Ray Measurement of the Spin-down of Calvera: A Radio- and Gamma-Ray-Quiet Pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halpern, J. P.; Bogdanov, S.; Gotthelf, E. V.

2013-12-01

We measure spin-down of the 59 ms X-ray pulsar Calvera by comparing the XMM-Newton discovery data from 2009 with new Chandra timing observations taken in 2013. Its period derivative is \\dot{P}=(3.19+/- \\,0.08)\\times 10^{-15}, which corresponds to spin-down luminosity \\dot{E}=6.1\\times 10^{35} erg s-1, characteristic age \\tau _c\\equiv P/2\\dot{P}=2.9\\times 10^5 yr, and surface dipole magnetic field strength Bs = 4.4 × 1011 G. These values rule out a mildly recycled pulsar, but Calvera could be an orphaned central compact object (anti-magnetar), with a magnetic field that was initially buried by supernova debris and is now reemerging and approaching normal strength. We also performed unsuccessful searches for high-energy γ-rays from Calvera in both imaging and timing of >100 MeV Fermi photons. Even though the distance to Calvera is uncertain by an order of magnitude, an upper limit of d < 2 kpc inferred from X-ray spectra implies a γ-ray luminosity limit of <3.3 × 1032 erg s-1, which is less than that of any pulsar of comparable \\dot{E}. Calvera shares some properties with PSR J1740+1000, a young radio pulsar that we show by virtue of its lack of proper motion was born outside of the Galactic disk. As an energetic, high-Galactic-latitude pulsar, Calvera is unique in being undetected in both radio and γ-rays to faint limits, which should place interesting constraints on models for particle acceleration and beam patterns in pulsar magnetospheres.

High-School Teams Joining Massive Pulsar Search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2008-09-01

High school students and teachers will join astronomers on the cutting edge of science under a program to be operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and West Virginia University (WVU), and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The program, called the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, will engage West Virginia students and teachers in a massive search for new pulsars using data from the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Sue Ann Heatherly Sue Ann Heatherly, NRAO Education Officer CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for larger version) The NSF announced a $892,838 grant to NRAO and WVU to conduct the three-year program. The project will involve 60 teachers and some 600 students in helping astronomers analyze data from 1500 hours of observing time on the GBT. The 120 terabytes of data produced by some 70,000 individual pointings of the giant, 17-million-pound telescope is expected to reveal dozens of previously-unknown pulsars. "The students in this program will be partners in frontier research, discovering new pulsars and measuring changes in pulsars already known," said Sue Ann Heatherly, the NRAO Education Officer in Green Bank and Principal Investigator in the project. Pulsars are superdense neutron stars, the corpses of massive stars that have exploded as supernovae. As the neutron star spins, lighthouse-like beams of radio waves, streaming from the poles of its powerful magnetic field, sweep through space. When one of these beams sweeps across the Earth, radio telescopes can capture the pulse of radio waves. Pulsars serve as exotic laboratories for studying the physics of extreme conditions. Scientists can learn valuable new information about the physics of subatomic particles, electromagnetics, and General Relativity by observing pulsars and the changes they undergo over time. The Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC) combines the capabilities of NRAO and WVU to provide a unique opportunity for teachers and students to join in cutting-edge scientific research. The GBT has discovered more than 60 pulsars over the past five years, including the fastest-rotating pulsar ever found, a speedster spinning 716 times per second. At WVU, astronomers Maura McLaughlin and Duncan Lorimer are experienced pulsar specialists who use the GBT regularly for their research. Pulsar Graphic Pulsars Are Spinning Neutron Stars CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for larger version) The PSC program will include training for teachers and student leaders at Green Bank, and an annual scientific seminar at WVU where all participants can present their research. During the year, participants will share information through an online collaboration site called the "collaboratory," operated by Northwestern University. Student teams will receive parcels of data from the GBT and analyze the data to discover pulsars. To do so, they will need to learn to use analysis software and to recognize man-made radio interference that contaminates the data. Each portion of the data will be analyzed by multiple teams. Of the 1500 hours of GBT observing data in the project, taken during the summer of 2007, some 300 hours is reserved for analysis by the student teams. This reserved data set is expected to include tens of new pulsars and about 100 known pulsars. "Because multiple teams will analyze each portion of the data, every student in the project is virtually guaranteed to discover a new pulsar," Heatherly said. "This will give West Virginia high school students the chance to make groundbreaking discoveries like finding exotic pulsar binary systems, pulsars with planetary systems, or pulsars spinning faster than currently thought possible," McLaughlin said. The project will begin recruiting teachers in February of 2008. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

PSR J1906+0722: an Elusive Gamma-Ray Pulsar

DOE PAGES

Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Wu, J.; ...

2015-08-04

Here, we report the discovery of PSR J1906+0722, a gamma-ray pulsar detected as part of a blind survey of unidentified Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources being carried out on the volunteer distributed computing system, Einstein@Home. This newly discovered pulsar previously appeared as the most significant remaining unidentified gamma-ray source without a known association in the second Fermi-LAT source catalog (2FGL) and was among the top 10 most significant unassociated sources in the recent third catalog (3FGL). PSR J1906+0722 is a young, energetic, isolated pulsar, with a spin frequency of 8.9 Hz, a characteristic age of 49 kyr, and spin-down powermore » $$1.0\\times {10}^{36}$$ erg s -1. In 2009 August it suffered one of the largest glitches detected from a gamma-ray pulsar ($${\\rm{\\Delta }}f/f\\approx 4.5\\times {10}^{-6}$$). Remaining undetected in dedicated radio follow-up observations, the pulsar is likely radio-quiet. An off-pulse analysis of the gamma-ray flux from the location of PSR J1906+0722 revealed the presence of an additional nearby source, which may be emission from the interaction between a neighboring supernova remnant and a molecular cloud. We discuss possible effects which may have hindered the detection of PSR J1906+0722 in previous searches and describe the methods by which these effects were mitigated in this survey. Lastly, we also demonstrate the use of advanced timing methods for estimating the positional, spin and glitch parameters of difficult-to-time pulsars such as this.« less

WHY ARE PULSAR PLANETS RARE?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, Rebecca G.; Livio, Mario; Palaniswamy, Divya

Pulsar timing observations have revealed planets around only a few pulsars. We suggest that the rarity of these planets is due mainly to two effects. First, we show that the most likely formation mechanism requires the destruction of a companion star. Only pulsars with a suitable companion (with an extreme mass ratio) are able to form planets. Second, while a dead zone (a region of low turbulence) in the disk is generally thought to be essential for planet formation, it is most probably rare in disks around pulsars, because of the irradiation from the pulsar. The irradiation strongly heats themore » inner parts of the disk, thus pushing the inner boundary of the dead zone out. We suggest that the rarity of pulsar planets can be explained by the low probability for these two requirements to be satisfied: a very low-mass companion and a dead zone.« less

A 110-ms pulsar, with negative period derivative, in the globular cluster M15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolszczan, A.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Middleditch, J.; Backer, D. C.; Fruchter, A. S.; Dewey, R. J.

1989-01-01

The discovery of a 110-ms pulsar, PSR2127+11, in the globular cluster M15, is reported. The results of nine months of timing measurements place the new pulsar about 2 arcsec from the center of the cluster, and indicate that it is not a member of a close binary system. The measured negative value of the period derivative is probably the result of the pulsar being bodily accelerated in our direction by the gravitational field of the collapsed core of M15. This apparently overwhelms a positive contribution to the period derivative due to magnetic braking. Although the pulsar has an unexpectedly long period, it is argued that it belongs to the class of 'recycled' pulsars, which have been spun up by accretion in a binary system. The subsequent loss of the pulsar's companion is probably due to disruption of the system by close encounters with other stars.

Weird Stellar Pair Puzzles Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2008-05-01

Astronomers have discovered a speedy spinning pulsar in an elongated orbit around an apparent Sun-like star, a combination never seen before, and one that has them puzzled about how the strange system developed. Orbital Comparison Comparing Orbits of Pulsar and Its Companion to our Solar System. CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF Click on image for full caption information and available graphics. "Our ideas about how the fastest-spinning pulsars are produced do not predict either the kind of orbit or the type of companion star this one has," said David Champion of the Australia Telescope National Facility. "We have to come up with some new scenarios to explain this weird pair," he added. Astronomers first detected the pulsar, called J1903+0327, as part of a long-term survey using the National Science Foundation's Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. They made the discovery in 2006 doing data analysis at McGill University, where Champion worked at the time. They followed up the discovery with detailed studies using the Arecibo telescope, the NSF's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia, the Westerbork radio telescope in the Netherlands, and the Gemini North optical telescope in Hawaii. The pulsar, a city-sized superdense stellar corpse left over after a massive star exploded as a supernova, is spinning on its axis 465 times every second. Nearly 21,000 light-years from Earth, it is in a highly-elongated orbit that takes it around its companion star once every 95 days. An infrared image made with the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii shows a Sun-like star at the pulsar's position. If this is an orbital companion to the pulsar, it is unlike any companions of other rapidly rotating pulsars. The pulsar, a neutron star, also is unusually massive for its type. "This combination of properties is unprecedented. Not only does it require us to figure out how this system was produced, but the large mass may help us understand how matter behaves at extremely high densities," said Scott Ransom of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Pulsars are neutron stars whose strong magnetic fields channel lighthouse-like beams of light and radio waves that whirl around as the star spins. Typical pulsars spin a few times a second, but some, like PSR J1903+0327, are much faster, rotating hundreds of times a second. They are called millisecond pulsars. Astronomers think most millisecond pulsars are sped up by material falling onto them from a companion star. This requires the pulsar to be in a tight orbit around its companion that becomes more and more circular with time. The orbits of some millisecond pulsars are the most perfect circles in the Universe, so the elongated orbit of the new pulsar is a mystery. "What we have found is a millisecond pulsar that is in the wrong kind of orbit around what appears to be the wrong kind of star," Champion said. "Now we have to figure out how this strange system was produced." The scientists are considering three possibilities. The first, that the pulsar simply was born spinning quickly, seems unlikely to them. Another possibility, they say, is that the pulsar was formed in a tight group of stars known as a globular cluster, where it had a companion that spun it up. Later, a close encounter with another star in the cluster stripped it of its companion and flung it out of the cluster. For several reasons, including the fact that they don't see a nearby cluster from which it could have come, they don't like that explanation either. A third scenario says the pulsar may be part of a triple, not a double, star system. In this case, the pulsar's 95-day orbit is around a neutron star or white dwarf, not the Sun-like star seen in the infrared image. The Sun-like star would then be in a more-distant orbit around the pulsar and its close companion. "We've found about 50 pulsars in binary systems. We may now have found our first pulsar in a stellar triple system," Ransom said. The international research team is busy trying to get their answers. They will study the star in the infrared image further to confirm the indications that it is similar to our Sun and that it actually is a companion to the pulsar. Additional radio observations will study the pulsar's orbit and seek to measure its motion in space. "This is a fascinating object that has a lot to teach us about physics. It's going to be exciting to peel away the mystery of how this thing came to be," Champion said. Meanwhile the survey with Arecibo goes on. Other, more conventional millisecond pulsars have been found, but it is almost certain that there will be more surprises, said Jim Cordes of Cornell University, chair of the consortium that is doing the survey. The large volume of data for the survey is archived at the Cornell Center for Advanced Computing, and is then processed using computer clusters at several consortium-member sites around the world. The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center is operated by Cornell University under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

A Microglitch in the Millisecond Pulsar PSR B1821-24 in M28

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cognard, Ismaël; Backer, Donald C.

2004-09-01

We report on the observation of a very small glitch observed for the first time in a millisecond pulsar, PSR B1821-24, located in the globular cluster M28. Timing observations were mainly conducted with the Nançay radio telescope (France), and confirmation comes from the 140 ft radio telescope at Green Bank and the new Green Bank Telescope data. This event is characterized by a rotation frequency step of 3 nHz, or 10-11 in fractional frequency change, along with a short duration limited to a few days or a week. A marginally significant frequency derivative step was also found. This glitch follows the main characteristics of those in the slow-period pulsars but is 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the smallest ever recorded. Such an event must be very rare for millisecond pulsars since no other glitches have been detected when the cumulated number of years of millisecond pulsar timing observations up to 2001 is around 500 for all these objects. However, pulsar PSR B1821-24 is one of the youngest among the old recycled ones, and there is likely a correlation between age, or a related parameter, and timing noise. While this event happens on a much smaller scale, the required adjustment of the star to a new equilibrium figure as it spins down is a likely common cause for all glitches.

The prospects of pulsar timing with new-generation radio telescopes and the Square Kilometre Array.

PubMed

Stappers, B W; Keane, E F; Kramer, M; Possenti, A; Stairs, I H

2018-05-28

Pulsars are highly magnetized and rapidly rotating neutron stars. As they spin, the lighthouse-like beam of radio emission from their magnetic poles sweeps across the Earth with a regularity approaching that of the most precise clocks known. This precision combined with the extreme environments in which they are found, often in compact orbits with other neutron stars and white dwarfs, makes them excellent tools for studying gravity. Present and near-future pulsar surveys, especially those using the new generation of telescopes, will find more extreme binary systems and pulsars that are more precise 'clocks'. These telescopes will also greatly improve the precision to which we can measure the arrival times of the pulses. The Square Kilometre Array will revolutionize pulsar searches and timing precision. The increased number of sources will reveal rare sources, including possibly a pulsar-black hole binary, which can provide the most stringent tests of strong-field gravity. The improved timing precision will reveal new phenomena and also allow us to make a detection of gravitational waves in the nanohertz frequency regime. It is here where we expect to see the signature of the binary black holes that are formed as galaxies merge throughout cosmological history.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Possible relation between pulsar rotation and evolution of magnetic inclination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Jun

2018-05-01

The pulsar timing is observed to be different from predicted by a simple magnetic dipole radiation. We choose eight pulsars whose braking index was reliably determined. Assuming the smaller values of braking index are dominated by the secular evolution of the magnetic inclination, we calculate the increasing rate of the magnetic inclination for each pulsar. We find a possible relation between the rotation frequency of each pulsar and the inferred evolution of the magnetic inclination. Due to the model-dependent fit of the magnetic inclination and other effects, more observational indicators for the change rate of magnetic inclination are needed to test the relation.

COHERENT NETWORK ANALYSIS FOR CONTINUOUS GRAVITATIONAL WAVE SIGNALS IN A PULSAR TIMING ARRAY: PULSAR PHASES AS EXTRINSIC PARAMETERS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Yan; Mohanty, Soumya D.; Jenet, Fredrick A., E-mail: ywang12@hust.edu.cn

2015-12-20

Supermassive black hole binaries are one of the primary targets of gravitational wave (GW) searches using pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). GW signals from such systems are well represented by parameterized models, allowing the standard Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) to be used for their detection and estimation. However, there is a dichotomy in how the GLRT can be implemented for PTAs: there are two possible ways in which one can split the set of signal parameters for semi-analytical and numerical extremization. The straightforward extension of the method used for continuous signals in ground-based GW searches, where the so-called pulsar phasemore » parameters are maximized numerically, was addressed in an earlier paper. In this paper, we report the first study of the performance of the second approach where the pulsar phases are maximized semi-analytically. This approach is scalable since the number of parameters left over for numerical optimization does not depend on the size of the PTA. Our results show that for the same array size (9 pulsars), the new method performs somewhat worse in parameter estimation, but not in detection, than the previous method where the pulsar phases were maximized numerically. The origin of the performance discrepancy is likely to be in the ill-posedness that is intrinsic to any network analysis method. However, the scalability of the new method allows the ill-posedness to be mitigated by simply adding more pulsars to the array. This is shown explicitly by taking a larger array of pulsars.« less

Pulsars in binary systems: probing binary stellar evolution and general relativity.

PubMed

Stairs, Ingrid H

2004-04-23

Radio pulsars in binary orbits often have short millisecond spin periods as a result of mass transfer from their companion stars. They therefore act as very precise, stable, moving clocks that allow us to investigate a large set of otherwise inaccessible astrophysical problems. The orbital parameters derived from high-precision binary pulsar timing provide constraints on binary evolution, characteristics of the binary pulsar population, and the masses of neutron stars with different mass-transfer histories. These binary systems also test gravitational theories, setting strong limits on deviations from general relativity. Surveys for new pulsars yield new binary systems that increase our understanding of all these fields and may open up whole new areas of physics, as most spectacularly evidenced by the recent discovery of an extremely relativistic double-pulsar system.

Sensitivity of new detection method for ultra-low frequency gravitational waves with pulsar spin-down rate statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yonemaru, Naoyuki; Kumamoto, Hiroki; Takahashi, Keitaro; Kuroyanagi, Sachiko

2018-04-01

A new detection method for ultra-low frequency gravitational waves (GWs) with a frequency much lower than the observational range of pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) was suggested in Yonemaru et al. (2016). In the PTA analysis, ultra-low frequency GWs (≲ 10-10 Hz) which evolve just linearly during the observation time span are absorbed by the pulsar spin-down rates since both have the same effect on the pulse arrival time. Therefore, such GWs cannot be detected by the conventional method of PTAs. However, the bias on the observed spin-down rates depends on relative direction of a pulsar and GW source and shows a quadrupole pattern in the sky. Thus, if we divide the pulsars according to the position in the sky and see the difference in the statistics of the spin-down rates, ultra-low frequency GWs from a single source can be detected. In this paper, we evaluate the potential of this method by Monte-Carlo simulations and estimate the sensitivity, considering only the "Earth term" while the "pulsar term" acts like random noise for GW frequencies 10-13 - 10-10 Hz. We find that with 3,000 milli-second pulsars, which are expected to be discovered by a future survey with the Square Kilometre Array, GWs with the derivative of amplitude of about 3 × 10^{-19} {s}^{-1} can in principle be detected. Implications for possible supermassive binary black holes in Sgr* and M87 are also given.

PSR J1618-3921: a recycled pulsar in an eccentric orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Octau, F.; Cognard, I.; Guillemot, L.; Tauris, T. M.; Freire, P. C. C.; Desvignes, G.; Theureau, G.

2018-04-01

Context. The 11.99 ms pulsar PSR J1618-3921 orbits a He white dwarf companion of probably low mass with a period of 22.7 d. The pulsar was discovered in a survey of the intermediate Galactic latitudes at 1400 MHz that was conducted with the Parkes radio telescope in the late 1990s. Although PSR J1618-3921 was discovered more than 15 years ago, only limited information has been published about this pulsar, which has a surprisingly high orbital eccentricity (e ≃ 0.027) considering its high spin frequency and the likely low mass of the companion. Aims: The focus of this work is a precise measurement of the spin and the astrometric and orbital characteristics of PSR J1618-3921. This was done with timing observations made at the Nançay Radio Telescope from 2009 to 2017. Methods: We analyzed the timing data recorded at the Nançay Radio Telescope over several years to characterize the properties of PSR J1618-3921. A rotation ephemeris for this pulsar was obtained by analyzing the arrival times of the radio pulses at the telescope. Results: We confirm the unusual eccentricity of PSR J1618-3921 and discuss several hypotheses regarding its formation in the context of other discoveries of recycled pulsars in eccentric orbits.

Timing Solution and Single-pulse Properties for Eight Rotating Radio Transients

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cui, B.-Y.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Boyles, J.

Rotating radio transients (RRATs), loosely defined as objects that are discovered through only their single pulses, are sporadic pulsars that have a wide range of emission properties. For many of them, we must measure their periods and determine timing solutions relying on the timing of their individual pulses, while some of the less sporadic RRATs can be timed by using folding techniques as we do for other pulsars. Here, based on Parkes and Green Bank Telescope (GBT) observations, we introduce our results on eight RRATs including their timing-derived rotation parameters, positions, and dispersion measures (DMs), along with a comparison ofmore » the spin-down properties of RRATs and normal pulsars. Using data for 24 RRATs, we find that their period derivatives are generally larger than those of normal pulsars, independent of any intrinsic correlation with period, indicating that RRATs’ highly sporadic emission may be associated with intrinsically larger magnetic fields. We carry out Lomb–Scargle tests to search for periodicities in RRATs’ pulse detection times with long timescales. Periodicities are detected for all targets, with significant candidates of roughly 3.4 hr for PSR J1623−0841 and 0.7 hr for PSR J1839−0141. We also analyze their single-pulse amplitude distributions, finding that log-normal distributions provide the best fits, as is the case for most pulsars. However, several RRATs exhibit power-law tails, as seen for pulsars emitting giant pulses. This, along with consideration of the selection effects against the detection of weak pulses, imply that RRAT pulses generally represent the tail of a normal intensity distribution.« less

Test-particle dynamics in general spherically symmetric black hole spacetimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Laurentis, Mariafelicia; Younsi, Ziri; Porth, Oliver; Mizuno, Yosuke; Rezzolla, Luciano

2018-05-01

To date, the most precise tests of general relativity have been achieved through pulsar timing, albeit in the weak-field regime. Since pulsars are some of the most precise and stable "clocks" in the Universe, present observational efforts are focused on detecting pulsars in the vicinity of supermassive black holes (most notably in the Galactic Centre), enabling pulsar timing to be used as an extremely precise probe of strong-field gravity. In this paper, a mathematical framework to describe test-particle dynamics in general black-hole spacetimes is presented and subsequently used to study a binary system comprising a pulsar orbiting a black hole. In particular, taking into account the parameterization of a general spherically symmetric black-hole metric, general analytic expressions for both the advance of the periastron and for the orbital period of a massive test particle are derived. Furthermore, these expressions are applied to four representative cases of solutions arising in both general relativity and in alternative theories of gravity. Finally, this framework is applied to the Galactic center S -stars and four distinct pulsar toy models. It is shown that by adopting a fully general-relativistic description of test-particle motion which is independent of any particular theory of gravity, observations of pulsars can help impose better constraints on alternative theories of gravity than is presently possible.

Discovery of millisecond pulsars in radio searches of southern Fermi Large Area Telescope sources

DOE PAGES

Keith, M. J.; Johnston, S.; Ray, P. S.; ...

2011-06-08

Using the Parkes Radio Telescope, we have carried out deep observations of 11 unassociated gamma-ray sources. Periodicity searches of these data have discovered two millisecond pulsars, PSR J1103–5403 (1FGL J1103.9–5355) and PSR J2241–5236 (1FGL J2241.9–5236), and a long-period pulsar, PSR J1604–44 (1FGL J1604.7–4443). In addition, we searched for but did not detect any radio pulsations from six gamma-ray pulsars discovered by the Fermi satellite to a level of ~0.04 mJy (for pulsars with a 10 per cent duty cycle). The timing of the millisecond pulsar PSR J1103–5403 has shown that its position is 9 arcmin from the centroid of themore » gamma-ray source. Since these observations were carried out, independent evidence has shown that 1FGL J1103.9–5355 is associated with the flat spectrum radio source PKS 1101–536. It appears certain that the pulsar is not associated with the gamma-ray source, despite the seemingly low probability of a chance detection of a radio millisecond pulsar. We consider that PSR J1604–44 is a chance discovery of a weak, long-period pulsar and is unlikely to be associated with 1FGL J1604.7–4443. PSR J2241–5236 has a spin period of 2.2 ms and orbits a very low mass companion with a 3.5-h orbital period. The relatively high flux density and low dispersion measure of PSR J2241–5236 make it an excellent candidate for high precision timing experiments. The gamma rays of 1FGL J2241.9–5236 have a spectrum that is well modelled by a power law with an exponential cut-off, and phase binning with the radio ephemeris results in a multipeaked gamma-ray pulse profile. Furthermore, observations with Chandra have identified a coincident X-ray source within 0.1 arcsec of the position of the pulsar obtained by radio timing.« less

The Big Glitcher - the Rotation History of PSR JO537-6910

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, F. E.; Gotthelf, E. V.; Middleditch, J.; Wang, Q. D.; Zhang, W.

2003-01-01

We report the results of an extensive monitoring campaign of PSR 50537-6910, the 16 ms pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud, using data acquired with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. The spin evolution of this pulsar is found to experience extreme episodic discontinuities in its spin-down rate during the 2.6 year campaign. The rate of occurance of these timing glitches is 2.3 per year, comparable to the highest seen for any pulsar. The mean glitch amplitude produced a fraction change in the frequency of Delta(nu)/nu = 0.36 x l0(exp -6) and in the frequency derivative of Delta(dot nu)/dot nu = 3 x 10(exp -4). Despite this prodigous timing activity we are able to derive a phase connected timing solution between glitch events with an average spin-down rate of -1.9743 x 10(exp 10) Hz/s. The integrated effect of the glitches in dot nu was so large that the apparent characteristic age of the pulsar (-nu/2dot nu) decreased significantly during the campaign. We discuss the implications of a large glitch activity and high braking index on the spin evolution of young pulsars.

Understanding the spectral and timing behaviour of a newly discovered transient X-ray pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaisawal, Gaurava K.; Naik, Sachindra; Chenevez, Jérôme

2018-03-01

We present the results obtained from timing and spectral studies of the newly discovered accreting X-ray binary pulsar Swift J0243.6+6124 using Nuclear Spectroscopy Telescope Array observation in 2017 October at a flux level of ˜280 mCrab. Pulsations at 9.854 23(5) s were detected in the X-ray light curves of the pulsar. Pulse profiles of the pulsar were found to be strongly energy dependent. A broad profile at lower energies was found to evolve into a double-peaked profile in ≥ 30 keV. The 3-79 keV continuum spectrum of the pulsar was well described with a negative and positive exponential cutoff or high-energy cutoff power-law models modified with a hot blackbody at ˜3 keV. An iron emission line was also detected at 6.4 keV in the source spectrum. We did not find any signature of cyclotron absorption line in our study. Results obtained from phase-resolved and time-resolved spectroscopy are discussed in the paper.

The Pulsar Quartet: Listening to a Galactic Symphony

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiziltan, Bülent

2014-06-01

Pulsars are exotic dead stars that emit very regular radio pulses. These pulses are attributed to their regular rotation. Some pulsars are spinning fast enough that the audio equivalent waveform of their pulses fall within our hearing range. If human ears were tuned to radio waves it would have been possible to ‘hear’ these very compact stars. We produced the audio waveform of these pulsar signals and mapped them onto a frequency chart to find the corresponding musical notes. We use these ‘audible' pulsars like musical instruments in a symphony orchestra to play a full quartet. At the same time, an accompanying visual interface shows the realistic distribution of all pulsars in our own Galaxy. Pulsars shine as they play each note in the quartet with realistic brightening and subsequent dimming proportional to their rotational energies. This can serve as an educational tool at all levels to demonstrate many interesting aspects of stellar evolution and articulate an aesthetic connection of us with the cosmos. Interested in watching the light show while the Milky Way Pulsar Orchestra plays a quartet?

Is pulsar timing a hopeful tool for detection of relic gravitational waves by using GW150914 data?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghayour, Basem

2018-04-01

The inflation stage has a behaviour as power law expansion like S(η )∝ η ^{1+β } where β constrained on the 1+β <0. If the inflation were preceded by a radiation era, then there would be thermal spectrum of relic gravitational waves at the time of inflation. Based on this idea we find new upper bound on β by comparison the thermal spectrum with strain sensitivity of single pulsar timing. Also we show that sensitivity curve of single pulsar timing may be hopeful tool for detection of the spectrum in usual and thermal case by using the GW150914 data.

High-precision timing of 42 millisecond pulsars with the European Pulsar Timing Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desvignes, G.; Caballero, R. N.; Lentati, L.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Champion, D. J.; Stappers, B. W.; Janssen, G. H.; Lazarus, P.; Osłowski, S.; Babak, S.; Bassa, C. G.; Brem, P.; Burgay, M.; Cognard, I.; Gair, J. R.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Jessner, A.; Jordan, C.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lassus, A.; Lazaridis, K.; Lee, K. J.; Liu, K.; Lyne, A. G.; McKee, J.; Mingarelli, C. M. F.; Perrodin, D.; Petiteau, A.; Possenti, A.; Purver, M. B.; Rosado, P. A.; Sanidas, S.; Sesana, A.; Shaifullah, G.; Smits, R.; Taylor, S. R.; Theureau, G.; Tiburzi, C.; van Haasteren, R.; Vecchio, A.

2016-05-01

We report on the high-precision timing of 42 radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) observed by the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA). This EPTA Data Release 1.0 extends up to mid-2014 and baselines range from 7-18 yr. It forms the basis for the stochastic gravitational-wave background, anisotropic background, and continuous-wave limits recently presented by the EPTA elsewhere. The Bayesian timing analysis performed with TEMPONEST yields the detection of several new parameters: seven parallaxes, nine proper motions and, in the case of six binary pulsars, an apparent change of the semimajor axis. We find the NE2001 Galactic electron density model to be a better match to our parallax distances (after correction from the Lutz-Kelker bias) than the M2 and M3 models by Schnitzeler. However, we measure an average uncertainty of 80 per cent (fractional) for NE2001, three times larger than what is typically assumed in the literature. We revisit the transverse velocity distribution for a set of 19 isolated and 57 binary MSPs and find no statistical difference between these two populations. We detect Shapiro delay in the timing residuals of PSRs J1600-3053 and J1918-0642, implying pulsar and companion masses m_p=1.22_{-0.35}^{+0.5} M_{⊙}, m_c = 0.21_{-0.04}^{+0.06} M_{⊙} and m_p=1.25_{-0.4}^{+0.6} M_{⊙}, m_c = 0.23_{-0.05}^{+0.07} M_{⊙}, respectively. Finally, we use the measurement of the orbital period derivative to set a stringent constraint on the distance to PSRs J1012+5307 and J1909-3744, and set limits on the longitude of ascending node through the search of the annual-orbital parallax for PSRs J1600-3053 and J1909-3744.

Observations of accreting pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prince, Thomas A.; Bildsten, Lars; Chakrabarty, Deepto; Wilson, Robert B.; Finger, Mark H.

1994-01-01

We discuss recent observations of accreting binary pulsars with the all-sky BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. BATSE has detected and studied nearly half of the known accreting pulsar systems. Continuous timing studies over a two-year period have yielded accurate orbital parameters for 9 of these systems, as well as new insights into long-term accretion torque histories.

Real-time detection of an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio fast radio burst during observations of PSR J2124-3358

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oslowsk, S.; Shannon, R. M..; Jameson, Andrew; Sarkissian, J. M..; Bailes, M.; Andreoni, I.; Bhat, N. D. R..; Coles, W. A.; Dai, S.; Dempsey, J.; Hobbs, G.; Keith, M. J.; Kerr, M.; Manchester, R. N.; Lasky, P. D.; Levin, Y.; Parthasarathy, A.; Ravi, V.; Reardon, D. J.; Rosado, P. A.; Russell, C. J.; Spiewak, R.; Van Straten, W.; Toomey, L.; Wang, J. B.; Wen, L.; You, X.-P.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, S.; Zhu, X.-J.

2018-03-01

The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (Manchester et al. 2013) project monitors pulse times of arrival for 24 millisecond pulsars in the Galaxy on a fortnightly cadence using the multibeam receiver on the CSIRO 64-m Parkes Telescope.

Eight γ-Ray Pulsars Discovered In Blind Frequency Searches Of Fermi Lat Data

DOE PAGES

Saz Parkinson, P. M.; Dormody, M.; Ziegler, M.; ...

2010-11-19

We report the discovery of eight γ-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches of ~650 source positions using the Large Area Telescope (LAT), on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We present the timing models, light curves, and detailed spectral parameters of the new pulsars. PSRs J1023-5746, J1044-5737, J1413-5205, J1429-5911, and J1954+2836 are young (τ c < 100 kyr), energetic (more » $$\\dot{E} \\gtrsim 10^{36}$$ erg s–1), and located within the Galactic plane (|b| < 3°). The remaining three pulsars, PSRs J1846+0919, J1957+5033, and J2055+25, are less energetic, and located off the plane. Five pulsars are associated with sources included in the Fermi-LAT bright γ-ray source list, but only one, PSR J1413–6205, is clearly associated with an EGRET source. PSR J1023–5746 has the smallest characteristic age (τ c = 4.6 kyr) and is the most energetic ($$\\dot{E} = 1.1 \\times 10^{37}$$ erg s–1) of all γ-ray pulsars discovered so far in blind searches. By analyzing >100 ks of publicly available archival Chandra X-ray data, we have identified the likely counterpart of PSR J1023–5746 as a faint, highly absorbed source, CXOU J102302.8-574606. The large X-ray absorption indicates that this could be among the most distant γ-ray pulsars detected so far. PSR J1023–5746 is positionally coincident with the TeV source HESS J1023–575, located near the young stellar cluster Westerlund 2, while PSR J1954+2836 is coincident with a 4.3σ excess reported by Milagro at a median energy of 35 TeV. PSRs J1957+5033 and J2055+25 have the largest characteristic ages (τ c ~ 1 Myr) and are the least energetic ($$\\dot{E} \\sim 5\\times 10^{33}$$ erg s–1) of the newly discovered pulsars. We used recent XMM observations to identify the counterpart of PSR J2055+25 as XMMU J205549.4+253959. Deep radio follow-up observations of the eight pulsars resulted in no detections of pulsations and upper limits comparable to the faintest known radio pulsars, indicating that these pulsars can be included among the growing population of radio-quiet pulsars in our Galaxy being uncovered by the LAT, and currently numbering more than 20.« less

Implications of the Occurrence of Glitches in Pulsar Free Precession Candidates.

PubMed

Jones, D I; Ashton, G; Prix, R

2017-06-30

The timing properties of radio pulsars provide a unique probe of neutron star interiors. Recent observations have uncovered quasiperiodicities in the timing and pulse properties of some pulsars, a phenomenon that has often been attributed to free precession of the neutron star, with profound implications for the distribution of superfluidity and superconductivity in the star. We advance this program by developing consistency relations between free precession and pulsars glitches, and we show that there are difficulties in reconciling the two phenomena in some precession candidates. This indicates that the precession model used here needs to be modified or some other phenomenon is at work in producing the quasiperiodicities, or even that there is something missing in terms of our understanding of glitches.

Hubble Space Telescope: A cosmic time machine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Westphal, J. A.; Harms, R. J.; Brandt, J. C.; Bless, R. C.; Macchetto, F. D.; Jefferys, W. H.

1991-01-01

The mission of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is to explore the expanding and evolving universe. During the 3,000 operating hours every year for the next 15 years or more, the HST will be used to study: galaxies; pulsars; globular clusters; neighboring stars where planets may be forming; binary star systems; condensing gas clouds and their chemical composition; and the rings of Saturn and the swirling ultraviolet clouds of Venus. The major technical achievements - its nearly perfect mirrors, its precise guidance system of rate gyroscopes, reaction wheels, star trackers, and fine guidance sensors are briefly discussed. The scientific instruments on board HST are briefly described. The integration of the equipment and instruments is outlined. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has approved time for 162 observations from among 556 proposals. The mission operation and data flow are explained.

Geminga's tails: a pulsar bow shock probing the interstellar medium.

PubMed

Caraveo, P A; Bignami, G F; DeLuca, A; Mereghetti, S; Pellizzoni, A; Mignani, R; Tur, A; Becker, W

2003-09-05

We report the X-ray Multimirror Mission-Newton European Photon Imaging Camera observation of two elongated parallel x-ray tails trailing the pulsar Geminga. They are aligned with the object's supersonic motion, extend for approximately 2', and have a nonthermal spectrum produced by electron-synchrotron emission in the bow shock between the pulsar wind and the surrounding medium. Electron lifetime against synchrotron cooling matches the source transit time over the x-ray features' length. Such an x-ray detection of a pulsar bow shock (with no Halpha emission) allows us to gauge the pulsar electron injection energy and the shock magnetic field while constraining the angle of Geminga's motion and the local matter density.

PULSAR SIGNAL DENOISING METHOD BASED ON LAPLACE DISTRIBUTION IN NO-SUBSAMPLING WAVELET PACKET DOMAIN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wenbo, Wang; Yanchao, Zhao; Xiangli, Wang

2016-11-01

In order to improve the denoising effect of the pulsar signal, a new denoising method is proposed in the no-subsampling wavelet packet domain based on the local Laplace prior model. First, we count the true noise-free pulsar signal’s wavelet packet coefficient distribution characteristics and construct the true signal wavelet packet coefficients’ Laplace probability density function model. Then, we estimate the denosied wavelet packet coefficients by using the noisy pulsar wavelet coefficients based on maximum a posteriori criteria. Finally, we obtain the denoisied pulsar signal through no-subsampling wavelet packet reconstruction of the estimated coefficients. The experimental results show that the proposed method performs better when calculating the pulsar time of arrival than the translation-invariant wavelet denoising method.

Sub-luminous γ-ray pulsars

DOE PAGES

Romani, R. W.; Kerr, M.; Craig, H. A.; ...

2011-08-17

Here, most pulsars observed by the Fermi Large Area Telescope have γ-ray luminosities scaling with spin-down powermore » $${\\dot{E}}$$ as $$L_\\gamma \\approx ({\\dot{E}}\\, \\times \\, 10^{33}\\,{\\rm erg \\,s^{-1}})^{1/2}$$. However, there exist one detection and several upper limits an order of magnitude or more fainter than this trend. We describe these "sub-luminous" γ-ray pulsars and discuss the case for this being an orientation effect. Of the 12 known young radio pulsars with $${\\dot{E}}>10^{34}\\, {\\rm erg\\,s^{-1}}$$ and d ≤ 2 kpc several are substantially sub-luminous. The limited available geometrical constraints favor aligned geometries for these pulsars, although no one case for alignment is compelling. In this scenario GeV emission detected from such sub-luminous pulsars can be due to a lower altitude, lower-power accelerator gap.« less

Analysis of Scattering from Archival Pulsar Data using a CLEAN-based Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, -Wei, Jr.; Simonetti, John H.; Kavic, Michael

2017-02-01

In this work, we adopted a CLEAN-based method to determine the scatter time, τ, from archived pulsar profiles under both the thin screen and uniform medium scattering models and to calculate the scatter time frequency scale index α, where τ \\propto {ν }α . The value of α is -4.4, if a Kolmogorov spectrum of the interstellar medium turbulence is assumed. We deconvolved 1342 profiles from 347 pulsars over a broad range of frequencies and dispersion measures. In our survey, in the majority of cases the scattering effect was not significant compared to pulse profile widths. For a subset of 21 pulsars scattering at the lowest frequencies was large enough to be measured. Because reliable scatter time measurements were determined only for the lowest frequency, we were limited to using upper limits on scatter times at higher frequencies for the purpose of our scatter time frequency slope estimation. We scaled the deconvolved scatter time to 1 GHz assuming α =-4.4 and considered our results in the context of other observations which yielded a broad relation between scatter time and dispersion measure.

The soft γ-ray pulsar population: a high-energy overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuiper, L.; Hermsen, W.

2015-06-01

At high-energy γ-rays (>100 MeV), the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite already detected more than 145 rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs), while the number of pulsars seen at soft γ-rays (20 keV-30 MeV) remained small. We present a catalogue of 18 non-recycled RPPs from which presently non-thermal pulsed emission has been securely detected at soft γ-rays above 20 keV, and characterize their pulse profiles and energy spectra. For 14 of them, we report new results, (re)analysing mainly data from RXTE, INTEGRAL, XMM-Newton and Chandra. The soft γ-pulsars are all fast rotators and on average ˜9.3 times younger and ˜43 times more energetic than the Fermi LAT sample. The majority (11 members) exhibits broad, structured single pulse profiles, and only six have double (or even multiple, Vela) pulses. 15 soft γ-ray pulsar show hard power-law spectra in the hard X-ray band and reach maximum luminosities typically in the MeV range. For only 7 of the 18 soft γ-ray pulsars, pulsed emission has also been detected by the LAT, but 12 have a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) detected at TeV energies. For six pulsars with PWNe, we present also the spectra of the total emissions at hard X-rays, and for IGR J18490-0000, associated with HESS J1849-000 and PSR J1849-0001, we used our Chandra data to resolve and characterize the contributions from the point source and PWN. Finally, we also discuss a sample of 15 pulsars which are candidates for future detection of pulsed soft γ-rays, given their characteristics at other wavelengths.

SENSITIVITY OF BLIND PULSAR SEARCHES WITH THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dormody, M.; Johnson, R. P.; Atwood, W. B.

2011-12-01

We quantitatively establish the sensitivity to the detection of young to middle-aged, isolated, gamma-ray pulsars through blind searches of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data using a Monte Carlo simulation. We detail a sensitivity study of the time-differencing blind search code used to discover gamma-ray pulsars in the first year of observations. We simulate 10,000 pulsars across a broad parameter space and distribute them across the sky. We replicate the analysis in the Fermi LAT First Source Catalog to localize the sources, and the blind search analysis to find the pulsars. We analyze the results and discuss the effect ofmore » positional error and spin frequency on gamma-ray pulsar detections. Finally, we construct a formula to determine the sensitivity of the blind search and present a sensitivity map assuming a standard set of pulsar parameters. The results of this study can be applied to population studies and are useful in characterizing unidentified LAT sources.« less

Arecibo pulsar survey using ALFA. III. Precursor survey and population synthesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Swiggum, J. K.; Lorimer, D. R.; McLaughlin, M. A.

The Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array (PALFA) Survey uses the ALFA 7-beam receiver to search both inner and outer Galactic sectors visible from Arecibo (32° ≲ ℓ ≲ 77° and 168° ≲ ℓ ≲ 214°) close to the Galactic plane (|b| ≲ 5°) for pulsars. The PALFA survey is sensitive to sources fainter and more distant than have previously been seen because of Arecibo's unrivaled sensitivity. In this paper we detail a precursor survey of this region with PALFA, which observed a subset of the full region (slightly more restrictive in ℓ and |b| ≲ 1°) and detected 45 pulsars.more » Detections included 1 known millisecond pulsar and 11 previously unknown, long-period pulsars. In the surveyed part of the sky that overlaps with the Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey (36° ≲ ℓ ≲ 50°), PALFA is probing deeper than the Parkes survey, with four discoveries in this region. For both Galactic millisecond and normal pulsar populations, we compare the survey's detections with simulations to model these populations and, in particular, to estimate the number of observable pulsars in the Galaxy. We place 95% confidence intervals of 82,000 to 143,000 on the number of detectable normal pulsars and 9000 to 100,000 on the number of detectable millisecond pulsars in the Galactic disk. These are consistent with previous estimates. Given the most likely population size in each case (107,000 and 15,000 for normal and millisecond pulsars, respectively), we extend survey detection simulations to predict that, when complete, the full PALFA survey should have detected 1000{sub −230}{sup +330} normal pulsars and 30{sub −20}{sup +200} millisecond pulsars. Identical estimation techniques predict that 490{sub −115}{sup +160} normal pulsars and 12{sub −5}{sup +70} millisecond pulsars would be detected by the beginning of 2014; at the time, the PALFA survey had detected 283 normal pulsars and 31 millisecond pulsars, respectively. We attribute the deficiency in normal pulsar detections predominantly to the radio frequency interference environment at Arecibo and perhaps also scintillation—both effects that are currently not accounted for in population simulation models.« less

Searching Ultra-compact Pulsar Binaries with Abnormal Timing Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, B. P.; Li, Y. P.; Yuan, J. P.; Tian, J.; Zhang, Y. Y.; Li, D.; Jiang, B.; Li, X. D.; Wang, H. G.; Zou, Y. C.; Shao, L. J.

2018-03-01

Ultra-compact pulsar binaries are both ideal sources of gravitational radiation for gravitational wave detectors and laboratories for fundamental physics. However, the shortest orbital period of all radio pulsar binaries is currently 1.6 hr. The absence of pulsar binaries with a shorter orbital period is most likely due to technique limit. This paper points out that a tidal effect occurring on pulsar binaries with a short orbital period can perturb the orbital elements and result in a significant change in orbital modulation, which dramatically reduces the sensitivity of the acceleration searching that is widely used. Here a new search is proposed. The abnormal timing residual exhibited in a single pulse observation is simulated by a tidal effect occurring on an ultra-compact binary. The reproduction of the main features represented by the sharp peaks displayed in the abnormal timing behavior suggests that pulsars like PSR B0919+06 could be a candidate for an ultra-compact binary of an orbital period of ∼10 minutes and a companion star of a white dwarf star. The binary nature of such a candidate is further tested by (1) comparing the predicted long-term binary effect with decades of timing noise observed and (2) observing the optical counterpart of the expected companion star. Test (1) likely supports our model, while more observations are needed in test (2). Some interesting ultra-compact binaries could be found in the near future by applying such a new approach to other binary candidates.

COBRA: a Bayesian approach to pulsar searching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lentati, L.; Champion, D. J.; Kramer, M.; Barr, E.; Torne, P.

2018-02-01

We introduce COBRA, a GPU-accelerated Bayesian analysis package for performing pulsar searching, that uses candidates from traditional search techniques to set the prior used for the periodicity of the source, and performs a blind search in all remaining parameters. COBRA incorporates models for both isolated and accelerated systems, as well as both Keplerian and relativistic binaries, and exploits pulse phase information to combine search epochs coherently, over time, frequency or across multiple telescopes. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in a series of simulations that challenge typical search techniques, including highly aliased signals, and relativistic binary systems. In the most extreme case, we simulate an 8 h observation containing 24 orbits of a pulsar in a binary with a 30 M⊙ companion. Even in this scenario we show that we can build up from an initial low-significance candidate, to fully recovering the signal. We also apply the method to survey data of three pulsars from the globular cluster 47Tuc: PSRs J0024-7204D, J0023-7203J and J0024-7204R. This final pulsar is in a 1.6 h binary, the shortest of any pulsar in 47Tuc, and additionally shows significant scintillation. By allowing the amplitude of the source to vary as a function of time, however, we show that we are able to obtain optimal combinations of such noisy data. We also demonstrate the ability of COBRA to perform high-precision pulsar timing directly on the single pulse survey data, and obtain a 95 per cent upper limit on the eccentricity of PSR J0024-7204R of εb < 0.0007.

Theory of High-Energy Emission from the Pulsar/Be Star System PSR 1259-63. I. Radiation Mechanisms and Interaction Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavani, Marco; Arons, Jonathan

1997-03-01

We study the physical processes in the system containing the 47 ms radio pulsar PSR B1259-63 orbiting around a Be star in a highly eccentric orbit. This system is the only known binary where a radio pulsar is observed to interact with gaseous material from a Be star. A rapidly rotating radio pulsar such as PSR B1259-63 is expected to produce a wind of electromagnetic emission and relativistic particles, and this binary is an ideal astrophysical laboratory to study the mass outflow/pulsar interaction in a highly time-variable environment. Motivated by the results of a recent multiwavelength campaign during the 1994 January periastron passage of PSR B1259-63, we discuss several issues regarding the mechanism of high-energy emission. Unpulsed power-law emission from the PSR B1259-63 system was detected near periastron in the energy range 1-200 keV. The observed X-ray/soft γ-ray emission is characterized by moderate luminosity, small and constant column density, lack of detectable pulsations, and peculiar spectral and intensity variability. In principle, high-energy (X-ray and gamma-ray) emission from the system can be produced by different mechanisms including (1) mass accretion onto the surface of the neutron star, (2) ``propeller''-like magnetospheric interaction at a small pulsar distance, and (3) shock-powered emission in a pulsar wind termination shock at a large distance from the pulsar. We carry out a series of calculations aimed at modeling the high-energy data of the PSR B1259-63 system throughout its orbit and especially near periastron. We find that the observed high-energy emission from the PSR B1259-63 system is not compatible with accretion or propeller-powered emission. This conclusion is supported by a model based on standard properties of Be stars and for plausible assumptions about the pulsar/outflow interaction geometry. We find that shock-powered high-energy emission produced by the pulsar/outflow interaction is consistent with all the characteristics of the high-energy emission of the PSR B1259-63 system. This opens the possibility of obtaining for the first time constraints on the physical properties of the PSR B1259-63 pulsar wind and its interaction properties in a strongly time-variable nebular environment. By studying the time evolution of the pulsar cavity, we can constrain the magnitude and geometry of the mass outflow as the PSR B1259-63 orbits around its Be star companion. The pulsar/outflow interaction is most likely mediated by a collisionless shock at the internal boundary of the pulsar cavity. The system shows all the characteristics of a binary plerion being diffuse and compact near apastron and periastron, respectively. The PSR B1259-63 system is subject to different radiative regimes depending on whether synchrotron or inverse-Compton (IC) cooling dominates the radiation of electron/positron pairs (e+/- pairs) advected away from the inner boundary of the pulsar cavity. The highly nonthermal nature of the observed X-ray/soft γ-ray emission from the PSR B1259-63 system near periastron establishes the existence of an efficient particle acceleration mechanism within a timescale shown to be less than ~102-103 s. A synchrotron/IC model of emission of e+/- pairs accelerated at the inner shock front of the pulsar cavity and adiabatically expanding in the MHD flow provides an excellent explanation of the observed time-variable X-ray flux and spectrum from the PSR B1259-63 system. We find that the best model for the PSR B1259-63 system is consistent with the pulsar orbital plane being misaligned with the plane of a thick equatorial Be star outflow. The angular width of the equatorially enhanced Be star outflow is constrained to be ~50° at the pulsar distance, and the misalignment angle is >~25°. We calculate the intensity and spectrum of the high-energy emission for the whole PSR B1259-63 orbit and predict the characteristics of the emission near the apastron region based on the periastron results. The mass-loss rate is deduced to be approximately constant in time during a ~2 yr period. Our results for the Be star outflow of the PSR B1259-63 system are consistent with models of the radio eclipses near periastron. The consequences of our analysis have general validity. Our study of the PSR B1259-63 system shows that X-ray emission can be caused by a mechanism alternative to accretion in a system containing an energetic pulsar interacting with nebular material. This fact can have far-reaching consequences for the interpretation of galactic astrophysical systems showing nonthermal X-ray and γ-ray emission. We show that a binary system such as PSR B1259-63 offers a novel way to study the acceleration process of relativistic plasmas subject to strongly time variable radiative environments.

Timing Measurements and Their Implications for Four Binary Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, J. F.; Bailes, M.; Manchester, R. N.; Lyne, A. G.; Camilo, F.; Sandhu, J. S.

1997-04-01

We present timing observations of four millisecond pulsars, using data obtained over three years at the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) Parkes and Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratory (NRAL) Jodrell Bank radio telescopes. Astrometric, spin and binary parameters are updated, and substantially improved for three pulsars, PSRs J0613-0200, J1045-4509 and J1643-1224. We have measured the time variation of the projected semimajor axis of the PSR J0437-4715 orbit due to its proper motion, and use it to constrain the inclination of the orbit and the mass of the companion. Some evidence is found for changes in the dispersion measures of PSRs J1045-4509 and J1643-1224. Limits are placed on the existence of planetary mass companions, ruling out companions with masses and orbits similar to the terrestrial planets of the Solar system for eight pulsars.

Vacuum nonlinear electrodynamic polarization effects in hard emission of pulsars and magnetars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denisov, V. I.; Sokolov, V. A.; Svertilov, S. I.

2017-09-01

The nonlinear electrodynamics influence of pulsar magnetic field on the electromagnetic pulse polarization is discussed from the point of observation interpretation. The calculations of pulsar magnetic field impact on the electromagnetic pulse polarization are made in such a way to make it easier to interpret these effects in space experiments. The law of hard emission pulse propagation in the pulsar magnetic field according to the vacuum (nonlinear electrodynamics is obtained. It has been shown, that due to the birefringence in the vacuum the front part of any hard emission pulse coming from a pulsar should be linearly polarized and the rest of pulse can have arbitrary polarization. The observational possibilities of vacuum birefringence are discussed. In this paper we give the estimations of detector parameters such as effective area, exposure time and necessity of polarization measurements with high accuracy. The combination of large area and extremely long exposure time gives the good opportunity to search the fine polarization effects like vacuum nonlinear electrodynamics birefringence.

Null stream analysis of Pulsar Timing Array data: localisation of resolvable gravitational wave sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldstein, Janna; Veitch, John; Sesana, Alberto; Vecchio, Alberto

2018-04-01

Super-massive black hole binaries are expected to produce a gravitational wave (GW) signal in the nano-Hertz frequency band which may be detected by pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) in the coming years. The signal is composed of both stochastic and individually resolvable components. Here we develop a generic Bayesian method for the analysis of resolvable sources based on the construction of `null-streams' which cancel the part of the signal held in common for each pulsar (the Earth-term). For an array of N pulsars there are N - 2 independent null-streams that cancel the GW signal from a particular sky location. This method is applied to the localisation of quasi-circular binaries undergoing adiabatic inspiral. We carry out a systematic investigation of the scaling of the localisation accuracy with signal strength and number of pulsars in the PTA. Additionally, we find that source sky localisation with the International PTA data release one is vastly superior than what is achieved by its constituent regional PTAs.

Precision Timing of PSR J0437-4715: An Accurate Pulsar Distance, a High Pulsar Mass, and a Limit on the Variation of Newton's Gravitational Constant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verbiest, J. P. W.; Bailes, M.; van Straten, W.; Hobbs, G. B.; Edwards, R. T.; Manchester, R. N.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Sarkissian, J. M.; Jacoby, B. A.; Kulkarni, S. R.

2008-05-01

Analysis of 10 years of high-precision timing data on the millisecond pulsar PSR J0437-4715 has resulted in a model-independent kinematic distance based on an apparent orbital period derivative, dot Pb , determined at the 1.5% level of precision (Dk = 157.0 +/- 2.4 pc), making it one of the most accurate stellar distance estimates published to date. The discrepancy between this measurement and a previously published parallax distance estimate is attributed to errors in the DE200 solar system ephemerides. The precise measurement of dot Pb allows a limit on the variation of Newton's gravitational constant, |Ġ/G| <= 23 × 10-12 yr-1. We also constrain any anomalous acceleration along the line of sight to the pulsar to |a⊙/c| <= 1.5 × 10-18 s-1 at 95% confidence, and derive a pulsar mass, mpsr = 1.76 +/- 0.20 M⊙, one of the highest estimates so far obtained.

Vacuum nonlinear electrodynamic polarization effects in hard emission of pulsars and magnetars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Denisov, V.I.; Sokolov, V.A.; Svertilov, S.I., E-mail: vid.msu@yandex.ru, E-mail: sokolov.sev@inbox.ru, E-mail: sis@coronas.ru

The nonlinear electrodynamics influence of pulsar magnetic field on the electromagnetic pulse polarization is discussed from the point of observation interpretation. The calculations of pulsar magnetic field impact on the electromagnetic pulse polarization are made in such a way to make it easier to interpret these effects in space experiments. The law of hard emission pulse propagation in the pulsar magnetic field according to the vacuum (nonlinear electrodynamics is obtained. It has been shown, that due to the birefringence in the vacuum the front part of any hard emission pulse coming from a pulsar should be linearly polarized and themore » rest of pulse can have arbitrary polarization. The observational possibilities of vacuum birefringence are discussed. In this paper we give the estimations of detector parameters such as effective area, exposure time and necessity of polarization measurements with high accuracy. The combination of large area and extremely long exposure time gives the good opportunity to search the fine polarization effects like vacuum nonlinear electrodynamics birefringence.« less

Magnetic field decay in black widow pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendes, Camile; de Avellar, Marcio G. B.; Horvath, J. E.; Souza, Rodrigo A. de; Benvenuto, O. G.; De Vito, M. A.

2018-04-01

We study in this work the evolution of the magnetic field in `redback-black widow' pulsars. Evolutionary calculations of these `spider' systems suggest that first the accretion operates in the redback stage, and later the companion star ablates matter due to winds from the recycled pulsar. It is generally believed that mass accretion by the pulsar results in a rapid decay of the magnetic field when compared to the rate of an isolated neutron star. We study the evolution of the magnetic field in black widow pulsars by solving numerically the induction equation using the modified Crank-Nicolson method with intermittent episodes of mass accretion on to the neutron star. Our results show that the magnetic field does not fall below a minimum value (`bottom field') in spite of the long evolution time of the black widow systems, extending the previous conclusions for much younger low-mass X-ray binary systems. We find that in this scenario, the magnetic field decay is dominated by the accretion rate, and that the existence of a bottom field is likely related to the fact that the surface temperature of the pulsar does not decay as predicted by the current cooling models. We also observe that the impurity of the pulsar crust is not a dominant factor in the decay of magnetic field for the long evolution time of black widow systems.

nanopipe: Calibration and data reduction pipeline for pulsar timing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demorest, Paul B.

2018-03-01

nanopipe is a data reduction pipeline for calibration, RFI removal, and pulse time-of-arrival measurement from radio pulsar data. It was developed primarily for use by the NANOGrav project. nanopipe is written in Python, and depends on the PSRCHIVE (ascl:1105.014) library.

Spatially-resolved Spectroscopy of the IC443 Pulsar Wind Nebula and Environs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swartz, Douglas A.; Weisskopf, M. C.; Zavlin, V.; Bucciantini, N.; Clarke, T. E.; Karovska, M.; Pavlov, G. G.; van der Horst, A.; Yukita, M.

2013-04-01

Deep Chandra ACIS observations of the region around the putative pulsar, CXO J061705.3+222127, in the supernova remnant IC443 confirm that (1) the spectrum and flux of the central object are consistent with a rotation-powered pulsar interpretation, (2) the non-thermal surrounding nebula is likely powered by a pulsar wind, and (3) the thermal-dominated spectrum at greater distances is consistent with emission from the supernova remnant. The observations further reveal, for the first time, a ring-like morphology surrounding the pulsar and a jet-like structure oriented roughly north-south across the ring and through the pulsar location. The cometary shape of the nebula, suggesting motion towards the southwest, appears to be subsonic; there is no evidence for a strong bow shock and the ring, presumably formed at a wind termination shock, is not distorted by motion through the ambient medium.

Spatially-resolved Spectroscopy of the IC443 Pulsar Wind Nebula and Environs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swartz, D. A.; Weisskopf, M. C.; Zavlin, V. E.; Bucciantini, N.; Clarke, T. E.; Karovska, M.; Pavlov, G. G.; O'Dell, S. L.; vanderHorst, A J.; Yukita, M.

2013-01-01

Deep Chandra ACIS observations of the region around the putative pulsar, CXOU J061705.3+222117, in the supernova remnant IC443 reveal, for the first time, a ring-like morphology surrounding the pulsar and a jet-like structure oriented roughly north-south across the ring and through the pulsar location. The observations further confirm that (1) the spectrum and flux of the central object are consistent with a rotation-powered pulsar interpretation, (2) the non-thermal surrounding nebula is likely powered by the pulsar wind, and (3) the thermal-dominated spectrum at greater distances is consistent with emission from the supernova remnant. The cometary shape of the nebula, suggesting motion towards the southwest (or, equivalently, flow of ambient medium to the northeast), appears to be subsonic; there is no evidence for a strong bow shock, and the circular ring is not distorted by motion through the ambient medium.

Possible evidence that pulsars are quark stars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu Renxin

2008-01-10

It is a pity that the real state of matter in pulsar-like stars is still not determined confidently because of the uncertainty about cold matter at supranuclear density, even 40 years after the discovery of pulsar. Nuclear matter (related to neutron stars) is one of the speculations for the inner constitution of pulsars even from the Landau's time more than 70 years ago, but quark matter (related to quark stars) is an alternative due to the fact of asymptotic freedom of interaction between quarks as the standard model of particle physics develops since 1960s. Therefore, one has to focus onmore » astrophysical observations in order to answer what the nature of pulsars is. In this presentation, I would like to summarize possible observational evidence/hints that pulsar-like stars could be quark stars, and to address achievable clear evidence for quark stars in the future experiments.« less

X-ray Pulsar Navigation Algorithms and Testbed for SEXTANT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winternitz, Luke M. B.; Hasouneh, Monther A.; Mitchell, Jason W.; Valdez, Jennifer E.; Price, Samuel R.; Semper, Sean R.; Yu, Wayne H.; Ray, Paul S.; Wood, Kent S.; Arzoumanian, Zaven;

Young Pulsar Reveals Clues to Supernova

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2001-09-01

Astronomers examined the remnants of a stellar explosion with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and discovered one of the youngest known pulsars. The properties of this pulsar, a neutron star rotating 15 times a second, will enable scientists to better understand how neutron stars are formed in the seconds just before a supernova explosion, and how they pump energy into the space around them for thousands of years after the explosion. A team led by Stephen Murray of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA studied 3C58, the remains of a supernova observed on Earth in 1181 AD in the constellation Cassiopeia. In addition to a pulsating central source they observed an extended X-ray source surrounding the pulsar thought to be produced by a cloud of high-energy particles about 20 light years across. These results were presented at the "Two Years of Science with Chandra" symposium in Washington, D.C. According to Murray, "Our discovery shows that all pulsars are not born equal. This pulsar is about the same age as the Crab Nebula pulsar, but there is little family resemblance." Murray explained that the 3C58 pulsar, which is now rotating at about half the rate of the Crab pulsar, is rotating almost as fast as it was when it was formed. In contrast, the Crab pulsar was formed spinning much more rapidly and has slowed to about half its initial speed. Conventional theory has assumed that all pulsars were like the Crab, born with rapid rotation and then have spun down considerably. The observations of 3C58, along with Chandra observations by another group of scientists of a pulsar associated with the supernova of 386 AD have cast doubt on that assumption, however. Furthermore, the X-ray power of 3C58 and its surrounding nebula are 20,000 and 1,000 times weaker than the Crab pulsar and its surrounding nebula respectively. One possibility for the low power of 3C58 is that the energy flow from its pulsar is primarily in the form of electromagnetic fields, so the energy is transported to much greater distances from the pulsar, where it has yet to be detected. Another possibility is that the association of 3C58 with the supernova of 1181 AD is spurious, in which case 3C58 would be much older. In view of the lack of other radio and X-ray sources that could be the remnant of Supernova 1181 AD, this is considered unlikely. The team also used X-ray data taken by NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite in 1997 to confirm the existence of the pulsar and to measure its present slow-down rate. The Chandra observations were made on November 30, 1999, and December 23, 2000, using the High Resolution Camera (HRC), which was built by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. under the direction of Stephen Murray. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program for the Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. Images associated with this release are available on the World Wide Web at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov

Application of X-Ray Pulsar Navigation: A Characterization of the Earth Orbit Trade Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Wayne

2016-01-01

The potential for pulsars as a navigation source has been studied since their discovery in 1967. X-ray pulsar navigation (XNAV) is a celestial navigation system that uses the consistent timing nature of x-ray photons from milli-second pulsars (MSP) to perform space navigation. By comparing the detected arrival of x-ray photons to a reference database of expected pulsar lightcurve timing models, one can infer a range and range rate measurement based on light time delay. Much of the challenge of XNAV comes from the faint signal, availability, and distant nature of pulsars. This is a study of potential pulsar XNAV measurements to measure extended Kalman filter (EKF) tracking performance with a wide trade space of bounded Earth orbits, using a simulation of existing x-ray detector space hardware. An example of an x-ray detector for XNAV is the NASA Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation (SEXTANT) mission, a technology demonstration of XNAV set to perform on the International Space Station (ISS) in late 2016early 2017. XNAV hardware implementation is driven by trajectory and environmental influences which add noise to the x-ray pulse signal. In a closed Earth orbit, the radiation environment can exponentially increase the signal noise from x-ray pulsar sources, decreasing the quality and frequency of measurements. The SEXTANT mission in particular improves on the signal to noise ratio by focusing an array of 56 x-ray silicon drift detectors at one pulsar target at a time. This reduces timing glitches and other timing noise contributions from ambient x-ray sources to within a 100 nanosecond resolution. This study also considers the SEXTANT scheduling challenges inherent in a single target observation. Finally, as the navigation sources are now relatively inertial targets, XNAV measurements are also subject to periods of occultation from various celestial bodies. This study focuses on the characterization of these drivers in closed Earth orbits and is not a tuning analysis of the EKF. The study shows that the closed Earth orbit for XNAV performance is reliant on the orbit semi-major axis and eccentricity as well as orbit inclination. These parameters are the primary drivers of pulsar measurement availability and significantly influence the natural spacecraft orbit dynamics. Sensitivity to initial orbit determination error growth due to the scarcity of XNAV measurements within an orbital period require appropriate timing of initial XNAV measurements. The orbit angles of argument of perigee and right ascension of the ascending node, alongside the other orbit parameters, complete the initial cadence of XNAV measurements. The performance of initial XNAV measurements then propagates throughout the experimental period. The study provides a basis to missions who wish to consider XNAV as a potential navigation source in a closed Earth orbit design. It provides a family of orbit trajectories as well as other modeling considerations needed to effectively evaluate if XNAV is an effective navigation source for a potential mission. As an EKF is sensitive to a linearized estimated state, this study has a direct benefit of providing effective XNAV measurements to maintain spacecraft tracking, independent of other navigation sources. In the particular use case of the SEXTANT mission, it also provides a novel scheduling algorithm which addresses the need to prioritize and manage pulsar observations for effective navigation.

Application of X-Ray Pulsar Navigation: A Characterization of the Earth Orbit Trade Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Wayne Hong

2016-01-01

The potential for pulsars as a navigation source has been studied since their discovery in 1967. X-ray pulsar navigation (XNAV) is a celestial navigation system that uses the consistent timing nature of x-ray photons from millisecond pulsars (MSP) to perform space navigation. By comparing the detected arrival of x-ray photons to a reference database of expected pulsar light-curve timing models, one can infer a range and range rate measurement based on light time delay. Much of the challenge of XNAV comes from the faint signal, availability, and distant nature of pulsars. This is a study of potential pulsar XNAV measurements to measure extended Kalman filter (EKF) tracking performance with a wide trade space of bounded Earth orbits, using a simulation of existing x-ray detector space hardware. An example of an x-ray detector for XNAV is the NASA Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation (SEXTANT) mission, a technology demonstration of XNAV set to perform on the International Space Station (ISS) in late 2016early 2017. XNAV hardware implementation is driven by trajectory and environmental influences which add noise to the x-ray pulse signal. In a closed Earth orbit, the radiation environment can exponentially increase the signal noise from x-ray pulsar sources, decreasing the quality and frequency of measurements. The SEXTANT mission in particular improves on the signal to noise ratio by focusing an array of 56 x-ray silicon drift detectors at one pulsar target at a time. This reduces timing glitches and other timing noise contributions from ambient x-ray sources to within a 100 nanosecond resolution. This study also considers the SEXTANT scheduling challenges inherent in a single target observation. Finally, as the navigation sources are now relatively inertial targets, XNAV measurements are also subject to periods of occultation from various celestial bodies. This study focuses on the characterization of these drivers in closed Earth orbits and is not a tuning analysis of the EKF. The study shows that the closed Earth orbit for XNAV performance is reliant on the orbit semi-major axis and eccentricity as well as orbit inclination. These parameters are the primary drivers of pulsar measurement availability and significantly influence the natural spacecraft orbit dynamics. Sensitivity to initial orbit determination error growth due to the scarcity of XNAV measurements within an orbital period require appropriate timing of initial XNAV measurements. The orbit angles of argument of perigee and right ascension of the ascending node, alongside the other orbit parameters, complete the initial cadence of XNAV measurements. The performance of initial XNAV measurements then propagates throughout the experimental period. The study provides a basis to missions who wish to consider XNAV as a potential navigation source in a closed Earth orbit design. It provides a family of orbit trajectories as well as other modeling considerations needed to effectively evaluate if XNAV is an effective navigation source for a potential mission. As an EKF is sensitive to a linearized estimated state, this study has a direct benefit of providing effective XNAV measurements to maintain spacecraft tracking, independent of other navigation sources. In the particular use case of the SEXTANT mission, it also provides a novel scheduling algorithm which addresses the need to prioritize and manage pulsar observations for effective navigation.

Period distribution of pulsars in the Magellanic Clouds: Propeller line versus Equilibrium period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanashkin, A. S.; Ikhsanov, N. R.

2017-12-01

A majority of accretion-powered X-ray pulsars in wind-fed High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs) located in the Magellanic Clouds are observed to be transient X-ray sources. They are characterized by short luminous outbursts, while spending most of the time in quiescence. The quiescent states of the pulsars in the diagram “Pulsar Period vs. X-ray Luminosity” fall on a line with the slope -0.43. The same slope is expected for the propeller line which separates stars in the accretor state from stars in the propeller state. We show, however, that a line with the same slope would also be expected if rotation of the pulsars is close to equilibrium.

Polarimetry of 600 pulsars from observations at 1.4 GHz with the Parkes radio telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnston, Simon; Kerr, Matthew

2018-03-01

Over the past 13 yr, the Parkes radio telescope has observed a large number of pulsars using digital filter bank backends with high time and frequency resolution and the capability for Stokes recording. Here, we use archival data to present polarimetry data at an observing frequency of 1.4 GHz for 600 pulsars with spin-periods ranging from 0.036 to 8.5 s. We comment briefly on some of the statistical implications from the data and highlight the differences between pulsars with high and low spin-down energy. The data set, images and table of properties for all 600 pulsars are made available in a public data archive maintained by the CSIRO.

EVIDENCE OF AN ASTEROID ENCOUNTERING A PULSAR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brook, P. R.; Karastergiou, A.; Buchner, S.

Debris disks and asteroid belts are expected to form around young pulsars due to fallback material from their original supernova explosions. Disk material may migrate inward and interact with a pulsar's magnetosphere, causing changes in torque and emission. Long-term monitoring of PSR J0738–4042 reveals both effects. The pulse shape changes multiple times between 1988 and 2012. The torque, inferred via the derivative of the rotational period, changes abruptly from 2005 September. This change is accompanied by an emergent radio component that drifts with respect to the rest of the pulse. No known intrinsic pulsar processes can explain these timing andmore » radio emission signatures. The data lead us to postulate that we are witnessing an encounter with an asteroid or in-falling debris from a disk.« less

Timing Behavior of the Magnetically Active Rotation-Powered Pulsar in the Supernova Remnant Kesteven 75

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Livingstone, Margaret A.; Gavriil, Fotis P.; Kaspi, Victoria M.

2009-01-01

We report a large spin-up glitch in PSR J1846-0258 which coincided with the onset of magnetar-like behavior on 2006 May 31. We show that the pulsar experienced an unusually large glitch recovery, with a recovery fraction of Q = 5.9+/-0.3, resulting in a net decrease of the pulse frequency. Such a glitch recovery has never before been observed in a rotation-powered pulsar, however, similar but smaller glitch over-recovery has been recently reported in the magnetar AXP 4U 0142+61 and may have occurred in the SGR 1900+14. We discuss the implications of the unusual timing behavior in PSR J1846-0258 on its status as the first identified magnetically active rotation-powered pulsar.

Arecibo Pulsar Survey Using ALFA. IV. Mock Spectrometer Data Analysis, Survey Sensitivity, and the Discovery of 40 Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazarus, P.; Brazier, A.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Karako-Argaman, C.; Kaspi, V. M.; Lynch, R.; Madsen, E.; Patel, C.; Ransom, S. M.; Scholz, P.; Swiggum, J.; Zhu, W. W.; Allen, B.; Bogdanov, S.; Camilo, F.; Cardoso, F.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J. S.; Ferdman, R.; Freire, P. C. C.; Jenet, F. A.; Knispel, B.; Lee, K. J.; van Leeuwen, J.; Lorimer, D. R.; Lyne, A. G.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Siemens, X.; Spitler, L. G.; Stairs, I. H.; Stovall, K.; Venkataraman, A.

2015-10-01

The on-going Arecibo Pulsar-ALFA (PALFA) survey began in 2004 and is searching for radio pulsars in the Galactic plane at 1.4 GHz. Here we present a comprehensive description of one of its main data reduction pipelines that is based on the PRESTO software and includes new interference-excision algorithms and candidate selection heuristics. This pipeline has been used to discover 40 pulsars, bringing the survey’s discovery total to 144 pulsars. Of the new discoveries, eight are millisecond pulsars (MSPs; P\\lt 10 ms) and one is a Fast Radio Burst (FRB). This pipeline has also re-detected 188 previously known pulsars, 60 of them previously discovered by the other PALFA pipelines. We present a novel method for determining the survey sensitivity that accurately takes into account the effects of interference and red noise: we inject synthetic pulsar signals with various parameters into real survey observations and then attempt to recover them with our pipeline. We find that the PALFA survey achieves the sensitivity to MSPs predicted by theoretical models but suffers a degradation for P≳ 100 ms that gradually becomes up to ˜10 times worse for P\\gt 4 {{s}} at {DM}\\lt 150 pc cm-3. We estimate 33 ± 3% of the slower pulsars are missed, largely due to red noise. A population synthesis analysis using the sensitivity limits we measured suggests the PALFA survey should have found 224 ± 16 un-recycled pulsars in the data set analyzed, in agreement with the 241 actually detected. The reduced sensitivity could have implications on estimates of the number of long-period pulsars in the Galaxy.

The UTMOST: A Hybrid Digital Signal Processor Transforms the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailes, M.; Jameson, A.; Flynn, C.; Bateman, T.; Barr, E. D.; Bhandari, S.; Bunton, J. D.; Caleb, M.; Campbell-Wilson, D.; Farah, W.; Gaensler, B.; Green, A. J.; Hunstead, R. W.; Jankowski, F.; Keane, E. F.; Krishnan, V. Venkatraman; Murphy, Tara; O'Neill, M.; Osłowski, S.; Parthasarathy, A.; Ravi, V.; Rosado, P.; Temby, D.

2017-10-01

The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) is an 18000 m2 radio telescope located 40 km from Canberra, Australia. Its operating band (820-851 MHz) is partly allocated to telecommunications, making radio astronomy challenging. We describe how the deployment of new digital receivers, Field Programmable Gate Array-based filterbanks, and server-class computers equipped with 43 Graphics Processing Units, has transformed the telescope into a versatile new instrument (UTMOST) for studying the radio sky on millisecond timescales. UTMOST has 10 times the bandwidth and double the field of view compared to the MOST, and voltage record and playback capability has facilitated rapid implementaton of many new observing modes, most of which operate commensally. UTMOST can simultaneously excise interference, make maps, coherently dedisperse pulsars, and perform real-time searches of coherent fan-beams for dispersed single pulses. UTMOST operates as a robotic facility, deciding how to efficiently target pulsars and how long to stay on source via real-time pulsar folding, while searching for single pulse events. Regular timing of over 300 pulsars has yielded seven pulsar glitches and three Fast Radio Bursts during commissioning. UTMOST demonstrates that if sufficient signal processing is applied to voltage streams, innovative science remains possible even in hostile radio frequency environments.

On the contribution of a stochastic background of gravitational radiation to the timing noise of pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mashhoon, B.

1982-01-01

The influence of a stochastic and isotropic background of gravitational radiation on timing measurements of pulsars is investigated, and it is shown that pulsar timing noise may be used to establish a significant upper limit of about 10 to the -10th on the total energy density of very long-wavelength stochastic gravitational waves. This places restriction on the strength of very long wavelength gravitational waves in the Friedmann model, and such a background is expected to have no significant effect on the approximately 3 K electromagnetic background radiation or on the dynamics of a cluster of galaxies.

FSSC Science Tools: Pulsar Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Dave

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the typical pulsar analysis, giving tips for screening of the data, the use of time series analysis, and utility tools. Specific information about analyzing Vela data is reviewed.

The High Time Resolution Universe pulsar survey - X. Discovery of four millisecond pulsars and updated timing solutions of a further 12

DOE PAGES

Ng, C.; Bailes, M.; Bates, S. D.; ...

2014-02-15

Here, we report on the discovery of four millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in the High Time Resolution Universe (HTRU) pulsar survey being conducted at the Parkes 64 m radio telescope. All four MSPs are in binary systems and are likely to have white dwarf companions. Additionally, we present updated timing solutions for 12 previously published HTRU MSPs, revealing new observational parameters such as five proper motion measurements and significant temporal dispersion measure variations in PSR J1017-7156. We discuss the case of PSR J1801-3210, which shows no significant period derivativemore » $$\\dot{P}$$ after four years of timing data. Our best-fitting solution shows a $$\\dot{P}$$ of the order of 10 -23, an extremely small number compared to that of a typical MSP. But, it is likely that the pulsar lies beyond the Galactic Centre, and an unremarkable intrinsic $$\\dot{P}$$ is reduced to close to zero by the Galactic potential acceleration. Furthermore, we highlight the potential to employ PSR J1801-3210 in the strong equivalence principle test due to its wide and circular orbit. In a broader comparison with the known MSP population, we suggest a correlation between higher mass functions and the presence of eclipses in ‘very low mass binary pulsars’, implying that eclipses are observed in systems with high orbital inclinations. We also suggest that the distribution of the total mass of binary systems is inversely related to the Galactic height distribution. Finally, we report on the first detection of PSRs J1543-5149 and J1811-2404 as gamma-ray pulsars.« less

Search for gravitational waves associated with the August 2006 timing glitch of the Vela pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abadie, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Adhikari, R.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allen, G.; Amador Ceron, E.; Amin, R. S.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arain, M. A.; Araya, M.; Aso, Y.; Aston, S.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Baker, P.; Ballmer, S.; Barker, D.; Barr, B.; Barriga, P.; Barsotti, L.; Barton, M. A.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Bastarrika, M.; Behnke, B.; Benacquista, M.; Bennett, M. F.; Betzwieser, J.; Beyersdorf, P. T.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Biswas, R.; Black, E.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackburn, L.; Blair, D.; Bland, B.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Bondarescu, R.; Bork, R.; Born, M.; Bose, S.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Brau, J. E.; Breyer, J.; Bridges, D. O.; Brinkmann, M.; Britzger, M.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Bullington, A.; Buonanno, A.; Burmeister, O.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cain, J.; Camp, J. B.; Cannizzo, J.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C.; Cardenas, L.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cepeda, C.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chalkley, E.; Charlton, P.; Chatterji, S.; Chelkowski, S.; Chen, Y.; Christensen, N.; Chua, S. S. Y.; Chung, C. T. Y.; Clark, D.; Clark, J.; Clayton, J. H.; Conte, R.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R. C.; Cornish, N.; Coward, D.; Coyne, D. C.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cruise, A. M.; Culter, R. M.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Dahl, K.; Danilishin, S. L.; Danzmann, K.; Daudert, B.; Davies, G.; Daw, E. J.; Dayanga, T.; Debra, D.; Degallaix, J.; Dergachev, V.; Desalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doomes, E. E.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J.; Dueck, J.; Duke, I.; Dumas, J.-C.; Edgar, M.; Edwards, M.; Effler, A.; Ehrens, P.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T.; Fairhurst, S.; Faltas, Y.; Fan, Y.; Fazi, D.; Fehrmann, H.; Finn, L. S.; Flasch, K.; Foley, S.; Forrest, C.; Fotopoulos, N.; Frede, M.; Frei, M.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fricke, T. T.; Friedrich, D.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Garofoli, J. A.; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giampanis, S.; Giardina, K. D.; Goetz, E.; Goggin, L. M.; González, G.; Goßler, S.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greenhalgh, R. J. S.; Gretarsson, A. M.; Grosso, R.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hage, B.; Hallam, J. M.; Hammer, D.; Hammond, G. D.; Hanna, C.; Hanson, J.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Harstad, E. D.; Haughian, K.; Hayama, K.; Hayler, T.; Heefner, J.; Heng, I. S.; Heptonstall, A.; Hewitson, M.; Hild, S.; Hirose, E.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Holt, K.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Howell, E.; Hoyland, D.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Ingram, D. R.; Isogai, T.; Ivanov, A.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, G.; Jones, R.; Ju, L.; Kalmus, P.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kanner, J.; Katsavounidis, E.; Kawabe, K.; Kawamura, S.; Kawazoe, F.; Kells, W.; Keppel, D. G.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, R.; Khazanov, E.; Kim, H.; King, P. J.; Kissel, J. S.; Klimenko, S.; Kokeyama, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Kopparapu, R.; Koranda, S.; Kozak, D.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Kuehn, G.; Kullman, J.; Kumar, R.; Kwee, P.; Lam, P. K.; Landry, M.; Lang, M.; Lantz, B.; Lastzka, N.; Lazzarini, A.; Leaci, P.; Lei, M.; Leindecker, N.; Leonor, I.; Lin, H.; Lindquist, P. E.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lodhia, D.; Lormand, M.; Lu, P.; Lubiński, M.; Lucianetti, A.; Lück, H.; Lundgren, A.; Machenschalk, B.; Macinnis, M.; Mageswaran, M.; Mailand, K.; Mak, C.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A.; Markowitz, J.; Maros, E.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Matzner, R. A.; Mavalvala, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McKechan, D. J. A.; Mehmet, M.; Melatos, A.; Melissinos, A. C.; Mendell, G.; Menéndez, D. F.; Mercer, R. A.; Merrill, L.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Meyer, M. S.; Miao, H.; Miller, J.; Mino, Y.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Miyakawa, O.; Moe, B.; Mohanty, S. D.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Moreno, G.; Mors, K.; Mossavi, K.; Mowlowry, C.; Mueller, G.; Müller-Ebhardt, H.; Mukherjee, S.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murray, P. G.; Nash, T.; Nawrodt, R.; Nelson, J.; Newton, G.; Nishida, E.; Nishizawa, A.; O'Dell, J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ochsner, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oldenburg, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Page, A.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Papa, M. A.; Patel, P.; Pathak, D.; Pedraza, M.; Pekowsky, L.; Penn, S.; Peralta, C.; Perreca, A.; Pickenpack, M.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Pletsch, H. J.; Plissi, M. V.; Postiglione, F.; Principe, M.; Prix, R.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Quetschke, V.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raics, Z.; Rakhmanov, M.; Raymond, V.; Reed, C. M.; Reed, T.; Rehbein, H.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Riesen, R.; Riles, K.; Roberts, P.; Robertson, N. A.; Robinson, C.; Robinson, E. L.; Roddy, S.; Röver, C.; Rollins, J.; Romano, J. D.; Romie, J. H.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ryan, K.; Sakata, S.; Sammut, L.; Sancho de La Jordana, L.; Sandberg, V.; Sannibale, V.; Santamaría, L.; Santostasi, G.; Saraf, S.; Sarin, P.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Sato, S.; Satterthwaite, M.; Saulson, P. R.; Savage, R.; Schilling, R.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R.; Schulz, B.; Schutz, B. F.; Schwinberg, P.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Searle, A. C.; Seifert, F.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sergeev, A.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Sibley, A.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Sintes, A. M.; Skelton, G.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Slutsky, J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, M. R.; Smith, N. D.; Somiya, K.; Sorazu, B.; Speirits, F.; Stein, A. J.; Stein, L. C.; Steplewski, S.; Stochino, A.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Strigin, S.; Stroeer, A.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sung, M.; Susmithan, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Szokoly, G. P.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taylor, J. R.; Taylor, R.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thüring, A.; Titsler, C.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Torres, C.; Torrie, C. I.; Traylor, G.; Trias, M.; Turner, L.; Ugolini, D.; Urbanek, K.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vallisneri, M.; van den Broeck, C.; van der Sluys, M. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vass, S.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Veltkamp, C.; Villar, A.; Vorvick, C.; Vyachanin, S. P.; Waldman, S. J.; Wallace, L.; Wanner, A.; Ward, R. L.; Wei, P.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Wen, S.; Wessels, P.; West, M.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whitcomb, S. E.; Whiting, B. F.; Wilkinson, C.; Willems, P. A.; Williams, H. R.; Williams, L.; Willke, B.; Wilmut, I.; Winkelmann, L.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wiseman, A. G.; Woan, G.; Wooley, R.; Worden, J.; Yakushin, I.; Yamamoto, H.; Yamamoto, K.; Yeaton-Massey, D.; Yoshida, S.; Zanolin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, C.; Zotov, N.; Zucker, M. E.; Zweizig, J.; Buchner, S.

2011-02-01

The physical mechanisms responsible for pulsar timing glitches are thought to excite quasinormal mode oscillations in their parent neutron star that couple to gravitational-wave emission. In August 2006, a timing glitch was observed in the radio emission of PSR B0833-45, the Vela pulsar. At the time of the glitch, the two colocated Hanford gravitational-wave detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave observatory (LIGO) were operational and taking data as part of the fifth LIGO science run (S5). We present the first direct search for the gravitational-wave emission associated with oscillations of the fundamental quadrupole mode excited by a pulsar timing glitch. No gravitational-wave detection candidate was found. We place Bayesian 90% confidence upper limits of 6.3×10-21 to 1.4×10-20 on the peak intrinsic strain amplitude of gravitational-wave ring-down signals, depending on which spherical harmonic mode is excited. The corresponding range of energy upper limits is 5.0×1044 to 1.3×1045erg.

Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with the August 2006 Timing Glitch of the Vela Pulsar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camp, J. B.; Cannizzo, J.; Stroeer, A.

2011-01-01

The physical mechanisms responsible for pulsar timing glitches are thought to excite quasinormal mode oscillations in their parent neutron star that couple to gravitational-wave emission, In August 2006, a timing glitch was observed in the radio emission of PSR B0833-45, the Vela pulsar. At the time of the glitch, the two colocated Hanford gravitational-wave detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave observatory (LIGO) were operational and taking data as part of the fifth LIGO science run (S5). We present the first direct search for the gravitational-wave emission associated with oscillations of the fundamental quadrupole mode excited by a pulsar timing glitch. No gravitational-wave detection candidate was found. We place Bayesian 90% confidence upper limits of 6,3 x 10(exp -21) to 1.4 x 10(exp -20) on the peak: intrinsic strain amplitude of gravitational-wave ring-down signals, depending on which spherical harmonic mode is excited. The corresponding range of energy upper limits is 5.0 x 10(exp 44) to 1.3 x 10(exp 45) erg.

SYSTEMATIC AND STOCHASTIC VARIATIONS IN PULSAR DISPERSION MEASURES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lam, M. T.; Cordes, J. M.; Chatterjee, S.

2016-04-10

We analyze deterministic and random temporal variations in the dispersion measure (DM) from the full three-dimensional velocities of pulsars with respect to the solar system, combined with electron-density variations over a wide range of length scales. Previous treatments have largely ignored pulsars’ changing distances while favoring interpretations involving changes in sky position from transverse motion. Linear trends in pulsar DMs observed over 5–10 year timescales may signify sizable DM gradients in the interstellar medium (ISM) sampled by the changing direction of the line of sight to the pulsar. We show that motions parallel to the line of sight can alsomore » account for linear trends, for the apparent excess of DM variance over that extrapolated from scintillation measurements, and for the apparent non-Kolmogorov scalings of DM structure functions inferred in some cases. Pulsar motions through atomic gas may produce bow-shock ionized gas that also contributes to DM variations. We discuss the possible causes of periodic or quasi-periodic changes in DM, including seasonal changes in the ionosphere, annual variations of the solar elongation angle, structure in the heliosphere and ISM boundary, and substructure in the ISM. We assess the solar cycle’s role on the amplitude of ionospheric and solar wind variations. Interstellar refraction can produce cyclic timing variations from the error in transforming arrival times to the solar system barycenter. We apply our methods to DM time series and DM gradient measurements in the literature and assess their consistency with a Kolmogorov medium. Finally, we discuss the implications of DM modeling in precision pulsar timing experiments.« less

XMM-Newton Observations of Four Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zavlin, Vyacheslav E.

2005-01-01

I present an analysis of the XMM-Newton observations of four millisecond pulsars, J0437-4715, J2124-3358, J1024-0719, and J0034-0534. The new data provide strong evidence of thermal emission in the X-ray flux detected from the first three objects. This thermal component is best interpreted as radiation from pulsar polar caps covered with a nonmagnetic hydrogen atmosphere. A nonthermal power-law component, dominating at energies E greater than or equal to 3 keV, can also be present in the detected X-ray emission. For PSR J0437-4715, the timing analysis reveals that the shape and pulsed fraction of the pulsar light curves are energy dependent. This, together with the results obtained from the phase-resolved spectroscopy, supports the two-component (thermal plus nonthermal) interpretation of the pulsar's X-ray radiation. Highly significant pulsations have been found in the X-ray flux of PSRs 52124-3358 and 51024-0719. For PSR 50034-0534, a possible X-ray counterpart of the radio pulsar has been suggested. The inferred properties of the detected thermal emission are compared with predictions of radio pulsar models.

The VELA-X-Pulsar Wind Nebula Revisited with Four Years of Fermi Large Area Telescope Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grondin, M. -H.; Romani, R. W.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Guillemot, L.; Harding, Alice K.; Reposeur, T.

2013-01-01

The Vela supernova remnant (SNR) is the closest SNR to Earth containing an active pulsar, the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45). This pulsar is an archetype of the middle-aged pulsar class and powers a bright pulsar wind nebula (PWN), Vela-X, spanning a region of 2deg × 3deg south of the pulsar and observed in the radio, X-ray, and very high energy ?-ray domains. The detection of the Vela-X PWN by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) was reported in the first year of the mission. Subsequently, we have reinvestigated this complex region and performed a detailed morphological and spectral analysis of this source using 4 yr of Fermi-LAT observations. This study lowers the threshold for morphological analysis of the nebula from 0.8 GeV to 0.3 GeV, allowing for the inspection of distinct energy bands by the LAT for the first time. We describe the recent results obtained on this PWN and discuss the origin of the newly detected spatial features.

The Vela-X pulsar wind nebula revisited with four years of Fermi Large Area Telescope observations

DOE PAGES

Grondin, M. -H.; Romani, R. W.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; ...

2013-08-21

Here, the Vela supernova remnant (SNR) is the closest SNR to Earth containing an active pulsar, the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833–45). This pulsar is an archetype of the middle-aged pulsar class and powers a bright pulsar wind nebula (PWN), Vela-X, spanning a region of 2° × 3° south of the pulsar and observed in the radio, X-ray, and very high energy γ-ray domains. The detection of the Vela-X PWN by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) was reported in the first year of the mission. Subsequently, we have reinvestigated this complex region and performed a detailed morphological and spectral analysismore » of this source using 4 yr of Fermi-LAT observations. This study lowers the threshold for morphological analysis of the nebula from 0.8 GeV to 0.3 GeV, allowing for the inspection of distinct energy bands by the LAT for the first time. We describe the recent results obtained on this PWN and discuss the origin of the newly detected spatial features.« less

Constraining the properties of the proposed supermassive black hole system in 3C66B: limits from pulsar timing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenet, F. A.; Lommen, A.; Larson, S. L.; Wen, L.

2003-01-01

Data from long term timing observations of the radio pulsar PSR B1855+09 have been searched for the signature of Gravitational waves (G-waves) emitted by the proposed supermassive binary black hole system in 3C66B.

A second fast radio burst discovered with Parkes Telescope within 50 hours: FRB180311 in the direction of PSR J2129-5721

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oslowski, S.; Shannon, R. M.; Jameson, Andrew; Hobbs, G.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Coles, W. A.; Dai, S.; Dempsey, J.; Keith, M. J.; Kerr, M.; Manchester, R. N.; Lasky, D. P.; Levin, Y.; Parthasarathy, A.; Ravi, V.; Reardon, D. J.; Russell, C. J.; Sarkissian, J. M.; Spiewak, R.; Van Straten, W.; Toomey, L.; Wang, J. B.; Wen, L.; You, X.-P.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, S.; Zhu, X.-J.

2018-03-01

The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (Manchester et al. 2013) project monitors pulse times of arrival for 24 millisecond pulsars in the Galaxy on a fortnightly cadence using the multibeam receiver on the CSIRO 64-m Parkes Telescope.

Diffuse gamma-ray emission from pulsars in the Large Magellanic Cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, Dieter H.; Brown, Lawrence E.; Schnepf, Neil

1993-01-01

We investigate the contribution of pulsars to the diffuse gamma-ray emission from the LMC. The pulsar birth rate in the LMC is a factor of about 10 lower than that of the Galaxy and the distance to pulsars in the LMC is about 5-10 times larger than to Galactic pulsars. The resulting total integrated photon flux from LMC pulsars is thus reduced by a factor of about 100 to 1000. However, the surface brightness is not reduced by the same amount because of the much smaller angular extent of the LMC in comparison to the diffuse glow from the Galactic plane. We show that gamma-ray emission due to pulsars born in the LMC could produce gamma-ray fluxes that are larger than the inverse Compton component from relativistic cosmic-ray electrons and a significant fraction of the extragalactic isotropic background or the diffuse Galactic background in that direction. The diffuse pulsar glow above 100 MeV should therefore be included in models of high-energy emission from the LMC. For a gamma-ray beaming fraction of order unity the detected emissions from the LMC constrain the pulsar birth rate to less than one per 50 yr. This limit is about one order of magnitude above the supernova rate inferred from the historic record or from the star-formation rate.

THERMAL ABSORPTION AS THE CAUSE OF GIGAHERTZ-PEAKED SPECTRA IN PULSARS AND MAGNETARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewandowski, Wojciech; Rożko, Karolina; Kijak, Jarosław

2015-07-20

We present a model that explains the observed deviation of the spectra of some pulsars and magnetars from the power-law spectra that are seen in the bulk of the pulsar population. Our model is based on the assumption that the observed variety of pulsar spectra can be naturally explained by the thermal free–free absorption that takes place in the surroundings of the pulsars. In this context, the variety of the pulsar spectra can be explained according to the shape, density, and temperature of the absorbing media and the optical path of the line of sight across it. We have putmore » specific emphasis on the case of the radio magnetar SGR J1745–2900 (also known as the Sgr A* magnetar), modeling the rapid variations of the pulsar spectrum after the outburst of 2013 April as due to the free–free absorption of the radio emission in the electron material ejected during the magnetar outburst. The ejecta expands with time and consequently the absorption rate decreases and the shape of the spectrum changes in such a way that the peak frequency shifts toward the lower radio frequencies. In the hypothesis of an absorbing medium, we also discuss the similarity between the spectral behavior of the binary pulsar B1259–63 and the spectral peculiarities of isolated pulsars.« less

An Eccentric Binary Millisecond Pulsar in the Galactic Plane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Champion, David J.; Ransom, Scott M.; Lazarus, Patrick; Camilo, Fernando; Bassa, Cess; Kaspi, Victoria M.; Nice, David J.; Freire, Paulo C. C.; Stairs, Ingrid H.; vanLeeuwen, Joeri;

PSR J1755-2550: a young radio pulsar with a massive, compact companion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, C.; Kruckow, M. U.; Tauris, T. M.; Lyne, A. G.; Freire, P. C. C.; Ridolfi, A.; Caiazzo, I.; Heyl, J.; Kramer, M.; Cameron, A. D.; Champion, D. J.; Stappers, B.

2018-06-01

Radio pulsars found in binary systems with short orbital periods are usually fast spinning as a consequence of recycling via mass transfer from their companion stars; this process is also thought to decrease the magnetic field of the neutron star being recycled. Here, we report on timing observations of the recently discovered binary PSR J1755-2550 and find that this pulsar is an exception: with a characteristic age of 2.1 Myr, it is relatively young; furthermore, with a spin period of 315 ms and a surface magnetic field strength at its poles of 0.88 × 1012 G, the pulsar shows no sign of having been recycled. Based on its timing and orbital characteristics, the pulsar either has a massive white dwarf (WD) or a neutron star (NS) companion. To distinguish between these two cases, we searched radio observations for a potential recycled pulsar companion and analysed archival optical data for a potential WD companion. Neither work returned conclusive detections. We apply population synthesis modelling and find that both solutions are roughly equally probable. Our population synthesis also predicts a minimum mass of 0.90 M⊙ for the companion star to PSR J1755-2550 and we simulate the systemic runaway velocities for the resulting WDNS systems which may merge and possibly produce Ca-rich supernovae. Whether PSR J1755-2550 hosts a WD or a NS companion star, it is certainly a member of a rare subpopulation of binary radio pulsars.

Pinning down the superfluid and measuring masses using pulsar glitches

PubMed Central

Ho, Wynn C. G.; Espinoza, Cristóbal M.; Antonopoulou, Danai; Andersson, Nils

2015-01-01

Pulsars are known for their superb timing precision, although glitches can interrupt the regular timing behavior when the stars are young. These glitches are thought to be caused by interactions between normal and superfluid matter in the crust of the star. However, glitching pulsars such as Vela have been shown to require a superfluid reservoir that greatly exceeds that available in the crust. We examine a model in which glitches tap the superfluid in the core. We test a variety of theoretical superfluid models against the most recent glitch data and find that only one model can successfully explain up to 45 years of observational data. We develop a new technique for combining radio and x-ray data to measure pulsar masses, thereby demonstrating how current and future telescopes can probe fundamental physics such as superfluidity near nuclear saturation. PMID:26601293

Pinning down the superfluid and measuring masses using pulsar glitches.

PubMed

Ho, Wynn C G; Espinoza, Cristóbal M; Antonopoulou, Danai; Andersson, Nils

2015-10-01

Pulsars are known for their superb timing precision, although glitches can interrupt the regular timing behavior when the stars are young. These glitches are thought to be caused by interactions between normal and superfluid matter in the crust of the star. However, glitching pulsars such as Vela have been shown to require a superfluid reservoir that greatly exceeds that available in the crust. We examine a model in which glitches tap the superfluid in the core. We test a variety of theoretical superfluid models against the most recent glitch data and find that only one model can successfully explain up to 45 years of observational data. We develop a new technique for combining radio and x-ray data to measure pulsar masses, thereby demonstrating how current and future telescopes can probe fundamental physics such as superfluidity near nuclear saturation.

Discovery of pulsed OH maser emission stimulated by a pulsar.

PubMed

Weisberg, Joel M; Johnston, Simon; Koribalski, Bärbel; Stanimirovic, Snezana

2005-07-01

Stimulated emission of radiation has not been directly observed in astrophysical situations up to this time. Here we demonstrate that photons from pulsar B1641-45 stimulate pulses of excess 1720-megahertz line emission in an interstellar hydroxyl (OH) cloud. As this stimulated emission is driven by the pulsar, it varies on a few-millisecond time scale, which is orders of magnitude shorter than the quickest OH maser variations previously detected. Our 1612-megahertz spectra are inverted copies of the 1720-megahertz spectra. This "conjugate line" phenomenon enables us to constrain the properties of the interstellar OH line-producing gas. We also show that pulsar signals undergo significantly deeper OH absorption than do other background sources, which confirms earlier tentative findings that OH clouds are clumpier on small scales than are neutral hydrogen clouds.

Giant pulsar glitches in full general relativity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sourie, A.; Chamel, N.; Novak, J.; Oertel, M.

2017-12-01

We present recent numerical simulations of giant pulsar glitches, as observed in the emblematic Vela pulsar, based on a two-fluid model, including for the first time all general-relativistic effects and realistic equations of state. In particular, we focus on modelling the vortex-mediated transfer of angular momentum that takes place during the spin-up stage from the neutron superfluid to the charged particles through dissipative mutual friction forces. Taking general relativity into account does not only modify the structure of the star but also leads to a new coupling between the fluids arising from frame-dragging effects. As a consequence, general relativity can strongly affect the global dynamics of pulsar glitches : the errors on the value of the characteristic rise time incurred by using Newtonian gravity are thus found to be as large as ˜ 40 % for the models considered.

Tests of general relativity from timing the double pulsar.

PubMed

Kramer, M; Stairs, I H; Manchester, R N; McLaughlin, M A; Lyne, A G; Ferdman, R D; Burgay, M; Lorimer, D R; Possenti, A; D'Amico, N; Sarkissian, J M; Hobbs, G B; Reynolds, J E; Freire, P C C; Camilo, F

2006-10-06

The double pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B is unique in that both neutron stars are detectable as radio pulsars. They are also known to have much higher mean orbital velocities and accelerations than those of other binary pulsars. The system is therefore a good candidate for testing Einstein's theory of general relativity and alternative theories of gravity in the strong-field regime. We report on precision timing observations taken over the 2.5 years since its discovery and present four independent strong-field tests of general relativity. These tests use the theory-independent mass ratio of the two stars. By measuring relativistic corrections to the Keplerian description of the orbital motion, we find that the "post-Keplerian" parameter s agrees with the value predicted by general relativity within an uncertainty of 0.05%, the most precise test yet obtained. We also show that the transverse velocity of the system's center of mass is extremely small. Combined with the system's location near the Sun, this result suggests that future tests of gravitational theories with the double pulsar will supersede the best current solar system tests. It also implies that the second-born pulsar may not have formed through the core collapse of a helium star, as is usually assumed.

Discovery of X-Ray Emission from the Crab Pulsar at Pulse Minimum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tennant, Allyn F.; Becker, Werner; Juda, Michael X.; Elsner, Ronald F.; Kolodziejczak, Jeffery J.; Murray, Stephen S.; ODell, Stephen L.; Paerels, Frits; Swartz, Douglas A.; Shibazaki, Noriaki;

Discovery of X-Ray Emission from the Crab Pulsar at Pulse Minimum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tennant, Allyn F.; Becker, Werner; Juda, Michael; Elsner, Ronald F.; Kolodziejczak, Jeffery J.; Murray, Stephen S.; ODell, Stephen L.; Paerels, Frits; Swartz, Douglas A.

2001-01-01

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory observed the Crab pulsar using the Low-Energy Transmission Grating with the High-Resolution Camera. Time-resolved zeroth-order images reveal that the pulsar emits X-rays at all pulse phases. Analysis of the flux at minimum - most likely non-thermal in origin - places an upper limit (T(sub infinity) < 2.1 MK) on the surface temperature of the underlying neutron star. In addition, analysis of the pulse profile establishes that the error in the Chandra-determined absolute time is quite small, -0.2 +/- 0.1 ms.

Pulsar Bursts Coming From Beachball-Sized Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2003-03-01

In a major breakthrough for understanding what one of them calls "the most exotic environment in the Universe," a team of astronomers has discovered that powerful radio bursts in pulsars are generated by structures as small as a beach ball. VLA Image of Crab Nebula VLA Image of Crab Nebula (Click on Image for Larger Version) Pulsar Diagram Diagram of a Pulsar (Click on Image for Larger Version) "These are by far the smallest objects ever detected outside our solar system," said Tim Hankins, leader of the research team, which studied the pulsar at the center of the Crab Nebula, more than 6,000 light-years from Earth. "The small size of these regions is inconsistent with all but one proposed theory for how the radio emission is generated," he added. The other members of the team are Jeff Kern, James Weatherall and Jean Eilek. Hankins was a visiting scientist at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico at the time the pulsar observations were made. He and Eilek are professors at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech) in Socorro, NM. Kern is a graduate student at NM Tech and a predoctoral fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro. Weatherall is an adjunct professor at NM Tech, currently working at the Federal Aviation Administration. The astronomers reported their discovery in the March 13 edition of the scientific journal Nature. Pulsars are superdense neutron stars, the remnants of massive stars that exploded as supernovae. Pulsars emit powerful beams of radio waves and light. As the neutron star spins, the beam sweeps through space like the beam of a lighthouse. When such a beam sweeps across the Earth, astronomers see a pulse from the pulsar. The Crab pulsar spins some 33 times every second. British radio astronomers discovered pulsars in 1967, one receiving the Nobel Prize for the discovery. In the years since, the method by which pulsars produce their powerful beams of electromagnetic radiation has remained a mystery. With the help of engineers at the NRAO, Hankins and his team designed and built specialized electronic equipment that allowed them to study the pulsar's radio pulses on extremely small time scales. They took this equipment to the National Science Foundation's giant, 1,000-foot-diameter radio telescope at Arecibo. With their equipment, they analyzed the Crab pulsar's superstrong "giant" pulses, breaking them down into tiny time segments. The researchers discovered that some of the "giant" pulses contain subpulses that last no longer than two nanoseconds. That means, they say, that the regions in which these subpulses are generated can be no larger than about two feet across -- the distance that light could travel in two nanoseconds. This fact, the researchers say, is critically important to understanding how the powerful radio emission is generated. A pulsar's magnetosphere -- the region above the neutron star's magnetic poles where the radio waves are generated -- is "the most exotic environment in the Universe," said Kern. In this environment, matter exists as a plasma, in which electrically charged particles are free to respond to the very strong electric and magnetic fields in the star's atmosphere. The very short subpulses the researchers detected could only be generated, they say, by a strange process in which density waves in the plasma interact with their own electrical field, becoming progressively denser until they reach a point at which they "collapse explosively" into superstrong bursts of radio waves. "None of the other proposed mechanisms can produce such short pulses," Eilek said. "The ability to examine these pulses on such short time scales has given us a new window through which to study pulsar radio emission," she added. The Crab pulsar is one of only three pulsars known to emit superstrong "giant" pulses. "Giant" pulses occur occasionally among the steady but much weaker "normal" pulses coming from the neutron star. Some of the brief subpulses within the Crab's "giant" pulses are second only to the Sun in their radio brightness in the sky. Although the mechanism that converts the plasma energy to radio waves in the Crab's "giant" pulses may be unique to the Crab pulsar, it is feasible that all radio pulsars may operate the same way. The research team now is observing signals from other pulsars to see if they are fundamentally different. The subpulses in the Crab's "giant" pulses are so strong that the team's equipment could detect them even if they originated not in our own Milky Way Galaxy, but in a nearby galaxy. The Crab Nebula is a cloud of glowing debris from a star that was seen to explode on July 4, 1054. Chinese astronomers noted the bright new star that outshone the planet Venus and was visible in daylight for 23 days. A rock carving at New Mexico's Chaco Canyon probably indicates that Native American skywatchers also noted the bright intruder in the sky. The nebula was discovered by John Bevis in 1731 and independently rediscovered by French astronomer Charles Messier on August 28, 1758. Messier made the Crab Nebula (named because of its crab-like shape) the first object in his famous catalog of non-stellar objects, a catalog widely popular among amateur astronomers with small telescopes. In 1948, radio emission was discovered coming from the Crab Nebula. In 1968, astronomers at Arecibo Observatory discovered the pulsar in the heart of the nebula. The following year, astronomers at Arizona's Steward Observatory discovered visible-light pulses also coming from the pulsar, making this the first pulsar found to emit visible light in addition to radio waves. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The Arecibo Observatory is part of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, which is operated by Cornell University under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

Improving Interstellar Medium Mitigation in Millisecond PulsarTiming Models for Gravitational Wave Detection Sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Robert C.

2018-01-01

This study aims to increase the sensitivity of pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) used by astronomers ofthe North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) to detectgravitational waves (GWs). Millisecond pulsars with many epochs of observations will be used todetermine if dispersive, frequency-dependent pulse time-of-arrival (TOA) delays caused by theinterstellar medium (ISM) can be more accurately predicted over numerous frequency channels.This project will contribute to the ongoing work to detect low-frequency GWs using PTAs. Dataused for this study will be from both the 110m telescope at the Green Bank Observatory in WestVirginia and the 305m telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

The origin of nulls mode changes and timing noise in pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, P. B.

A solvable polar cap model obtained previously has normal states which may be associated with radio emission and null states. The solutions cannot be time-independent; the neutron star surface temperature T and mean surface nuclear charge Z are both functions of time. The normal and null states, and the transitions between them, form closed cycles in the T-Z plane. Normal-null transitions can occur inside a fraction of the area on the neutron star surface intersected by open magnetic flux lines. The fraction increases with pulsar period and becomes unity when the pulsar nears extinction. Frequency noise, mode changes, and pulse nulls have a common explanation in the transitions.

The origin of nulls, mode changes and timing noise in pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, P. B.

1982-09-01

A solvable polar cap model obtained previously has normal states which may be associated with radio emission, and null states. The solutions cannot be time-independent; the neutron star surface temperature T and mean surface nuclear charge Z are both functions of time. The normal and null states and the transitions between them, form closed cycles in the T-Z plane. Normal-null transitions can occur inside a fraction of the area of the neutron star surface intersected by open magnetic flux lines. The fraction increases with pulsar period and becomes unity when the pulsar nears extinction. Frequency noise, mode changes and pulse nulls have a common explanation in the transitions.

Observing the dynamics of supermassive black hole binaries with pulsar timing arrays.

PubMed

Mingarelli, C M F; Grover, K; Sidery, T; Smith, R J E; Vecchio, A

2012-08-24

Pulsar timing arrays are a prime tool to study unexplored astrophysical regimes with gravitational waves. Here, we show that the detection of gravitational radiation from individually resolvable supermassive black hole binary systems can yield direct information about the masses and spins of the black holes, provided that the gravitational-wave-induced timing fluctuations both at the pulsar and at Earth are detected. This in turn provides a map of the nonlinear dynamics of the gravitational field and a new avenue to tackle open problems in astrophysics connected to the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes. We discuss the potential, the challenges, and the limitations of these observations.

Multiwavelength Observations of the Redback Millisecond Pulsar J1048+2339

DOE PAGES

Deneva, J. S.; Ray, P. S.; Camilo, F.; ...

2016-05-26

In this paper, we report on radio timing and multiwavelength observations of the 4.66 ms redback pulsar J1048+2339, which was discovered in an Arecibo search targeting the Fermi-Large Area Telescope source 3FGL J1048.6+2338. Two years of timing allowed us to derive precise astrometric and orbital parameters for the pulsar. PSR J1048+2339 is in a 6 hr binary and exhibits radio eclipses over half the orbital period and rapid orbital period variations. The companion has a minimum mass of 0.3 M ⊙, and we have identified a V ~ 20 variable optical counterpart in data from several surveys. The phasing ofmore » its ~1 mag modulation at the orbital period suggests highly efficient and asymmetric heating by the pulsar wind, which may be due to an intrabinary shock that is distorted near the companion, or to the companion's magnetic field channeling the pulsar wind to specific locations on its surface. Finally, we also present gamma-ray spectral analysis of the source and preliminary results from searches for gamma-ray pulsations using the radio ephemeris.« less

Gamma-ray pulsars: Emission zones and viewing geometries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romani, Roger W.; Yadigaroglu, I.-A.

1995-01-01

There are now a half-dozen young pulsars detected in high-energy photons by the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), showing a variety of emission efficiencies and pulse profiles. We present here a calculation of the pattern of high-energy emission on the sky in a model which posits gamma-ray production by charge-depleted gaps in the outer magnetosphere. This model accounts for the radio to gamma-ray pulse offsets of the known pulsars, as well as the shape of the high-energy pulse profiles. We also show that about one-third of emitting young radio pulsars will not be detected due to beaming effects, while approximately 2.5 times the number of radio-selected gamma-ray pulsars will be viewed only high energies. Finally we compute the polarization angle variation and find that the previously misunderstood optical polarization sweep of the Crab pulsar arises naturally in this picture. These results strongly support an outer magnetosphere location for the gamma-ray emission.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Breton, R. P.; Kaspi, V. M.; McLaughlin, M. A.

The double pulsar PSR J0737-3039A/B displays short, 30 s eclipses that arise around conjunction when the radio waves emitted by pulsar A are absorbed as they propagate through the magnetosphere of its companion pulsar B. These eclipses offer a unique opportunity to directly probe the magnetospheric structure and the plasma properties of pulsar B. We have performed a comprehensive analysis of the eclipse phenomenology using multi-frequency radio observations obtained with the Green Bank Telescope. We have characterized the periodic flux modulations previously discovered at 820 MHz by McLaughlin et al. and investigated the radio frequency dependence of the duration andmore » depth of the eclipses. Based on their weak radio frequency evolution, we conclude that the plasma in pulsar B's magnetosphere requires a large multiplicity factor ({approx}10{sup 5}). We also found that, as expected, flux modulations are present at all radio frequencies in which eclipses can be detected. Their complex behavior is consistent with the confinement of the absorbing plasma in the dipolar magnetic field of pulsar B as suggested by Lyutikov and Thompson and such a geometric connection explains that the observed periodicity is harmonically related to pulsar B's spin frequency. We observe that the eclipses require a sharp transition region beyond which the plasma density drops off abruptly. Such a region defines a plasmasphere that would be well inside the magnetospheric boundary of an undisturbed pulsar. It is also two times smaller than the expected standoff radius calculated using the balance of the wind pressure from pulsar A and the nominally estimated magnetic pressure of pulsar B.« less

Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars with Science Run 5 LIGO Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Acernese, F.; Adhikari, R.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allen, G.; Alshourbagy, M.; Amin, R. S.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Antonucci, F.; Aoudia, S.; Arain, M. A.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Armor, P.; Arun, K. G.; Aso, Y.; Aston, S.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Baker, P.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S.; Barker, C.; Barker, D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barriga, P.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barton, M. A.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Bastarrika, M.; Bauer, Th. S.; Behnke, B.; Beker, M.; Benacquista, M.; Betzwieser, J.; Beyersdorf, P. T.; Bigotta, S.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birindelli, S.; Biswas, R.; Bizouard, M. A.; Black, E.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackburn, L.; Blair, D.; Bland, B.; Boccara, C.; Bodiya, T. P.; Bogue, L.; Bondu, F.; Bonelli, L.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bosi, L.; Braccini, S.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Brau, J. E.; Bridges, D. O.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Van Den Broeck, C.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brummit, A.; Brunet, G.; Budzyński, R.; Bulik, T.; Bullington, A.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Burmeister, O.; Buskulic, D.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Campagna, E.; Cannizzo, J.; Cannon, K. C.; Canuel, B.; Cao, J.; Carbognani, F.; Cardenas, L.; Caride, S.; Castaldi, G.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C.; Cesarini, E.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chalkley, E.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chatterji, S.; Chelkowski, S.; Chen, Y.; Chincarini, A.; Christensen, N.; Chung, C. T. Y.; Clark, D.; Clark, J.; Clayton, J. H.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cokelaer, T.; Colacino, C. N.; Colas, J.; Colla, A.; Colombini, M.; Conte, R.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R. C.; Corda, C.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Coulon, J.-P.; Coward, D.; Coyne, D. C.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cruise, A. M.; Culter, R. M.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dari, A.; Dattilo, V.; Daudert, B.; Davier, M.; Davies, G.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; De Rosa, R.; DeBra, D.; Degallaix, J.; del Prete, M.; Dergachev, V.; Desai, S.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Lieto, A.; Emilio, M. Di Paolo; Di Virgilio, A.; Díaz, M.; Dietz, A.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doomes, E. E.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Dueck, J.; Duke, I.; Dumas, J.-C.; Dwyer, J. G.; Echols, C.; Edgar, M.; Effler, A.; Ehrens, P.; Espinoza, E.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T.; Fafone, V.; Fairhurst, S.; Faltas, Y.; Fan, Y.; Fazi, D.; Fehrmann, H.; Ferrante, I.; Fidecaro, F.; Finn, L. S.; Fiori, I.; Flaminio, R.; Flasch, K.; Foley, S.; Forrest, C.; Fotopoulos, N.; Fournier, J.-D.; Franc, J.; Franzen, A.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frede, M.; Frei, M.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fricke, T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fyffe, M.; Galdi, V.; Gammaitoni, L.; Garofoli, J. A.; Garufi, F.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; Gholami, I.; Giaime, J. A.; Giampanis, S.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Goda, K.; Goetz, E.; Goggin, L. M.; González, G.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Goßler, S.; Gouaty, R.; Granata, M.; Granata, V.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Gray, M.; Greenhalgh, R. J. S.; Gretarsson, A. M.; Greverie, C.; Grimaldi, F.; Grosso, R.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guenther, M.; Guidi, G.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hage, B.; Hallam, J. M.; Hammer, D.; Hammond, G. D.; Hanna, C.; Hanson, J.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Harstad, E. D.; Haughian, K.; Hayama, K.; Heefner, J.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Heng, I. S.; Heptonstall, A.; Hewitson, M.; Hild, S.; Hirose, E.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Holt, K.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Hoyland, D.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Huttner, S. H.; Ingram, D. R.; Isogai, T.; Ito, M.; Ivanov, A.; Jaranowski, P.; Johnson, B.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, G.; Jones, R.; Sancho de la Jordana, L.; Ju, L.; Kalmus, P.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kanner, J.; Kasprzyk, D.; Katsavounidis, E.; Kawabe, K.; Kawamura, S.; Kawazoe, F.; Kells, W.; Keppel, D. G.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, R.; Khazanov, E.; King, P.; Kissel, J. S.; Klimenko, S.; Kokeyama, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Kopparapu, R.; Koranda, S.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D.; Krishnan, B.; Królak, A.; Kumar, R.; Kwee, P.; La Penna, P.; Lam, P. K.; Landry, M.; Lantz, B.; Lazzarini, A.; Lei, H.; Lei, M.; Leindecker, N.; Leonor, I.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Li, C.; Lin, H.; Lindquist, P. E.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lodhia, D.; Longo, M.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lu, P.; Lubiński, M.; Lucianetti, A.; Lück, H.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Mackowski, J.-M.; Mageswaran, M.; Mailand, K.; Majorana, E.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A.; Markowitz, J.; Maros, E.; Marque, J.; Martelli, F.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Matzner, R. A.; Mavalvala, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McGuire, S. C.; McHugh, M.; McIntyre, G.; McKechan, D. J. A.; McKenzie, K.; Mehmet, M.; Melatos, A.; Melissinos, A. C.; Mendell, G.; Menéndez, D. F.; Menzinger, F.; Mercer, R. A.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Meyer, M. S.; Michel, C.; Milano, L.; Miller, J.; Minelli, J.; Minenkov, Y.; Mino, Y.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Miyakawa, O.; Moe, B.; Mohan, M.; Mohanty, S. D.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Moreau, J.; Moreno, G.; Morgado, N.; Morgia, A.; Morioka, T.; Mors, K.; Mosca, S.; Moscatelli, V.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; MowLowry, C.; Mueller, G.; Muhammad, D.; zur Mühlen, H.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukhopadhyay, H.; Mullavey, A.; Müller-Ebhardt, H.; Munch, J.; Murray, P. G.; Myers, E.; Myers, J.; Nash, T.; Nelson, J.; Neri, I.; Newton, G.; Nishizawa, A.; Nocera, F.; Numata, K.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Ogin, G. H.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pagliaroli, G.; Palomba, C.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Paoletti, F.; Papa, M. A.; Parameshwaraiah, V.; Pardi, S.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patel, P.; Pedraza, M.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Persichetti, G.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pietka, M.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Pletsch, H. J.; Plissi, M. V.; Poggiani, R.; Postiglione, F.; Prato, M.; Principe, M.; Prix, R.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Quetschke, V.; Raab, F. J.; Rabaste, O.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raics, Z.; Rainer, N.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Re, V.; Reed, C. M.; Reed, T.; Regimbau, T.; Rehbein, H.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Ricci, F.; Riesen, R.; Riles, K.; Rivera, B.; Roberts, P.; Robertson, N. A.; Robinet, F.; Robinson, C.; Robinson, E. L.; Rocchi, A.; Roddy, S.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Röver, C.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Russell, P.; Ryan, K.; Sakata, S.; Salemi, F.; Sandberg, V.; Sannibale, V.; Santamaría, L.; Saraf, S.; Sarin, P.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Sato, S.; Satterthwaite, M.; Saulson, P. R.; Savage, R.; Savov, P.; Scanlan, M.; Schilling, R.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R.; Schulz, B.; Schutz, B. F.; Schwinberg, P.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Searle, A. C.; Sears, B.; Seifert, F.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sergeev, A.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Sibley, A.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Sinha, S.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Slutsky, J.; van der Sluys, M. V.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, M. R.; Smith, N. D.; Somiya, K.; Sorazu, B.; Stein, A.; Stein, L. C.; Steplewski, S.; Stochino, A.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Strigin, S.; Stroeer, A.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, K.-X.; Sung, M.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B.; Szokoly, G. P.; Talukder, D.; Tang, L.; Tanner, D. B.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taylor, J. R.; Taylor, R.; Terenzi, R.; Thacker, J.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thüring, A.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toncelli, A.; Tonelli, M.; Torres, C.; Torrie, C.; Tournefier, E.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trias, M.; Trummer, J.; Ugolini, D.; Ulmen, J.; Urbanek, K.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; van der Putten, S.; Vass, S.; Vaulin, R.; Vavoulidis, M.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; van Veggel, A. A.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.; Veltkamp, C.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Villar, A.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Vyachanin, S. P.; Waldman, S. J.; Wallace, L.; Ward, R. L.; Was, M.; Weidner, A.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Wen, S.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whitcomb, S. E.; Whiting, B. F.; Wilkinson, C.; Willems, P. A.; Williams, H. R.; Williams, L.; Willke, B.; Wilmut, I.; Winkelmann, L.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wiseman, A. G.; Woan, G.; Wooley, R.; Worden, J.; Wu, W.; Yakushin, I.; Yamamoto, H.; Yan, Z.; Yoshida, S.; Yvert, M.; Zanolin, M.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhao, C.; Zotov, N.; Zucker, M. E.; Zweizig, J.; Bégin, S.; Corongiu, A.; D'Amico, N.; Freire, P. C. C.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Hobbs, G. B.; Kramer, M.; Lyne, A. G.; Manchester, R. N.; Marshall, F. E.; Middleditch, J.; Possenti, A.; Ransom, S. M.; Stairs, I. H.; Stappers, B.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

2010-04-01

We present a search for gravitational waves from 116 known millisecond and young pulsars using data from the fifth science run of the LIGO detectors. For this search, ephemerides overlapping the run period were obtained for all pulsars using radio and X-ray observations. We demonstrate an updated search method that allows for small uncertainties in the pulsar phase parameters to be included in the search. We report no signal detection from any of the targets and therefore interpret our results as upper limits on the gravitational wave signal strength. The most interesting limits are those for young pulsars. We present updated limits on gravitational radiation from the Crab pulsar, where the measured limit is now a factor of 7 below the spin-down limit. This limits the power radiated via gravitational waves to be less than ~2% of the available spin-down power. For the X-ray pulsar J0537 - 6910 we reach the spin-down limit under the assumption that any gravitational wave signal from it stays phase locked to the X-ray pulses over timing glitches, and for pulsars J1913+1011 and J1952+3252 we are only a factor of a few above the spin-down limit. Of the recycled millisecond pulsars, several of the measured upper limits are only about an order of magnitude above their spin-down limits. For these our best (lowest) upper limit on gravitational wave amplitude is 2.3 × 10-26 for J1603 - 7202 and our best (lowest) limit on the inferred pulsar ellipticity is 7.0 × 10-8 for J2124 - 3358.

Timing of Five PALFA-discovered Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stovall, K.; Allen, B.; Bogdanov, S.; Brazier, A.; Camilo, F.; Cardoso, F.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J. S.; Ferdman, R.; Freire, P. C. C.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Jenet, F.; Kaplan, D. L.; Karako-Argaman, C.; Kaspi, V. M.; Knispel, B.; Kotulla, R.; Lazarus, P.; Lee, K. J.; van Leeuwen, J.; Lynch, R.; Lyne, A. G.; Madsen, E.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Patel, C.; Ransom, S. M.; Scholz, P.; Siemens, X.; Stairs, I. H.; Stappers, B. W.; Swiggum, J.; Zhu, W. W.; Venkataraman, A.

2016-12-01

We report the discovery and timing results for five millisecond pulsars (MSPs) from the Arecibo PALFA survey: PSRs J1906+0055, J1914+0659, J1933+1726, J1938+2516, and J1957+2516. Timing observations of the five pulsars were conducted with the Arecibo and Lovell telescopes for time spans ranging from 1.5 to 3.3 years. All of the MSPs except one (PSR J1914+0659) are in binary systems with low eccentricities. PSR J1957+2516 is likely a redback pulsar, with a ˜ 0.1 {M}⊙ companion and possible eclipses that last ˜10% of the orbit. The position of PSR J1957+2516 is also coincident with a near-infrared source. All five MSPs are distant (\\gt 3.1 kpc) as determined from their dispersion measures, and none of them show evidence of γ-ray pulsations in a fold of Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope data. These five MSPs bring the total number of MSPs discovered by the PALFA survey to 26 and further demonstrate the power of this survey in finding distant, highly dispersed MSPs deep in the Galactic plane.

A Pulsar Eases Off the Brakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2015-10-01

In 2006, pulsar PSR 18460258 unexpectedly launched into a series of energetic X-ray outbursts. Now a study has determined that this event may have permanently changed the behavior of this pulsar, raising questions about our understanding of how pulsars evolve.Between CategoriesA pulsar a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation can be powered by one of three mechanisms:Rotation-powered pulsars transform rotational energy into radiation, gradually slowing down in a predictable way.Accretion-powered pulsars convert the gravitational energy of accreting matter into radiation.Magnetars are powered by the decay of their extremely strong magnetic fields.Astronomical classification often results in one pesky object that doesnt follow the rules. In this case, that object is PSR 18460258, a young pulsar categorized as rotation-powered. But in 2006, PSR 18460258 suddenly emitted a series of short, hard X-ray bursts and underwent a flux increase behavior that is usually only exhibited by magnetars. After this outburst, it returned to normal, rotation-powered-pulsar behavior.Since the discovery of this event, scientists have been attempting to learn more about this strange pulsar that seems to straddle the line between rotation-powered pulsars and magnetars.Unprecedented DropOne way to examine whats going on with PSR 18460258 is to evaluate whats known as its braking index, a measure of how quickly the pulsars rotation slows down. For a rotation-powered pulsar, the braking index should be roughly constant. The pulsar then slows down according to a fixed power law, where the slower it rotates, the slower it slows down.In a recent study, Robert Archibald (McGill University) and collaborators report on 7 years worth of timing observations of PSR 18460258 after its odd magnetar-like outburst. They then compare these observations to 6.5 years of data from before the outburst. The team finds that the braking index for this bizarre pulsar dropped suddenly by 14.5 after the outburst a change thats unprecedented both in how large and how long-lived its been.Why is this a problem? Many of the quoted properties of pulsars (like ages, magnetic fields, and luminosities) are determined based on models that envision pulsars as magnetic dipoles in a vacuum. But if this is the case, a pulsars braking index should be constant or, in more realistic scenarios, we might expect it to change slightly over the span of thousands of years. The fact that PSR 18460258 underwent such a drastic change during its outburst poses a significant challenge to these models of pulsar behavior and evolution.CitationR. F. Archibald et al 2015 ApJ 810 67. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/810/1/67

Limits on the mass, velocity and orbit of PSR J1933-6211

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graikou, E.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Osłowski, S.; Champion, D. J.; Tauris, T. M.; Jankowski, F.; Kramer, M.

2017-11-01

We present a high-precision timing analysis of PSR J1933-6211, a millisecond pulsar with a 3.5 ms spin period and a white dwarf (WD) companion, using data from the Parkes radio telescope. Since we have accurately measured the polarization properties of this pulsar, we have applied the matrix template matching approach in which the times of arrival are measured using full polarimetric information. We achieved a weighted root-mean-square timing residuals of the timing residuals of 1.23 μs, 15.5 per cent improvement compared to the total intensity timing analysis. After studying the scintillation properties of this pulsar, we put constraints on the inclination angle of the system. Based on these measurements and on χ2 mapping we put a 2σ upper limit on the companion mass (0.44 M⊙). Since this mass limit cannot reveal the nature of the companion, we further investigate the possibility of the companion to be a He WD. Applying the orbital period-mass relation for such WDs, we conclude that the mass of a He WD companion would be about 0.26±0.01 M⊙, which combined with the measured mass function and orbital inclination limits, would lead to a light pulsar mass ≤ 1.0 M⊙. This result seems unlikely based on current neutron star formation models and we therefore conclude that PSR J1933-6211 most likely has a CO WD companion, which allows for a solution with a more massive pulsar.

The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey - IV. Discovery and polarimetry of millisecond pulsars: HTRU IV: discovery and polarization of MSPs

DOE PAGES

Keith, M. J.; Johnston, S.; Bailes, M.; ...

2011-11-03

We present the discovery of six millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in the High Time Reso- lution Universe (HTRU) survey for pulsars and fast transients carried out with the Parkes radio telescope. All six are in binary systems with approximately circular or- bits and are likely to have white dwarf companions. PSR J1017–7156 has a high flux density and a narrow pulse width, making it ideal for precision timing experiments. PSRs J1446–4701 and J1125–5825 are coincident with gamma-ray sources, and fold- ing the high-energy photons with the radio timing ephemeris shows evidence of pulsed gamma-ray emission. PSR J1502–6752 has a spin periodmore » of 26.7 ms, and its low period derivative implies that it is a recycled pulsar. The orbital parameters indicate it has a very low mass function, and therefore a companion mass much lower than usually expected for such a mildly recycled pulsar. In addition we present polarisation profiles for all 12 MSPs discovered in the HTRU survey to date. Similar to previous observations of MSPs, we find that many have large widths and a wide range of linear and circular polarisation fractions. Their polarisation profiles can be highly complex, and although the observed position angles often do not obey the rotating vector model, we present several examples of those that do. We speculate that the emission heights of MSPs are a substantial fraction of the light cylinder radius in order to explain broad emission profiles, which then naturally leads to a large number of cases where emission from both poles is observed.« less

Mapping gravitational-wave backgrounds using methods from CMB analysis: Application to pulsar timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gair, Jonathan; Romano, Joseph D.; Taylor, Stephen; Mingarelli, Chiara M. F.

2014-10-01

We describe an alternative approach to the analysis of gravitational-wave backgrounds, based on the formalism used to characterize the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. In contrast to standard analyses, this approach makes no assumptions about the nature of the background and so has the potential to reveal much more about the physical processes that generated it. An arbitrary background can be decomposed into modes whose angular dependence on the sky is given by gradients and curls of spherical harmonics. We derive the pulsar timing overlap reduction functions for the individual modes, which are given by simple combinations of spherical harmonics evaluated at the pulsar locations. We show how these can be used to recover the components of an arbitrary background, giving explicit results for both isotropic and anisotropic uncorrelated backgrounds. We also find that the response of a pulsar timing array to curl modes is identically zero, so half of the gravitational-wave sky will never be observed using pulsar timing, no matter how many pulsars are included in the array. An isotropic, unpolarized and uncorrelated background can be accurately represented using only three modes, and so a search of this type will be only slightly more complicated than the standard cross-correlation search using the Hellings and Downs overlap reduction function. However, by measuring the components of individual modes of the background and checking for consistency with isotropy, this approach has the potential to reveal much more information. Each individual mode on its own describes a background that is correlated between different points on the sky. A measurement of the components that indicates the presence of correlations in the background on large angular scales would suggest startling new physics.

Circumpulsar Asteroids: Inferences from Nulling Statistics and High Energy Correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shannon, Ryan; Cordes, J. M.

2006-12-01

We have proposed that some classes of radio pulsar variability are associated with the entry of neutral asteroidal material into the pulsar magnetosphere. The region surrounding neutron stars is polluted with supernova fall-back material, which collapses and condenses into an asteroid-bearing disk that is stable for millions of years. Over time, collisional and radiative processes cause the asteroids to migrate inward until they are heated to the point of ionization. For older and cooler pulsars, asteroids ionize within the large magnetospheres and inject a sufficient amount of charged particles to alter the electrodynamics of the gap regions and modulate emission processes. This extrinsic model unifies many observed phenomena of variability that occur on time scales that are disparate with the much shorter time scales associated with pulsars and their magnetospheres. One such type of variability is nulling, in which certain pulsars exhibit episodes of quiescence that for some objects may be as short as a few pulse periods, but, for others, is longer than days. Here, in the context of this model, we examine the nulling phenomenon. We analyze the relationship between in-falling material and the statistics of nulling. In addition, as motivation for further high energy observations, we consider the relationship between the nulling and other magnetospheric processes.

Wideband Timing of Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pennucci, Timothy; Demorest, Paul; Ransom, Scott M.; North American Nanohertz ObservatoryGravitational Waves (NANOGRAV)

2015-01-01

The use of backend instrumentation capable of real-time coherent dedispersion of relatively large fractional bandwidths has become commonplace in pulsar astronomy. However, along with the desired increase in sensitivity to pulsars' broadband signals, a larger instantaneous bandwidth brings a number of potentially aggravating effects that can lead to degraded timing precision. In the case of high-precision timing experiments, such as the one being carried out by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), subtle effects such as unmodeled intrinsic profile evolution with frequency, interstellar scattering, and dispersion measure variation are potentially capable of reducing the experiment's sensitivity to a gravitational wave signal. In order to account for some of these complications associated with wideband observations, we augmented the traditional algorithm by which the fundamental timing quantities are measured. Our new measurement algorithm accommodates an arbitrary two-dimensional model ``portrait'' of a pulsar's total intensity as a function of observing frequency and rotational phase, and simultaneously determines the time-of-arrival (TOA), the dispersion measure (DM), and per-frequency-channel amplitudes that account for interstellar scintillation. Our publicly available python code incorporates a Gaussian-component modeling routine that allows for independent component evolution with frequency, a ``fiducial component'', and the inclusion of scattering. Here, we will present results from the application of our wideband measurement scheme to the suite of NANOGrav millisecond pulsars, which aimed to determine the level at which the experiment is being harmed by unmodeled profile evolution. We have found thus far, and expect to continue to find, that our new measurements are at least as good as those from traditional techniques. At a minimum, by largely reducing the volume of TOAs we will decrease the computational demand associated with probing posterior distributions in the search for gravitational waves. The development of this algorithm is well-motivated by the promise of even larger fractional bandwidth receiver systems in the future of pulsar astronomy.

Keck spectroscopy of millisecond pulsar J2215+5135: a moderate-M

DOE PAGES

Romani, Roger W.; Graham, Melissa L.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; ...

2015-08-07

We present Keck spectroscopic measurements of the millisecond pulsar binary J2215+5135. These data indicate a neutron-star (NS) massmore » $${M}_{\\mathrm{NS}}=1.6\\;{M}_{\\odot }$$, much less than previously estimated. The pulsar heats the companion face to $${T}_{D}\\approx 9000$$ K; the large heating efficiency may be mediated by the intrabinary shock dominating the X-ray light curve. At the best-fit inclination i = 88 $$^o\\atop{.}$$ 8, the pulsar should be eclipsed. Here, we find weak evidence for such eclipses in the pulsed gamma-rays; an improved radio ephemeris allows use of up to five times more Fermi-Large Area Telescope gamma-ray photons for a definitive test of this picture. If confirmed, the gamma-ray eclipse provides a novel probe of the dense companion wind and the pulsar magnetosphere.« less

The Lovell Telescope and its role in pulsar astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyne, Andrew; Morison, Ian

2017-12-01

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the commissioning of the 250-ft telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, and the 50th anniversary of the discovery of pulsars at Cambridge. Both events resulted in enduring astronomical researches that have become intimately entwined, and here we celebrate them with a brief historical account of their relationship. We describe how the completion of the telescope in October 1957 coincided with the launch of Sputnik 1 at the start of the space race, a timely circumstance that was the financial saviour of Bernard Lovell's ambitious project. The telescope established a vital role in space tracking and, by the time that pulsars were discovered a decade later, was supported by an infrastructure that allowed their prompt, successful observation. Technical innovations to both the telescope and its receivers since then have continued to make it a superb tool for world-leading pulsar investigations and the study of the radio Universe.

A NEW, LOW BRAKING INDEX FOR THE LMC PULSAR B0540–69

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marshall, F. E.; Harding, A. K.; Guillemot, L.

2016-08-20

We report the results of a 16 month monitoring campaign using the Swift satellite of PSR B0540–69, a young pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Phase connection was maintained throughout the campaign so that a reliable ephemeris could be determined, and the length of the campaign is adequate to accurately determine the spin frequency ν and its first and second derivatives. The braking index n is 0.031 ± 0.013 (90% confidence), a value much lower than previously reported for B0540–69 and almost all other young pulsars. We use data from the extensive monitoring campaign with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer tomore » show that timing noise is unlikely to significantly affect the measurement. This is the first measurement of the braking index in the pulsar's recently discovered high spin-down state. We discuss possible mechanisms for producing the low braking index.« less

On the existence of planets around the pulsar PSR B0329+54

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starovoit, E. D.; Rodin, A. E.

2017-11-01

Results of timing measurements of the pulsar PSR B0329+54 obtained in 1968-2012 using the Big Scanning Antenna of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (at 102 and 111 MHz), the DSS 13 and DSS 14 telescopes of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2388 MHz), and the 64 m telescope of the Kalyazin Radio Astronomy Observatory (610 MHz) are presented. The astrometric and rotational parameters of the pulsar are derived at a new epoch. Periodic variations in the barycentric timing residuals have been found, which can be explained by the presence of a planet orbiting the pulsar, with an orbital period P 1 = 27.8 yr, mass m c sin i = 2 M ⨁, and orbital semi-major axis a = 10.26 AU. The results of this study do not confirm existence of a proposed second planet with orbital period P 2 = 3 yr.

Be/X-Ray Pulsar Binary Science with LOFT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.

2011-01-01

Accretion disks are ubiquitous in astronomical sources. Accretion powered pulsars are a good test bed for accretion disk physics, because unlike for other objects, the spin of the neutron star is directly observable allowing us to see the effects of angular momentum transfer onto the pulsar. The combination of a sensitive wide-field monitor and the large area detector on LOFT will enable new detailed studies of accretion powered pulsars which I will review. RXTE observations have shown an unusually high number of Be/X-ray pulsar binaries in the SMC. Unlike binaries in the Milky Way, these systems are all at the same distance, allowing detailed population studies using the sensitive LOFT WFM, potentially providing connections to star formation episodes. For Galactic accreting pulsar systems, LOFT will allow measurement of spectral variations within individual pulses, mapping the accretion column in detail for the first time. LOFT will also provide better constraints on magnetic fields in accreting pulsars, allowing measurements of cyclotron features, observations of transitions into the centrifugal inhibition regime, and monitoring of spin-up rate vs flux correlations. Coordinated multi-wavelength observations are crucial to extracting the best science from LOFT from these and numerous other objects.

Predicting pulsar scintillation from refractive plasma sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, Dana; Pen, Ue-Li

2018-07-01

The dynamic and secondary spectra of many pulsars show evidence for long-lived, aligned images of the pulsar that are stationary on a thin scattering sheet. One explanation for this phenomenon considers the effects of wave crests along sheets in the ionized interstellar medium, such as those due to Alfvén waves propagating along current sheets. If these sheets are closely aligned to our line of sight to the pulsar, high bending angles arise at the wave crests and a selection effect causes alignment of images produced at different crests, similar to grazing reflection off of a lake. Using geometric optics, we develop a simple parametrized model of these corrugated sheets that can be constrained with a single observation and that makes observable predictions for variations in the scintillation of the pulsar over time and frequency. This model reveals qualitative differences between lensing from overdense and underdense corrugated sheets: only if the sheet is overdense compared to the surrounding interstellar medium can the lensed images be brighter than the line-of-sight image to the pulsar, and the faint lensed images are closer to the pulsar at higher frequencies if the sheet is underdense, but at lower frequencies if the sheet is overdense.

Predicting Pulsar Scintillation from Refractive Plasma Sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, Dana; Pen, Ue-Li

2018-05-01

The dynamic and secondary spectra of many pulsars show evidence for long-lived, aligned images of the pulsar that are stationary on a thin scattering sheet. One explanation for this phenomenon considers the effects of wave crests along sheets in the ionized interstellar medium, such as those due to Alfvén waves propagating along current sheets. If these sheets are closely aligned to our line-of-sight to the pulsar, high bending angles arise at the wave crests and a selection effect causes alignment of images produced at different crests, similar to grazing reflection off of a lake. Using geometric optics, we develop a simple parameterized model of these corrugated sheets that can be constrained with a single observation and that makes observable predictions for variations in the scintillation of the pulsar over time and frequency. This model reveals qualitative differences between lensing from overdense and underdense corrugated sheets: Only if the sheet is overdense compared to the surrounding interstellar medium can the lensed images be brighter than the line-of-sight image to the pulsar, and the faint lensed images are closer to the pulsar at higher frequencies if the sheet is underdense, but at lower frequencies if the sheet is overdense.

Discovery of Radio Pulsations from the X-ray Pulsar JO205+6449 in Supernova Remnant 3C58 with the Green Bank Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camilo, F.; Stairs, I. H.; Lorimer, D. R.; Backer, D. C.; Ransom, S. M.; Klein, B.; Wielebinski, R.; Kramer, M.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Arzoumanian, Z.;

SAX J1808.4$-$3658, an accreting millisecond pulsar shining in gamma rays?

DOE PAGES

de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Papitto, A.; Li, J.; ...

2015-12-31

We report the detection of a possible gamma-ray counterpart of the accreting millisec- ond pulsar SAXJ1808.4–3658. The analysis of ~6 years of data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi-LAT) within a re- gion of 15° radius around the position of the pulsar reveals a point gamma-ray source detected at a significance of ~6σ (Test Statistic TS = 32), with position compatible with that of SAXJ1808.4–3658 within 95% Confidence Level. The energy flux in the energy range between 0.6 GeV and 10 GeV amounts to (2.1 ± 0.5) × 10 -12 erg cm -2more » s -1 and the spectrum is well-represented by a power-law function with photon index 2.1±0.1. We searched for significant variation of the flux at the spin frequency of the pulsar and for orbital modulation, taking into account the trials due to the uncertain- ties in the position, the orbital motion of the pulsar and the intrinsic evolution of the pulsar spin. No significant deviation from a constant flux at any time scale was found, preventing a firm identification via time variability. Nonetheless, the association of the LAT source as the gamma-ray counterpart of SAXJ1808.4–3658 would match the emission expected from the millisecond pulsar, if it switches on as a rotation-powered source during X-ray quiescence.« less

PSR J1906+0722: An Elusive Gamma-Ray Pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Wu, J.; Guillemot, L.; Ackermann, M.; Allen, B.; de Angelis, A.; Aulbert, C.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Bellazzini, R.; Bissaldi, E.; Bock, O.; Bonino, R.; Bottacini, E.; Brandt, T. J.; Bregeon, J.; Bruel, P.; Buson, S.; Caliandro, G. A.; Cameron, R. A.; Caragiulo, M.; Caraveo, P. A.; Cecchi, C.; Champion, D. J.; Charles, E.; Chekhtman, A.; Chiang, J.; Chiaro, G.; Ciprini, S.; Claus, R.; Cohen-Tanugi, J.; Cuéllar, A.; Cutini, S.; D'Ammando, F.; Desiante, R.; Drell, P. S.; Eggenstein, H. B.; Favuzzi, C.; Fehrmann, H.; Ferrara, E. C.; Focke, W. B.; Franckowiak, A.; Fusco, P.; Gargano, F.; Gasparrini, D.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Grenier, I. A.; Grove, J. E.; Guiriec, S.; Harding, A. K.; Hays, E.; Hewitt, J. W.; Hill, A. B.; Horan, D.; Hou, X.; Jogler, T.; Johnson, A. S.; Jóhannesson, G.; Kramer, M.; Krauss, F.; Kuss, M.; Laffon, H.; Larsson, S.; Latronico, L.; Li, J.; Li, L.; Longo, F.; Loparco, F.; Lovellette, M. N.; Lubrano, P.; Machenschalk, B.; Manfreda, A.; Marelli, M.; Mayer, M.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Michelson, P. F.; Mizuno, T.; Monzani, M. E.; Morselli, A.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Murgia, S.; Nuss, E.; Ohsugi, T.; Orienti, M.; Orlando, E.; de Palma, F.; Paneque, D.; Pesce-Rollins, M.; Piron, F.; Pivato, G.; Rainò, S.; Rando, R.; Razzano, M.; Reimer, A.; Saz Parkinson, P. M.; Schaal, M.; Schulz, A.; Sgrò, C.; Siskind, E. J.; Spada, F.; Spandre, G.; Spinelli, P.; Suson, D. J.; Takahashi, H.; Thayer, J. B.; Tibaldo, L.; Torne, P.; Torres, D. F.; Tosti, G.; Troja, E.; Vianello, G.; Wood, K. S.; Wood, M.; Yassine, M.

2015-08-01

We report the discovery of PSR J1906+0722, a gamma-ray pulsar detected as part of a blind survey of unidentified Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources being carried out on the volunteer distributed computing system, Einstein@Home. This newly discovered pulsar previously appeared as the most significant remaining unidentified gamma-ray source without a known association in the second Fermi-LAT source catalog (2FGL) and was among the top 10 most significant unassociated sources in the recent third catalog (3FGL). PSR J1906+0722 is a young, energetic, isolated pulsar, with a spin frequency of 8.9 Hz, a characteristic age of 49 kyr, and spin-down power 1.0× {10}36 erg s-1. In 2009 August it suffered one of the largest glitches detected from a gamma-ray pulsar ({{Δ }}f/f≈ 4.5× {10}-6). Remaining undetected in dedicated radio follow-up observations, the pulsar is likely radio-quiet. An off-pulse analysis of the gamma-ray flux from the location of PSR J1906+0722 revealed the presence of an additional nearby source, which may be emission from the interaction between a neighboring supernova remnant and a molecular cloud. We discuss possible effects which may have hindered the detection of PSR J1906+0722 in previous searches and describe the methods by which these effects were mitigated in this survey. We also demonstrate the use of advanced timing methods for estimating the positional, spin and glitch parameters of difficult-to-time pulsars such as this.

Pulsar spin-down: the glitch-dominated rotation of PSR J0537-6910

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antonopoulou, D.; Espinoza, C. M.; Kuiper, L.; Andersson, N.

2018-01-01

The young, fast-spinning X-ray pulsar J0537-6910 displays an extreme glitch activity, with large spin-ups interrupting its decelerating rotation every ∼100 d. We present nearly 13 yr of timing data from this pulsar, obtained with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. We discovered 22 new glitches and performed a consistent analysis of all 45 glitches detected in the complete data span. Our results corroborate the previously reported strong correlation between glitch spin-up size and the time to the next glitch, a relation that has not been observed so far in any other pulsar. The spin evolution is dominated by the glitches, which occur at a rate of ∼3.5 per year, and the post-glitch recoveries, which prevail the entire interglitch intervals. This distinctive behaviour provides invaluable insights into the physics of glitches. The observations can be explained with a multicomponent model that accounts for the dynamics of the neutron superfluid present in the crust and core of neutron stars. We place limits on the moment of inertia of the component responsible for the spin-up and, ignoring differential rotation, the velocity difference it can sustain with the crust. Contrary to its rapid decrease between glitches, the spin-down rate increased over the 13 yr, and we find the long-term braking index nl = -1.22(4), the only negative braking index seen in a young pulsar. We briefly discuss the plausible interpretations of this result, which is in stark contrast to the predictions of standard models of pulsar spin-down.

General-relativistic Simulations of Four States of Accretion onto Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parfrey, Kyle; Tchekhovskoy, Alexander

2017-12-01

Accreting neutron stars can power a wide range of astrophysical phenomena including short- and long-duration gamma-ray bursts, ultra-luminous X-ray sources, and X-ray binaries. Numerical simulations are a valuable tool for studying the accretion-disk–magnetosphere interaction that is central to these problems, most clearly for the recently discovered transitional millisecond pulsars. However, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) methods, widely used for simulating accretion, have difficulty in highly magnetized stellar magnetospheres, while force-free methods, suitable for such regions, cannot include the accreting gas. We present an MHD method that can stably evolve essentially force-free, highly magnetized regions, and describe the first time-dependent relativistic simulations of magnetized accretion onto millisecond pulsars. Our axisymmetric general-relativistic MHD simulations for the first time demonstrate how the interaction of a turbulent accretion flow with a pulsar’s electromagnetic wind can lead to the transition of an isolated pulsar to the accreting state. This transition naturally leads to the formation of relativistic jets, whose power can greatly exceed the power of the isolated pulsar’s wind. If the accretion rate is below a critical value, the pulsar instead expels the accretion stream. More generally, our simulations produce for the first time the four possible accretion regimes, in order of decreasing mass accretion rate: (a) crushed magnetosphere and direct accretion; (b) magnetically channeled accretion onto the stellar poles; (c) the propeller state, where material enters through the light cylinder but is prevented from accreting by the centrifugal barrier; (d) almost perfect exclusion of the accretion flow from the light cylinder by the pulsar wind.

PSR J1838–0537: Discovery of a young, energetic gamma-ray pulsar

DOE PAGES

Pletsch, H. J.; Guillemot, L.; Allen, B.; ...

2012-07-27

Here, we report the discovery of PSR J1838–0537, a gamma-ray pulsar found through a blind search of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The pulsar has a spin frequency of 6.9 Hz and a frequency derivative of –2.2 × 10 –11 Hz s–1, implying a young characteristic age of 4970 yr and a large spin-down power of 5.9 × 1036 erg s–1. Follow-up observations with radio telescopes detected no pulsations; thus PSR J1838–0537 appears radio-quiet as viewed from Earth. In 2009 September the pulsar suffered the largest glitch so far seen in any gamma-ray-only pulsar, causing a relativemore » increase in spin frequency of about 5.5 × 10–6. After the glitch, during a putative recovery period, the timing analysis is complicated by the sparsity of the LAT photon data, the weakness of the pulsations, and the reduction in average exposure from a coincidental, contemporaneous change in LAT's sky-survey observing pattern. Furthermore, the pulsar's sky position is coincident with the spatially extended TeV source HESS J1841–055 detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). Finally, the inferred energetics suggest that HESS J1841–055 contains a pulsar wind nebula powered by the pulsar.« less

PSR J1838-0537: DISCOVERY OF A YOUNG, ENERGETIC GAMMA-RAY PULSAR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pletsch, H. J.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.

2012-08-10

We report the discovery of PSR J1838-0537, a gamma-ray pulsar found through a blind search of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The pulsar has a spin frequency of 6.9 Hz and a frequency derivative of -2.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -11} Hz s{sup -1}, implying a young characteristic age of 4970 yr and a large spin-down power of 5.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 36} erg s{sup -1}. Follow-up observations with radio telescopes detected no pulsations; thus PSR J1838-0537 appears radio-quiet as viewed from Earth. In 2009 September the pulsar suffered the largest glitch so far seen in any gamma-ray-only pulsar, causingmore » a relative increase in spin frequency of about 5.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6}. After the glitch, during a putative recovery period, the timing analysis is complicated by the sparsity of the LAT photon data, the weakness of the pulsations, and the reduction in average exposure from a coincidental, contemporaneous change in LAT's sky-survey observing pattern. The pulsar's sky position is coincident with the spatially extended TeV source HESS J1841-055 detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). The inferred energetics suggest that HESS J1841-055 contains a pulsar wind nebula powered by the pulsar.« less

Power-law Magnetic Field Decay and Constant Core Temperatures of Magnetars, Normal and Millisecond Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Y.; Zhang, S.

2011-12-01

The observed correlations, between the characteristic ages and dipole surface magnetic field strengths of all pulsars, can be well explained by magnetic field decay with core temperatures of 2×108 K, ˜2×107 K, and ˜105 K, for magnetars, normal radio pulsars, and millisecond pulsars, respectively; assuming that their characteristic ages are about two orders of magnitude larger than their true ages, the required core temperatures may be reduced by about a factor of 10. The magnetic decay follows a power-law and is dominated by the solenoidal component of the ambipolar diffusion mode. In this model, all NSs are assumed to have the same initial magnetic field strength, but different core temperature which does not change as the magnetic field decays. This suggests that the key distinguishing property between magnetars and normal pulsars is that magnetars were born much hotter than normal pulsars, and thus have much longer magnetic field decay time scales, resulting in higher surface magnetic field strength even with the same ages of normal pulsars. The above conclusion agrees well with the observed correlations between the surface temperatures of magnetars and other young NSs, which do not agree with the cooling dominated evolution of neutron stars. This suggests a possible scenario that heating, perhaps due to magnetic field decay, balances neutron star cooling for observed pulsars.

a Surprise from the Pulsar in the Crab Nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-11-01

New observations of the spectrum of the rapidly spinning neutron star (the `pulsar') in the Crab Nebula have been carried out with the ESO 3.5-metre New Technology Telescope (NTT) by a group of Italian astronomers [1]. Because of greatly improved spectral resolution which allows to register even very fine details in the pulsar's spectrum, they are able to determine for the first time with high accuracy the overall dependance of the emission on wavelength, i.e. the `shape' of the spectrum. Quite unexpectedly, they also detect a hitherto unknown 100 A (10 nm) broad `absorption dip', which can be securely attributed to the pulsar. These results open an exciting new window for the study of the extreme physical processes close to a pulsar. The Nature of Pulsars It is estimated that there may be as many as 100 million neutron stars in our Galaxy. A neutron star is the superdense remnant of the extremely violent supernova explosion that occurs at the end of the life of a comparatively massive star. In fact, all stars that are more than about 6 times heavier than the Sun are believed to end their lives as supernovae. During the explosion, the central core of the dying star collapses in a few milliseconds and the matter at the centre is compressed to a density comparable to that of an atomic nucleus. Due to the enormous inward pressure, the atomic particles are squeezed together into a kind of neutron jam. The outcome is the formation of a neutron star with a diameter of 10-15 kilometres, weighing as much as the Sun. In accordance with the physical law that implies that the rotation momentum of the exploding star must be conserved, newborn neutron stars will rotate very rapidly around their axis, in some cases as fast as 100 times per second. In the same way, the new neutron star is expected to possess a strong magnetic field. Of these myriads of neutron stars, about 700 have been observed to emit radio pulses (hence the name `pulsar'). A few of these can also be detected at optical wavelengths and only one is bright enough to allow reasonably detailed spectroscopic observations with currently available optical telescopes. The Crab Pulsar This is the famous Crab Pulsar, also known as PSR 0531+21. It was discovered as a radio pulsar in 1968, soon after the detection of the first known radio pulsar. A little later, pulsed optical emission from the Crab Pulsar was also observed. It was quickly recognized that this emission obeys Pacini's law [2]. Stated in simple terms, this implies that the emission of optical light from the pulsar is due to the interaction between very energetic elementary particles close to the neutron star and its incredibly strong magnetic field. The Crab Pulsar is especially interesting, because we have detailed historical information about the event from which it was born: the very bright `guest star' which was so well observed and described by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054 AD in the constellation of Taurus (the Bull). At the exact location of this supernova is now observed the famous Crab Nebula in which the Crab Pulsar is embedded. The Crab Nebula is a very conspicuous object in the sky (the name alludes to its overall form), and it emits a very significant amount of energy at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that have so far been explored, from long-wave radio waves to gamma-rays of ultra-high energy. At X-ray wavelengths (above 1 keV), it is in fact one of the brightest, continuously emitting sources in the sky. The Crab Pulsar also emits at all wavelengths, but it is much fainter than the surrounding nebula. This Press Release is accompanied by a photo with caption, showing the pulsar in the innermost region of the nebula. At optical wavelengths, the Crab Pulsar is a comparatively faint, point-like object of magnitude 16.6. It is interesting to note that, from the measured, outward motion of the individual condensations in the Crab Nebula, this object was recognized, already a decade before the discovery of pulsars, as the possible central remnant of the Crab Nebula [3]. This was fully confirmed when its pulsed radio emission was detected in 1968. At this optical brightness, about 10,000 times fainter than the faintest stars that can be perceived with the unaided eye, the Crab Pulsar is still by far the brightest of the few known neutron stars whose optical light has been detected. It is in fact more than 1,000 times brighter than the next brightest pulsar, PSR 0540-69 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way system in which we live. Observations of the Crab Pulsar Spectrum Thus it was possible for American astronomer J. Beverley Oke (Caltech) to perform the first optical measurements of the Crab Pulsar spectrum already in 1969. Although this was quite an observational feat at the time, the information content of that measurement is not very high by modern standards; the spectral resolution was only about 200 A (20 nm). Oke's spectrum of the Crab Pulsar qualitatively confirmed the theoretical expectations by being flat and featureless and no isolated spectral features were seen at this low resolution. It appears that since 1969, nobody has obtained spectrum of the Crab pulsar with a better spectral resolution than Oke. This seems amazing, but may at least partly be explained by the fact that this object is deeply embedded in the much brighter Crab Nebula of expanding gas. Any spectrum of the pulsar is therefore necessarily strongly contaminated by that of the surrounding nebula, making it difficult to obtain a `pure' spectrum of the pulsar. Now, however, the group of Italian astronomers has performed a much improved spectral measurement of the Crab Pulsar with the EMMI multi-mode instrument at the ESO NTT. The resulting spectrum has a resolution of 2 A (0.2 nm), i.e. dramatically better than the one achieved in 1969, and reflecting the incredible evolution of astronomical instrumentation during the intervening quarter of a century. It thus shows many more spectral details. The analysis of the spectrum required very careful work; as would be expected, it was in particular the effective `subtraction' of the background light from the Crab Nebula that caused the greatest problem. The new, first-ever `clean', high-resolution optical spectrum of a pulsar, is a spectacular scientific result; the corresponding graph and its caption are attached to this Press Release. First of all, the overall shape of the spectrum, i.e. the dependance of the emission from the pulsar on wavelength is now defined with unprecedented accuracy. Theory predicts a straight line; this is well confirmed and the slope of the line can be determined with a precision better than 1 percent. This new measurement has a direct implication for our understanding of the acceleration of energetic particles, close to the surface of the pulsar and also of the structure and intensity of its magnetic field. A Mysterious Feature in the New Spectrum Moreover, for the first time a feature is detected in the spectrum. Close to 5900 A (590 nm), i.e. at a wavelength that corresponds to orange light, a rather wide absorption `dip' (100 A or 10 nm) is apparent in the otherwise featureless spectrum. It goes without saying that the astronomers have checked very carefully whether this feature might not, after all, have an origin outside the pulsar. But the measurements show that this dip is neither due to the Earth's atmosphere, absorption in interstellar space between the pulsar and us, nor absorption in the Crab Nebula around the pulsar. It thus appears firmly established that this feature must arise in the immediate surroundings of the neutron star. What is the cause of this mysterious dip? Unfortunately, the present measurements do not allow a firm interpretation as to its physical nature. Normally the exact wavelength of a spectral feature will indicate the origin, but the observed wavelength does not correspond to any obvious feature in classical atomic-line spectra. The matter is further complicated by the presence of a strong gravitational field near the surface of the pulsar which introduces a wavelength shift of an unknown size. This is the so called `gravitational redshift', a relativistic effect that may be observed in intense gravitational fields. The size of the wavelength shift is proportionate, at least to a first approximation, to the strength of the gravitational field to which the emitting atoms are subjected. But the strength of the pulsar's gravitational field decreases with the altitude above the surface and as we do not know at which altitude the ions that produce the observed `dip' are located, the induced shift is of unknown size. The presence of this feature is an unexpected bonus for the study of the physics of neutron stars. Following a preliminary investigation of the possible causes, the astronomers are now of the opinion that it may have to do with light being absorbed due to the peculiar motion of atoms in the superintense magnetic field around the pulsar [4]. To cast more light on this problem, the group is now planning to obtain spectroscopic observations with an even higher spectral resolution. If not before, this will in any case become possible when the first 8.2-metre VLT Unit Telescope enters into operation in about two years' time. Notes: [1] The group consists of Giovanni Bignami, Patrizia Caraveo, Roberto Mignani and Francesco Nasuti from Istituto di Fisica Cosmica e Tecnologie Relative in Milan, Italy. [2] Named after Franco Pacini, Director of the Florence observatory and former President of the ESO Council. [3] Much of this work is due to Lodewijk Woltjer, a Dutch astronomer, who was ESO Director General from 1975 to 1987. [4] However, better data are needed to understand the nature of the absorption. While Iron has some lines in this spectral range, it could as well be cyclotron absorption for Hydrogen.

X-Ray Observations of High-Energy Pulsars: PSR B1951+32 and Geminga

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Cheng

Observations at frequencies across a wide range of electromagnetic spectra are key to the understanding of the origin and mechanisms of high-energy emissions from pulsars. We propose to observe the high-energy pulsars PSR B1951+32 and Geminga with XTE. These two sources emit X-rays at low enough count rate that we can acquire high resolution timing and spectral data, allowing us to perform detailed analysis on the ground. Staring integration of 10 ksec for each source is requested. Data obtained in these observations, together with those from ROSAT, GRO and a planned project for optical counterpart study at Los Alamos, will provide crucial information to advance high-energy pulsar research.

Recent Results on SNRs and PWNe from the Fermi Large Area Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hays, Elizabeth A.

2010-01-01

Topics include: Fermi LAT Collaboration groups; galactic results from LAT; a GeV, wide-field instrument; the 1FGL catalog, the Fermi LAT 1FGL source catalog, unidentified gamma-ray sources; variability in 1FGL sources; curvature in 1FGL sources; spectral-variability classification; gamma-ray pulsars and MSPs; GeV PWN - where to look; Crab pulsar and nebula; Vela X nebular of Vela pulsar; MSH 15-52; GeV PWNe spectra; GeV nebula limits; Nebula search of LAT pulsars; supernova remnants; SNR: GeV morphology; SNR: molecular connection; SNR: GeV breaks; SNR: young vs. old. The summary includes slides about the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and LAT sensitivity with time.

The surprising Crab pulsar and its nebula: a review.

PubMed

Bühler, R; Blandford, R

2014-06-01

The Crab nebula and its pulsar (referred to together as 'the Crab') have historically played a central role in astrophysics. True to this legacy, several unique discoveries have been made recently. The Crab was found to emit gamma-ray pulsations up to energies of 400 GeV, beyond what was previously expected from pulsars. Strong gamma-ray flares, of durations of a few days, were discovered from within the nebula, while the source was previously expected to be stable in flux on these time scales. Here we review these intriguing and suggestive developments. In this context we give an overview of the observational properties of the Crab and our current understanding of pulsars and their nebulae.

Discovery of the Orbit of the X-ray pulsar OAO 1657-415

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chakrabarty, Deepto; Grunsfeld, John M.; Prince, Thomas A.; Bildsten, Lars; Finger, Mark H.; Wilson, Robert B.; Fishman, Gerald J.; Meegan, Charles A.; Paciesas, William S.

1993-01-01

Timing observations of the 38 s accreting X-ray pulsar OAO 1657-415 made with the BATSE large-area detectors on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory have revealed a binary orbit with an X-ray eclipse by the stellar companion. From the pulsar mass function fx(M) = 11.7 +/- 0.2 solar masses and the measured eclipse half-angle theta(e) = 29.7 +/- 1.3 deg, we infer that the stellar companion is a supergiant of spectral class B0-B6. If the companion can be identified and its orbital velocity measured, the neutron star mass can be constrained. Both intrinsic spin-up and spin-down of the pulsar were measured during our observation.

Discovery of a young, 267 millisecond pulsar in the supernova remnant W44

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolszczan, A.; Cordes, J. M.; Dewey, R. J.

1991-01-01

This paper reports the discovery of a 267 msec pulsar, PSR 1853 + 01, in the SNR W44 (G34.7 - 0.4), located south of the W44, well within its radio shell and at the outher edge of the X-ray emission region which fills the SNR interior. The PSR 1853 + 01 is separated only 20 arcmin from the PSR 1854 + 00 pulsar discovered by Mohanty (1983). Results of timing observatons of PSR 1853 + 01 are presented, and a possible relationship between the two objects is examined. It is suggested that the two pulsars may have a common origin in a binary system disrupted by the explosion that produced W44.

Three Dozen Pulsars Over a Dozen+ Years in Terzan 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ransom, Scott M.; Stairs, Ingrid; Hessels, Jason W. T.; Freire, Paulo; Bilous, Anna; Prager, Brian; Ho, Anna; Cadelano, Mario; Wang, David; Scott Ransom

2018-01-01

The massive and rich globular cluster Terzan 5 contains at least 37 millisecond pulsars -- the most of any globular cluster. We have been timing these pulsars in the radio since 2004 using the Green Bank Telescope, and the individual and combined properties have provided a wealth of science. We have measured long-term accelerations and "jerks" of almost all of the pulsars, allowing a unique probe of the physical parameters of the cluster, completely independent from optical/IR measurements. We have directly measured the absolute proper motion of cluster and see evidence for internal velocity dispersion. Numerous post-Keplerian (i.e. relativistic) orbital parameters are significant, allowing measurements or constraints on the neutron star masses for nine systems. Ensemble flux density, dispersion measure, and polarization measurements constrain the pulsar luminosity function and the interstellar medium. Finally, we observe many interesting properties of and long-term variabilty from several eclipsing systems.

Pulsars and Acceleration Sites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice

2008-01-01

Rotation-powered pulsars are excellent laboratories for the studying particle acceleration as well as fundamental physics of strong gravity, strong magnetic fields and relativity. But even forty years after their discovery, we still do not understand their pulsed emission at any wavelength. I will review both the basic physics of pulsars as well as the latest developments in understanding their high-energy emission. Special and general relativistic effects play important roles in pulsar emission, from inertial frame-dragging near the stellar surface to aberration, time-of-flight and retardation of the magnetic field near the light cylinder. Understanding how these effects determine what we observe at different wavelengths is critical to unraveling the emission physics. Fortunately the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), with launch in May 2008 will detect many new gamma-ray pulsars and test the predictions of these models with unprecedented sensitivity and energy resolution for gamma-rays in the range of 30 MeV to 300 GeV.

Refinement of the timing-based estimator of pulsar magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biryukov, Anton; Astashenok, Artyom; Beskin, Gregory

2017-04-01

Numerical simulations of realistic non-vacuum magnetospheres of isolated neutron stars have shown that pulsar spin-down luminosities depend weakly on the magnetic obliquity α. In particular, L ∝ B2(1 + sin 2α), where B is the magnetic field strength at the star surface. Being the most accurate expression to date, this result provides the opportunity to estimate B for a given radiopulsar with quite a high accuracy. In the current work, we present a refinement of the classical 'magneto-dipolar' formula for pulsar magnetic fields B_md = (3.2× 10^{19} G)√{P\\dot{P}}, where P is the neutron star spin period. The new, robust timing-based estimator is introduced as log B = log Bmd + ΔB(M, α), where the correction ΔB depends on the equation of state (EOS) of dense matter, the individual pulsar obliquity α and the mass M. Adopting state-of-the-art statistics for M and α we calculate the distributions of ΔB for a representative subset of 22 EOSs that do not contradict observations. It has been found that ΔB is distributed nearly normally, with the average in the range -0.5 to -0.25 dex and standard deviation σ[ΔB] ≈ 0.06 to 0.09 dex, depending on the adopted EOS. The latter quantity represents a formal uncertainty of the corrected estimation of log B because ΔB is weakly correlated with log Bmd. At the same time, if it is assumed that every considered EOS has the same chance of occurring in nature, then another, more generalized, estimator B* ≈ 3Bmd/7 can be introduced providing an unbiased value of the pulsar surface magnetic field with ˜30 per cent uncertainty with 68 per cent confidence. Finally, we discuss the possible impact of pulsar timing irregularities on the timing-based estimation of B and review the astrophysical applications of the obtained results.

The Pulsar Search Collaboratory: A Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosen, Rachel; Heatherly, S.; McLauglin, M.; Lorimer, D.

2009-01-01

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and West Virginia University (WVU) have partnered to improve the quality of science education in West Virginia high schools through the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC). One of the primary goals of the PSC is to engage students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and related fields by using information technology to conduct current scientific research, specifically searching for new pulsars. To this end, we also are improving rural teachers' knowledge of the nature of science, the importance of information technology to scientific discovery, and methodologies for incorporating inquiry-based education into the classroom. The PSC hopes to make school science more like the practice of science and to make science fun and interesting for high school students. In 2007, an international team of astronomers received 900 hours of time on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) during the summer shutdown to search for new pulsars. In conjunction with this group, we applied for and received 300 hours of observing time on the GBT for the PSC students. Around the same time, we were awarded an NSF iTEST grant to fund the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC) project. Over the past year, we have been working with colleagues in the WVU Department of Computer Science to develop a graphical interface through which the students will analyze pulsar search plots (see psrsearch.wvu.edu). We also initiated a robust processing pipeline on a cluster in the WVU Computer Science Department. The PSC started in earnest this summer with a three week workshop in Green Bank where the teachers attended an intensive astronomy mini-course and techniques on introducing astronomy into the classroom. The students joined their teachers for the third week and participated in various activities to teach them about radio astronomy, radio frequency interference, and pulsars.

Fine Structure of Anomalously Intense Pulses of PSR J0814+7429 Radio Emission in the Decameter Range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skoryk, A. O.; Ulyanov, O. M.; Zakharenko, V. V.; Shevtsova, A. I.; Vasylieva, I. Y.; Plakhov, M. S.; Kravtsov, I. M.

2017-06-01

Purpose: The fine structure of the anomalously intense pulses of PSR J0814+7429 (B0809+74) has been studied. The pulsar radio emission fine structure is investigated to determine its parameters in the lowest part of spectrum available for groundbased observations. Design/methodology/approach: The scattering measure in the interstellar plasma have been estimated using the spectral and correlation analyses of pulsar data recorded by the UTR-2 radio telescope. Results: Two characteristic time scales of the anomalously intense pulses fine structure of the PSR J0814+7429 radio emission have been found. The strongest pulses of this pulsar in the decameter range can have a duration of about t 2÷3 ms. These pulses are emitted in short series. In some cases, they are emitted over the low-intensity plateau consisting of the “long” subpulse component. Conclusions: The narrowest correlation scale of pulsar J0814+7429 radio emission corresponds to the doubled scattering time constant of the interstellar medium impulse response. Broader scale of the fine structure of its radio emission can be explained by the radiation of a short series of narrow pulses or relatively broad pulses inside this pulsar magnetosphere.

Discovery of a Highly Relativistic Double Neutron Star Binary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Shami; Stovall, Kevin; PALFA Collaboration, Paul Demorest, Nihan Pol

2018-01-01

We report the discovery of a double neutron star (DNS) binary system, PSR J1946+2052, in Arecibo L-Band Feed Array Pulsar Survey (PALFA) observations. PSR J1946+2052 is a 17-ms pulsar in a 1.88-hour, eccentric (e = 0.06) orbit with a 1.2 solar mass companion. We have localized the pulsar to a precision of 0.09 arcseconds using a new phase binning mode at the Jansky Very Large Array. The improved position has enabled a measurement of the pulsar spin period derivative of 9E-19 s/s; the low inferred magnetic field strength at the surface of 4E+9 Gauss indicates that the pulsar has been recycled. Among all known DNS systems, PSR J1946+2052 has the shortest orbital period, and currently radiates ~13% of a solar luminosity in gravitational wave power. Its estimated time to merger is only 45.5 MYr, the shortest known, and at that time it will display the largest spin effects of any such system discovered to date. We have also measured the advance of periastron passage for this system, 25.6 +/- 0.3 degrees per year, resulting in a total system mass measurement of 2.50 +/- 0.04 solar masses.

The binary nature of PSR J2032+4127

DOE PAGES

Lyne, A. G.; Stappers, B. W.; Keith, M. J.; ...

2015-05-22

PSR J2032+4127 is a γ-ray and radio-emitting pulsar which has been regarded as a young luminous isolated neutron star. However, its recent spin-down rate has extraordinarily increased by a factor of 2. Here we present evidence that this is due to its motion as a member of a highly-eccentric binary system with an ~15–M⊙ Be star, MT91 213. Timing observations show that, not only are the positions of the two stars coincident within 0.4 arcsec, but timing models of binary motion of the pulsar fit the data much better than a model of a young isolated pulsar. MT91 213, andmore » hence the pulsar, lie in the Cyg OB2 stellar association, which is at a distance of only 1.4–1.7 kpc. The pulsar is currently on the near side of, and accelerating towards, the Be star, with an orbital period of 20–30 yr. Finally, the next periastron is well constrained to occur in early 2018, providing an opportunity to observe enhanced high-energy emission as seen in other Be-star binary systems.« less

GMRT discovery of PSR J1544+4937: An eclipsing black-widow pulsar identified with a Fermi-LAT source

DOE PAGES

Bhattacharyya, B.; Roy, J.; Ray, P. S.; ...

2013-07-29

Using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, we performed deep observations to search for radio pulsations in the directions of unidentified Fermi-Large Area Telescope γ-ray sources. We report the discovery of an eclipsing black-widow millisecond pulsar, PSR J1544+4937, identified with the uncataloged γ-ray source FERMI J1544.2+4941. This 2.16 ms pulsar is in a 2.9 hr compact circular orbit with a very low mass companion (Mc > 0.017M ⊙). At 322 MHz this pulsar is found to be eclipsing for 13% of its orbit, whereas at 607 MHz the pulsar is detected throughout the low-frequency eclipse phase. Variations in the eclipse ingressmore » phase are observed, indicating a clumpy and variable eclipsing medium. Moreover, additional short-duration absorption events are observed around the eclipse boundaries. Finally, using the radio timing ephemeris we were able to detect γ-ray pulsations from this pulsar, confirming it as the source powering the γ-ray emission.« less

ARECIBO PALFA SURVEY AND EINSTEIN-HOME: BINARY PULSAR DISCOVERY BY VOLUNTEER COMPUTING

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knispel, B.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.

2011-05-01

We report the discovery of the 20.7 ms binary pulsar J1952+2630, made using the distributed computing project Einstein-Home in Pulsar ALFA survey observations with the Arecibo telescope. Follow-up observations with the Arecibo telescope confirm the binary nature of the system. We obtain a circular orbital solution with an orbital period of 9.4 hr, a projected orbital radius of 2.8 lt-s, and a mass function of f = 0.15 M{sub sun} by analysis of spin period measurements. No evidence of orbital eccentricity is apparent; we set a 2{sigma} upper limit e {approx}< 1.7 x 10{sup -3}. The orbital parameters suggest amore » massive white dwarf companion with a minimum mass of 0.95 M{sub sun}, assuming a pulsar mass of 1.4 M{sub sun}. Most likely, this pulsar belongs to the rare class of intermediate-mass binary pulsars. Future timing observations will aim to determine the parameters of this system further, measure relativistic effects, and elucidate the nature of the companion star.« less

GMRT DISCOVERY OF PSR J1544+4937: AN ECLIPSING BLACK-WIDOW PULSAR IDENTIFIED WITH A FERMI-LAT SOURCE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhattacharyya, B.; Roy, J.; Gupta, Y.

2013-08-10

Using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, we performed deep observations to search for radio pulsations in the directions of unidentified Fermi-Large Area Telescope {gamma}-ray sources. We report the discovery of an eclipsing black-widow millisecond pulsar, PSR J1544+4937, identified with the uncataloged {gamma}-ray source FERMI J1544.2+4941. This 2.16 ms pulsar is in a 2.9 hr compact circular orbit with a very low mass companion (M{sub c} > 0.017M{sub Sun }). At 322 MHz this pulsar is found to be eclipsing for 13% of its orbit, whereas at 607 MHz the pulsar is detected throughout the low-frequency eclipse phase. Variations in themore » eclipse ingress phase are observed, indicating a clumpy and variable eclipsing medium. Moreover, additional short-duration absorption events are observed around the eclipse boundaries. Using the radio timing ephemeris we were able to detect {gamma}-ray pulsations from this pulsar, confirming it as the source powering the {gamma}-ray emission.« less

Millisecond Pulsars at Gamma-Ray Energies: Fermi Detections and Implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K.

2011-01-01

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has revolutionized the study of pulsar physics with the discovery of new populations of radio quiet and millisecond gamma-ray pulsars. The Fermi Large Area Telescope has so far discovered approx.20 new gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs) by both folding at periods of known radio MSPs or by detecting them as gamma-ray sources that are followed up by radio pulsar searches. The second method has resulted in a phenomenally successful synergy, with -30 new radio MSPs (to date) having been discovered at Fermi unidentified source locations and the gamma-ray pulsations having then been detected in a number of these using the radio timing solutions. Many of the newly discovered MSPs may be suitable for addition to the collection of very stable MSPs used for gravitational wave detection. Detection of such a large number of MSPs was surprising, given that most have relatively low spin-down luminosity and surface field strength. I will discuss their properties and the implications for pulsar particle acceleration and emission, as well as their potential contribution to gamma-ray backgrounds and Galactic cosmic rays.

X-ray pulsars in nearby irregular galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jun

2018-01-01

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Irregular Galaxy IC 10 are valuable laboratories to study the physical, temporal and statistical properties of the X-ray pulsar population with multi-satellite observations, in order to probe fundamental physics. The known distance of these galaxies can help us easily categorize the luminosity of the pulsars and their age difference can be helpful for for studying the origin and evolution of compact objects. Therefore, a complete archive of 116 XMM-Newton PN, 151 Chandra (Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer) ACIS, and 952 RXTE PCA observations for the pulsars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) were collected and analyzed, along with 42 XMM-Newton and 30 Chandra observations for the Large Magellanic Cloud, spanning 1997-2014. From a sample of 67 SMC pulsars we generate a suite of products for each pulsar detection: spin period, flux, event list, high time-resolution light-curve, pulse-profile, periodogram, and X-ray spectrum. Combining all three satellites, I generated complete histories of the spin periods, pulse amplitudes, pulsed fractions and X-ray luminosities. Many of the pulsars show variations in pulse period due to the combination of orbital motion and accretion torques. Long-term spin-up/down trends are seen in 28/25 pulsars respectively, pointing to sustained transfer of mass and angular momentum to the neutron star on decadal timescales. The distributions of pulse detection and flux as functions of spin period provide interesting findings: mapping boundaries of accretion-driven X-ray luminosity, and showing that fast pulsars (P<10 s) are rarely detected, which yet are more prone to giant outbursts. In parallel we compare the observed pulse profiles to our general relativity (GR) model of X-ray emission in order to constrain the physical parameters of the pulsars.In addition, we conduct a search for optical counterparts to X-ray sources in the local dwarf galaxy IC 10 to form a comparison sample for Magellanic Cloud X-ray pulsars.

Recent Timing Results for PSR B1259 - 63

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wex, N.; Johnston, S.

The binary pulsar PSR B1259 - 63 is in a highly eccentric 3.4 yr orbit around the Be star SS 2883. Timing observations of this pulsar, made over a 7 yr period using the Parkes 64 m radio-telescope, cover two periastron passages, in 1990 August and 1994 January. The timing observations of PSR B1259 - 63 clearly show evidence for timing noise which is domina ted by a cubic term. Unfortunately, the large amplitude timing noise and data over only two complete orbits make it difficult to produce a unique timing solution for this pulsar. However, if the long term behavior of timing noise is completely modeled by a cubic term, both dot ω and dot x terms are required in the timing model which could be a result of a precessing orbit caused by the quadrupole moment of the tilted companion star. In this paper we summarise the timing observations for the PSR B1259 - 63 system; full details are given in Wex et al. (1997).

Astronomers Discover Fastest-Spinning Pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-01-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope have discovered the fastest-spinning neutron star ever found, a 20-mile-diameter superdense pulsar whirling faster than the blades of a kitchen blender. Their work yields important new information about the nature of one of the most exotic forms of matter known in the Universe. Pulsar Graphic Pulsars Are Spinning Neutron Stars CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for larger version) "We believe that the matter in neutron stars is denser than an atomic nucleus, but it is unclear by how much. Our observations of such a rapidly rotating star set a hard upper limit on its size, and hence on how dense the star can be.," said Jason Hessels, a graduate student at McGill University in Montreal. Hessels and his colleagues presented their findings to the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Washington, DC. Pulsars are spinning neutron stars that sling "lighthouse beams" of radio waves or light around as they spin. A neutron star is what is left after a massive star explodes at the end of its "normal" life. With no nuclear fuel left to produce energy to offset the stellar remnant's weight, its material is compressed to extreme densities. The pressure squeezes together most of its protons and electrons to form neutrons; hence, the name "neutron star." "Neutron stars are incredible laboratories for learning about the physics of the fundamental particles of nature, and this pulsar has given us an important new limit," explained Scott Ransom, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and one of Hessels' collaborators on this work. The scientists discovered the pulsar, named PSR J1748-2446ad, in a globular cluster of stars called Terzan 5, located some 28,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. The newly-discovered pulsar is spinning 716 times per second, or at 716 Hertz (Hz), readily beating the previous record of 642 Hz from a pulsar discovered in 1982. For reference, the fastest speeds of common kitchen blenders are 250-500 Hz. The scientists say the object's fast rotation speed means that it cannot be any larger than about 20 miles across. According to Hessels, "If it were any larger, material from the surface would be flung into orbit around the star." The scientists' calculation assumed that the neutron star contains less than two times the mass of the Sun, an assumption that is consistent with the masses of all known neutron stars. The spinning pulsar has a companion star that orbits it once every 26 hours. The companion passes in front of the pulsar, eclipsing the pulsar about 40 percent of the time. The long eclipse period, probably due to bloating of the companion, makes it difficult for the astronomers to learn details of the orbital configuration that would allow them to precisely measure the masses of the pulsar and its companion. "If we could pin down these masses more precisely, we could then get a better limit on the size of the pulsar. That, in turn, would then give us a better figure for the true density inside the neutron star," explained Ingrid Stairs, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and another collaborator on the work. Competing theoretical models for the types and distributions of elementary particles inside neutron stars make widely different predictions about the pressure and density of such an object. "We want observational data that shows which models fit the reality of nature," Hessels said. If the scientists can't use PSR J1748-2446ad to do that, they are hopeful some of its near neighbors will yield the data they seek. Using the GBT, the astronomers so far have found 30 new fast "millisecond pulsars" in the cluster Terzan 5, making 33 pulsars known in the cluster in total. This is the largest number of such pulsars ever found in a single globular cluster. Dense globular clusters of stars are excellent places to find fast-rotating millisecond pulsars. Giant stars explode as supernovae and leave rotating pulsars which gradually slow down. However, if a pulsar has a companion star from which it can draw material, that incoming material imparts its spin, or angular momentum, to the pulsar. As a result, the pulsar spins faster. "In a dense cluster, interactions between the stars will create more binary pairs that can yield more fast-rotating pulsars," Ransom said. The great sensitivity of the giant, 100-meter diameter GBT, along with a special signal processor, called the Pulsar Spigot, made possible the discovery of so many millisecond pulsars in Terzan 5. "We think there are many more pulsars to be found in Terzan 5 and other clusters, and given that the fast ones are often hidden by eclipses, some of them may be spinning even faster than this new one," Ransom said. "We're excited about using this outstanding new telescope to answer some important questions about fundamental physics," he said. In addition to Hessels, Ransom and Stairs, the research team includes Paulo Freire of Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, Victoria Kaspi, of McGill University, and Fernando Camilo, of Columbia University. Their report is being published in Science Express, the online version of the journal Science. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The pulsar research also was supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Quebec Foundation for Research on Nature and Technology, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Canada Research Chairs Program, and the National Science Foundation..

Interstellar scattering of the Vela pulsar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Backer, D. C.

1974-01-01

The frequency dependence of the parameters of interstellar scattering between 837 and 8085 MHz for the Vela pulsar are consistent with thin-screen models of strong scattering. The magnitudes of the parameters indicate an anomalous turbulence along the path when they are compared with results for other pulsars with comparable column densities of free electrons in the line of sight. This anomaly is due presumably to the Gum Nebula. The decorrelation frequency, appropriately defined, is related to the pulse broadening time by 2 pi as predicted theoretically.

Discovery of a Young, Energetic Pulsar Near the Supernova Remnant G290.1-0.8 and the Gamma-Ray Source 2EG J1103-6106

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaspi, V. M.; Bailes, M.; Manchester, R. N.; Stappers, B. W.; Sandhu, J.; Navarro, J.; D'Amico, N.

1996-01-01

We report on the discovery and follow-up timing observations of a 63-ms radio pulsar, PSR J1105-6107. We show that the pulsar is young, having a characteristic age of only 63kyr. We consider its possible association with the nearby remnant G290.1-0.8 (MSH 11-61A) but uncertainties in the distances and ages preclude a firm conclusion.

The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey - XIII. PSR J1757-1854, the most accelerated binary pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cameron, A. D.; Champion, D. J.; Kramer, M.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Bassa, C. G.; Bhandari, S.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burgay, M.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Eatough, R. P.; Flynn, C. M. L.; Freire, P. C. C.; Jameson, A.; Johnston, S.; Karuppusamy, R.; Keith, M. J.; Levin, L.; Lorimer, D. R.; Lyne, A. G.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Ng, C.; Petroff, E.; Possenti, A.; Ridolfi, A.; Stappers, B. W.; van Straten, W.; Tauris, T. M.; Tiburzi, C.; Wex, N.

2018-03-01

We report the discovery of PSR J1757-1854, a 21.5-ms pulsar in a highly-eccentric, 4.4-h orbit with a neutron star (NS) companion. PSR J1757-1854 exhibits some of the most extreme relativistic parameters of any known pulsar, including the strongest relativistic effects due to gravitational-wave damping, with a merger time of 76 Myr. Following a 1.6-yr timing campaign, we have measured five post-Keplerian parameters, yielding the two component masses (mp = 1.3384(9) M⊙ and mc = 1.3946(9) M⊙) plus three tests of general relativity, which the theory passes. The larger mass of the NS companion provides important clues regarding the binary formation of PSR J1757-1854. With simulations suggesting 3-σ measurements of both the contribution of Lense-Thirring precession to the rate of change of the semimajor axis and the relativistic deformation of the orbit within ˜7-9 yr, PSR J1757-1854 stands out as a unique laboratory for new tests of gravitational theories.

SWIFT OBSERVATIONS OF TWO OUTBURSTS FROM THE MAGNETAR 4U 0142+61

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Archibald, R. F.; Kaspi, V. M.; Scholz, P.

2017-01-10

4U 0142+61 is one of a small class of persistently bright magnetars. Here, we report on a monitoring campaign of 4U 0142+61 from 2011 July 26 to 2016 June 12 using the Swift X-ray Telescope, continuing a 16-year timing campaign with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer . We show that 4U 0142+61 had two radiatively loud timing events, on 2011 July 29 and 2015 February 28, both with short soft γ -ray bursts, and a long-lived flux decay associated with each case. We show that the 2015 timing event resulted in a net spin-down of the pulsar that is duemore » to overrecovery of a glitch. We compare this timing event to previous such events in other pulsars with high magnetic fields and discuss net spin-down glitches now seen in several young, high-B pulsars.« less

The gamma-ray millisecond pulsar deathline, revisited: New velocity and distance measurements

DOE PAGES

Guillemot, L.; Smith, D. A.; Laffon, H.; ...

2016-02-26

Context. Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) represent nearly half of the more than 160 currently known γ-ray pulsars detected by the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi satellite, and a third of all known MSPs are seen in rays. The least energetic γ-ray MSPs enable us to probe the so-called deathline for high-energy emission, i.e., the spin-down luminosity limit under which pulsars (PSRs) cease to produce detectable high-energy radiation. Characterizing the MSP luminosity distribution helps to determine their contribution to the Galactic diffuse γ-ray emission. Aims. Because of the Shklovskii effect, precise proper motion and distance measurements are key ingredients for determiningmore » the spindown luminosities of MSPs accurately. Our aim is to obtain new measurements of these parameters for γ-ray MSPs when possible, and clarify the relationship between the γ-ray luminosity of pulsars and their spin-down luminosity. Detecting low spin-down luminosity pulsars in rays and characterizing their spin properties is also particularly interesting for constraining the deathline for high-energy emission. Methods. We made use of the high-quality pulsar timing data recorded at the Nançay Radio Telescope over several years to characterize the properties of a selection of MSPs. For one of the pulsars, the dataset was complemented with Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope observations. The rotation ephemerides derived from this analysis were also used to search the LAT data for new γ-ray MSPs. Results. For the MSPs considered in this study, we obtained new transverse proper motion measurements or updated the existing ones, and placed new distance constraints for some of them, with four new timing parallax measurements. We discovered significant GeV γ-ray signals from four MSPs, i.e., PSRs J0740+6620, J0931-1902, J1455-3330, and J1730-2304. The latter is now the least energetic γ-ray pulsar found to date. Despite the improved ˙E and L estimates, the relationship between these two quantities remains unclear, especially at low ˙E values.« less

Pulsar Timing Array Based Search for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in the Square Kilometer Array Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yan; Mohanty, Soumya D.

2017-04-01

The advent of next generation radio telescope facilities, such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), will usher in an era where a pulsar timing array (PTA) based search for gravitational waves (GWs) will be able to use hundreds of well timed millisecond pulsars rather than the few dozens in existing PTAs. A realistic assessment of the performance of such an extremely large PTA must take into account the data analysis challenge posed by an exponential increase in the parameter space volume due to the large number of so-called pulsar phase parameters. We address this problem and present such an assessment for isolated supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) searches using a SKA era PTA containing 1 03 pulsars. We find that an all-sky search will be able to confidently detect nonevolving sources with a redshifted chirp mass of 1 010 M⊙ out to a redshift of about 28 (corresponding to a rest-frame chirp mass of 3.4 ×1 08 M⊙). We discuss the important implications that the large distance reach of a SKA era PTA has on GW observations from optically identified SMBHB candidates. If no SMBHB detections occur, a highly unlikely scenario in the light of our results, the sky-averaged upper limit on strain amplitude will be improved by about 3 orders of magnitude over existing limits.

Fast radio bursts as giant pulses from young rapidly rotating pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyutikov, Maxim; Burzawa, Lukasz; Popov, Sergei B.

2016-10-01

We discuss possible association of fast radio bursts (FRBs) with supergiant pulses emitted by young pulsars (ages ˜ tens to hundreds of years) born with regular magnetic field but very short - few milliseconds - spin periods. We assume that FRBs are extra-Galactic events coming from distances d ≲ 100 Mpc and that most of the dispersion measure (DM) comes from the material in the freshly ejected SNR shell. We then predict that for a given burst the DM should decrease with time and that FRBs are not expected to be seen below ˜300 MHz due to free-free absorption in the expanding ejecta. A supernova might have been detected years before the burst; FRBs are mostly associated with star-forming galaxies. The model requires that some pulsars are born with very fast spins, of the order of few milliseconds. The observed distribution of spin-down powers dot{E} in young energetic pulsars is consistent with equal birth rate per decade of dot{E}. Accepting this injection distribution and scaling the intrinsic brightness of FRBs with dot{E}, we predict the following properties of a large sample of FRBs: (I) the brightest observed events come from a broad distribution in distances; (II) for repeating bursts brightness either remains nearly constant (if the spin-down time is longer than the age of the pulsar) or decreases with time otherwise; in the latter case DM ∝ dot{E}.

Pulsar Timing Array Based Search for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in the Square Kilometer Array Era.

PubMed

Wang, Yan; Mohanty, Soumya D

2017-04-14

The advent of next generation radio telescope facilities, such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), will usher in an era where a pulsar timing array (PTA) based search for gravitational waves (GWs) will be able to use hundreds of well timed millisecond pulsars rather than the few dozens in existing PTAs. A realistic assessment of the performance of such an extremely large PTA must take into account the data analysis challenge posed by an exponential increase in the parameter space volume due to the large number of so-called pulsar phase parameters. We address this problem and present such an assessment for isolated supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) searches using a SKA era PTA containing 10^{3} pulsars. We find that an all-sky search will be able to confidently detect nonevolving sources with a redshifted chirp mass of 10^{10}  M_{⊙} out to a redshift of about 28 (corresponding to a rest-frame chirp mass of 3.4×10^{8}  M_{⊙}). We discuss the important implications that the large distance reach of a SKA era PTA has on GW observations from optically identified SMBHB candidates. If no SMBHB detections occur, a highly unlikely scenario in the light of our results, the sky-averaged upper limit on strain amplitude will be improved by about 3 orders of magnitude over existing limits.

Contrasting Behaviour from Two Be/X-ray Binary Pulsars: Insights into Differing Neutron Star Accretion Modes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, L. J.; Drave, S. P.; Hill, A. B.; Coe, M. J.; Corbet, R. H. D.; Bird, A. J.

2013-01-01

In this paper we present the identification of two periodic X-ray signals coming from the direction of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). On detection with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), the 175.4 s and 85.4 s pulsations were considered to originate from new Be/X-ray binary (BeXRB) pulsars with unknown locations. Using rapid follow-up INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations, we show the first pulsar (designated SXP175) to be coincident with a candidate high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) in the northern bar region of the SMC undergoing a small Type II outburst. The orbital period (87d) and spectral class (B0-B0.5IIIe) of this system are determined and presented here for the first time. The second pulsar is shown not to be new at all, but is consistent with being SXP91.1 - a pulsar discovered at the very beginning of the 13 year long RXTE key monitoring programme of the SMC. Whilst it is theoretically possible for accreting neutron stars to change spin period so dramatically over such a short time, the X-ray and optical data available for this source suggest this spin-up is continuous during long phases of X-ray quiescence, where accretion driven spin-up of the neutron star should be minimal.

Deep Chandra Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud. II. Timing Analysis of X-Ray Pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hong, JaeSub; Antoniou, Vallia; Zezas, Andreas

We report the timing analysis results of X-ray pulsars from a recent deep Chandra survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We analyzed a total exposure of 1.4 Ms from 31 observations over a 1.2 deg{sup 2} region in the SMC under a Chandra X-ray Visionary Program. Using the Lomb–Scargle and epoch-folding techniques, we detected periodic modulations from 20 pulsars and a new candidate pulsar. The survey also covered 11 other pulsars with no clear sign of periodic modulation. The 0.5–8 keV X-ray luminosity ( L {sub X} ) of the pulsars ranges from 10{sup 34} to 10{sup 37} ergmore » s{sup −1} at 60 kpc. All of the Chandra sources with L {sub X} ≳ 4 × 10{sup 35} erg s{sup −1} exhibit X-ray pulsations. The X-ray spectra of the SMC pulsars (and high-mass X-ray binaries) are in general harder than those of the SMC field population. All but SXP 8.02 can be fitted by an absorbed power-law model with a photon index of Γ ≲ 1.5. The X-ray spectrum of the known magnetar SXP 8.02 is better fitted with a two-temperature blackbody model. Newly measured pulsation periods of SXP 51.0, SXP 214, and SXP 701, are significantly different from the previous XMM-Newton and RXTE measurements. This survey provides a rich data set for energy-dependent pulse profile modeling. Six pulsars show an almost eclipse-like dip in the pulse profile. Phase-resolved spectral analysis reveals diverse spectral variations during pulsation cycles: e.g., for an absorbed power-law model, some exhibit an (anti)-correlation between absorption and X-ray flux, while others show more intrinsic spectral variation (i.e., changes in photon indices).« less

The First Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; ...

2010-03-25

The dramatic increase in the number of known gamma-ray pulsars since the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST) offers the first opportunity to study a sizable population of these high-energy objects. This catalog summarizes 46 high-confidence pulsed detections using the first six months of data taken by the Large Area Telescope (LAT), Fermi's main instrument. Sixteen previously unknown pulsars were discovered by searching for pulsed signals at the positions of bright gamma-ray sources seen with the LAT, or at the positions of objects suspected to be neutron stars based on observations at other wavelengths. The dimmest observed flux among these gamma-ray-selected pulsars is 6.0 × 10 –8 ph cm –2 s –1 (for E>100 MeV). Pulsed gamma-ray emission was discovered from 24 known pulsars by using ephemerides (timing solutions) derived from monitoring radio pulsars. Eight of these new gamma-ray pulsars are millisecond pulsars. The dimmest observed flux among the radio-selected pulsars is 1.4 × 10 –8 ph cm –2 s –1 (for E>100 MeV). The remaining six gamma-ray pulsars were known since the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission, or before. The limiting flux for pulse detection is non-uniform over the sky owing to different background levels, especially near the Galactic plane. The pulsed energy spectra can be described by a power law with an exponential cutoff, with cutoff energies in the range ~1-5 GeV. The rotational energy-loss rate (more » $$\\dot{E}$$) of these neutron stars spans five decades, from ~3 × 10 33 erg s –1 to 5 × 10 38 erg s –1, and the apparent efficiencies for conversion to gamma-ray emission range from ~0.1% to ~ unity, although distance uncertainties complicate efficiency estimates. The pulse shapes show substantial diversity, but roughly 75% of the gamma-ray pulse profiles have two peaks, separated by ≳0.2 of rotational phase. For most of the pulsars, gamma-ray emission appears to come mainly from the outer magnetosphere, while polar-cap emission remains plausible for a remaining few. Spatial associations imply that many of these pulsars power pulsar wind nebulae. In conclusion, these discoveries suggest that gamma-ray-selected young pulsars are born at a rate comparable to that of their radio-selected cousins and that the birthrate of all young gamma-ray-detected pulsars is a substantial fraction of the expected Galactic supernova rate.« less

A Cocoon Found Inside the Black Widow's Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2003-02-01

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the mysterious "Black Widow" pulsar reveals the first direct evidence of an elongated cocoon of high-energy particles. This discovery shows that this billion-year-old rejuvenated pulsar is an extremely efficient generator of a high-speed flow of matter and antimatter particles. Known officially as pulsar B1957+20, the Black Widow received its nickname because it is emitting intense high-energy radiation that is destroying its companion through evaporation. B1957+20, which completes one rotation every 1.6-thousandths of a second, belongs to a class of extremely rapidly rotating neutron stars called millisecond pulsars. The motion of B1957+20 through the galaxy -- at a high speed of almost a million kilometers per hour -- creates a bow shock wave visible to optical telescopes. The Chandra observation shows what cannot be seen in visible light: a second shock wave. This secondary shock wave is created from pressure that sweeps the wind back from the pulsar to form the cocoon of high-energy particles, visible for the first time in the Chandra data. "This is the first detection of a double-shock structure around a pulsar," said Benjamin Stappers, of the Dutch Organization for Research in Astronomy (ASTRON), lead author on a paper describing the research that will appear in the Feb. 28, 2003, issue of Science magazine. "It should enable astronomers to test theories of the dynamics of pulsar winds and their interaction with their environment." B1957+20 X-ray-only image of B1957+20 Scientists believe millisecond pulsars are very old neutron stars that have been spun up by accreting material from their companions. The steady push of the infalling matter on the neutron star spins it up in much the same way as pushing on a merry-go-round makes it rotate faster. The result is an object about 1.5 times as massive as the Sun and ten miles in diameter that rotates hundreds of times per second. The advanced age, very rapid rotation rate and relatively low magnetic field of millisecond pulsars put them in a totally separate class from young pulsars observed in the remnants of supernova explosions. "This star has had an incredible journey. It was born in a supernova explosion as a young and energetic pulsar, but after a few million years grew old and slow and faded from view," said Bryan Gaensler of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., a coauthor of the paper. "Over the next few hundred million years, this dead pulsar had material dumped on it by its companion, and the pulsar's magnetic field has been dramatically reduced. B1957+20 B1957+20 Artist's illustrations of B1957+20 "This pulsar has been through hell, yet somehow it's still able to generate high-energy particles just like its younger brethren," continued Gaensler. The key is the rapid rotation of B1957+20. The Chandra result confirms the theory that even a relatively weakly magnetized neutron star can generate intense electromagnetic forces and accelerate particles to high energies to create a pulsar wind, if it is rotating rapidly enough. Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer observed B1957+20 for over 40,000 seconds on June 21, 2001. Other members of the research team include Victoria Kaspi (McGill University, Montreal), Michiel van der Klis (University of Amsterdam) and Walter Lewin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass., for the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey. III. The Phenomenon of Nulling in Pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Basu, Rahul; Mitra, Dipanjan; Melikidze, George I., E-mail: rahulbasu.astro@gmail.com

A detailed analysis of nulling was conducted for the pulsars studied in the Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey. We characterized nulling in 36 pulsars including 17 pulsars where the phenomenon was reported for the first time. The most dominant nulls lasted for a short duration, less than five periods. Longer duration nulls extending to hundreds of periods were also seen in some cases. A careful analysis showed the presence of periodicities in the transition from the null to the burst states in 11 pulsars. In our earlier work, fluctuation spectrum analysis showed multiple periodicities in 6 of these 11 pulsars.more » We demonstrate that the longer periodicity in each case was associated with nulling. The shorter periodicities usually originate from subpulse drifting. The nulling periodicities were more aligned with the periodic amplitude modulation, indicating a possible common origin for both. The most prevalent nulls last for a single period and can be potentially explained using random variations affecting the plasma processes in the pulsar magnetosphere. On the other hand, longer-duration nulls require changes in the pair-production processes, which need an external triggering mechanism for the changes. The presence of periodic nulling puts an added constraint on the triggering mechanism, which also needs to be periodic.« less

How young the accretion-powered pulsars could be?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostina, M. V.; Ikhsanov, N. R.

2017-12-01

A question about the age of accretion-powered X-ray pulsars has recently been reopened by a discovery of the X-ray pulsar SXP 1062 in the SMC. This High Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB) contains a neutron star rotating with the period of 1062 s and is associated with a supernova remnant of the age ∼ 104 yr. An attempt to explain the origin of this young long-period X-ray pulsar within the traditional scenario of three basic states (ejector, propeller and accretor) encounters difficulties. Even if this pulsar were born as a magnetar the spin-down time during the propeller stage would exceed 104 yr. Here we explore a more circuitous way of the pulsar spin evolution in HMXBs, in which the propeller stage in the evolutionary track is avoided. We find this way to be possible if the stellar wind of the massive companion to the neutron star is magnetized. The geometry of plasma flow captured by the neutron star in this case differs from spherically symmetrical and the magnetospheric radius of the neutron star is smaller than that evaluated in the convention accretion scenarios. We show that the age of an accretion-powered pulsar in this case can be as small as ∼ 104 years without the need of invoking initial magnetic field in excess of 1013 G.

THE EINSTEIN-HOME SEARCH FOR RADIO PULSARS AND PSR J2007+2722 DISCOVERY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Allen, B.; Knispel, B.; Aulbert, C.

Einstein-Home aggregates the computer power of hundreds of thousands of volunteers from 193 countries, to search for new neutron stars using data from electromagnetic and gravitational-wave detectors. This paper presents a detailed description of the search for new radio pulsars using Pulsar ALFA survey data from the Arecibo Observatory. The enormous computing power allows this search to cover a new region of parameter space; it can detect pulsars in binary systems with orbital periods as short as 11 minutes. We also describe the first Einstein-Home discovery, the 40.8 Hz isolated pulsar PSR J2007+2722, and provide a full timing model. PSRmore » J2007+2722's pulse profile is remarkably wide with emission over almost the entire spin period. This neutron star is most likely a disrupted recycled pulsar, about as old as its characteristic spin-down age of 404 Myr. However, there is a small chance that it was born recently, with a low magnetic field. If so, upper limits on the X-ray flux suggest but cannot prove that PSR J2007+2722 is at least {approx}100 kyr old. In the future, we expect that the massive computing power provided by volunteers should enable many additional radio pulsar discoveries.« less

ARE WE THERE YET? TIME TO DETECTION OF NANOHERTZ GRAVITATIONAL WAVES BASED ON PULSAR-TIMING ARRAY LIMITS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor, S. R.; Vallisneri, M.; Ellis, J. A.

2016-03-01

Decade-long timing observations of arrays of millisecond pulsars have placed highly constraining upper limits on the amplitude of the nanohertz gravitational-wave stochastic signal from the mergers of supermassive black hole binaries (∼10{sup −15} strain at f = 1 yr{sup −1}). These limits suggest that binary merger rates have been overestimated, or that environmental influences from nuclear gas or stars accelerate orbital decay, reducing the gravitational-wave signal at the lowest, most sensitive frequencies. This prompts the question whether nanohertz gravitational waves (GWs) are likely to be detected in the near future. In this Letter, we answer this question quantitatively using simple statistical estimates,more » deriving the range of true signal amplitudes that are compatible with current upper limits, and computing expected detection probabilities as a function of observation time. We conclude that small arrays consisting of the pulsars with the least timing noise, which yield the tightest upper limits, have discouraging prospects of making a detection in the next two decades. By contrast, we find large arrays are crucial to detection because the quadrupolar spatial correlations induced by GWs can be well sampled by many pulsar pairs. Indeed, timing programs that monitor a large and expanding set of pulsars have an ∼80% probability of detecting GWs within the next 10 years, under assumptions on merger rates and environmental influences ranging from optimistic to conservative. Even in the extreme case where 90% of binaries stall before merger and environmental coupling effects diminish low-frequency gravitational-wave power, detection is delayed by at most a few years.« less

Mildly Recycled Pulsars at High-Energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pellizzoni, A.

2011-08-01

Mildly recyled pulsars (MRP), conventionally defined as neutron star having spin period in the 20-100 ms range and surface magnetic field <1011 Gauss, probably rise from binary systems (disrupted or not) with an intermediate or an high mass companion. Despite their relatively low spin-down energies compared to the ``fully'' recycled millisecond pulsars (arising from common low mass X-ray binaries), nearby MRPs can be detected by deep X-ray observations and by timing analysis of the very long data span provided by gamma-ray space detectors. The discovery of peculiar timing and spectral properties, possibly transitional, of the MRPs can be of the utmost importance to link different classes of neutron stars and study their evolution.

Tracking interstellar space weather toward timing-array millisecond pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhat, N. D. R.; Ord, S. M.; Tremblay, S. E.; Shannon, R. M.; van Straten, W.; Kaplan, D. L.; Macquart, J.-P.; Kirsten, F.

2016-07-01

Recent LIGO detection of milli-Hertz gravitational wave (GW) signals from a black-hole merger event has further reinforced the important role of Pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments in the GW astronomy. PTAs exploit the clock-like stability of fast-spinning millisecond pulsars (MSPs) to make a direct detection of ultra-low frequency (nano-Hertz) gravitational waves. The science enabled by PTAs is thus highly complementary to that possible by LIGO-like detectors. PTAs are also a key science objective for the SKA. PTA efforts over the past few years suggest that interstellar propagation effects on pulsar signals may ultimately limit the detection sensitivity of PTAs unless they are accurately measured and corrected for in timing measurements. Interstellar medium (ISM) effects are much stronger at lower radio frequencies and therefore the MWA presents an exciting and unique opportunity to calibrate interstellar propagation delays. This will potentially lead to enhanced sensitivity and scientific impact of PTA projects. Since our first demonstration of ability to form a coherent (tied-array) beam by reprocessing the recorded VCS data (Bhat et al. 2016), we have successfully ported the full processing chain to the Galaxy cluster of Pawsey and demonstrated the value of high-sensitivity multi-band pulsar observations that are now possible with the MWA. Here we propose further observations of two most promising PTA pulsars that will be nightly objects in the 2016B period. Our main science driver is to characterise the nature of the turbulent ISM through high-quality scintillation and dispersion studies including the investigation of chromatic (frequency-dependent) DMs. Success of these efforts will define the breadth and scope of a more ambitious program in the future, bringing in a new science niche for the MWA and SKA-low.

A Pulsar and a Disk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-07-01

Recent, unusual X-ray observations from our galactic neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud, have led to an interesting model for SXP 214, a pulsar in a binary star system.Artists illustration of the magnetic field lines of a pulsar, a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star. [NASA]An Intriguing BinaryAn X-ray pulsar is a magnetized, rotating neutron star in a binary system with a stellar companion. Material is fed from the companion onto the neutron star, channeled by the objects magnetic fields onto a hotspot thats millions of degrees. This hotspot rotating past our line of sight is what produces the pulsations that we observe from X-ray pulsars.Located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, SXP 214 is a transient X-ray pulsar in a binary with a Be-type star. This star is spinning so quickly that material is thrown off of it to form a circumstellar disk.Recently, a team of authors led by JaeSub Hong (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) have presented new Chandra X-ray observations of SXP 214, tracking it for 50 ks (~14 hours) in January 2013. These observations reveal some very unexpected behavior for this pulsar.X-ray PuzzleThe energy distribution of the X-ray emission from SXP 214 over time. Dark shades or blue colors indicate high counts, and light shades or yellow colors indicate low counts. Lower-energy X-ray emission appeared only later, after about 20 ks. [Hong et al. 2016]Three interesting pieces of information came from the Chandra observations:SXP 214s rotation period was measured to be 211.5 s an increase in the spin rate since the discovery measurement of a 214-second period. Pulsars usually spin down as they lose angular momentum over time so what caused this one to spin up?Its overall X-ray luminosity steadily increased over the 50 ks of observations.Its spectrum became gradually softer (lower energy) over time; in the first 20 ks, the spectrum only consisted of hard X-ray photons above 3 keV, but after 20 ks, softer X-ray photons below 2 keV appeared.Hong and collaborators were then left with the task of piecing together this strange behavior into a picture of what was happening with this binary system.The authors proposed model for SXP 214. Here the binary has a ~30-day orbit tilted at 15 to the circumstellar disk. The pulsar passes through the circumstellar disk of its companion once per orbit. The interval marked A (orange line) is suggested as the period of time corresponding to the Chandra observations in this study: just as the neutron star is emerging from the disk after passing through it. [Hong et al. 2016]Passing Through a DiskIn the model the authors propose, the pulsar is on a ~30-day eccentric orbit that takes it through the circumstellar disk of its companion once per orbit.In this picture, the authors Chandra detections must have been made just as the pulsar was emerging from the circumstellar disk. The disk had initially hidden the soft X-ray emission from the pulsar, but as the pulsar emerged, that component became brighter, causing both the overall rise in X-ray counts and the shift in the spectrum to lower energies.Since the pulsars accretion is fueled by material picked up as it passes through the circumstellar disk, the accretion from a recent passage through the disk likely also caused the observed spin-up to the shorter period.If the authors model is correct, this series of observations of the pulsar as it emerges from the disk provides a rare opportunity to examine what happens to X-ray emission during this passage. More observations of this intriguing system can help us learn about the properties of the disk and the emission geometry of the neutron star surface.CitationJaeSub Hong et al 2016 ApJ 826 4. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/826/1/4

Improving timing sensitivity in the microhertz frequency regime: limits from PSR J1713+0747 on gravitational waves produced by supermassive black hole binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perera, B. B. P.; Stappers, B. W.; Babak, S.; Keith, M. J.; Antoniadis, J.; Bassa, C. G.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Desvignes, G.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Janssen, G. H.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Lentati, L.; Liu, K.; Lyne, A. G.; McKee, J. W.; Osłowski, S.; Perrodin, D.; Sanidas, S. A.; Sesana, A.; Shaifullah, G.; Theureau, G.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Taylor, S. R.

2018-07-01

We search for continuous gravitational waves (CGWs) produced by individual supermassive black hole binaries in circular orbits using high-cadence timing observations of PSR J1713+0747. We observe this millisecond pulsar using the telescopes in the European Pulsar Timing Array with an average cadence of approximately 1.6 d over the period between 2011 April and 2015 July, including an approximately daily average between 2013 February and 2014 April. The high-cadence observations are used to improve the pulsar timing sensitivity across the gravitational wave frequency range of 0.008-5μHz. We use two algorithms in the analysis, including a spectral fitting method and a Bayesian approach. For an independent comparison, we also use a previously published Bayesian algorithm. We find that the Bayesian approaches provide optimal results and the timing observations of the pulsar place a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of CGWs to be ≲3.5 × 10-13 at a reference frequency of 1 μHz. We also find a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of low-frequency CGWs to be ≲1.4 × 10-14 at a reference frequency of 20 nHz.

Improving timing sensitivity in the microhertz frequency regime: limits from PSR J1713+0747 on gravitational waves produced by super-massive black-hole binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perera, B. B. P.; Stappers, B. W.; Babak, S.; Keith, M. J.; Antoniadis, J.; Bassa, C. G.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Desvignes, G.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Janssen, G. H.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Lentati, L.; Liu, K.; Lyne, A. G.; McKee, J. W.; Osłowski, S.; Perrodin, D.; Sanidas, S. A.; Sesana, A.; Shaifullah, G.; Theureau, G.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Taylor, S. R.

2018-05-01

We search for continuous gravitational waves (CGWs) produced by individual super-massive black-hole binaries (SMBHBs) in circular orbits using high-cadence timing observations of PSR J1713+0747. We observe this millisecond pulsar using the telescopes in the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) with an average cadence of approximately 1.6 days over the period between April 2011 and July 2015, including an approximately daily average between February 2013 and April 2014. The high-cadence observations are used to improve the pulsar timing sensitivity across the GW frequency range of 0.008 - 5 μHz. We use two algorithms in the analysis, including a spectral fitting method and a Bayesian approach. For an independent comparison, we also use a previously published Bayesian algorithm. We find that the Bayesian approaches provide optimal results and the timing observations of the pulsar place a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of CGWs to be ≲ 3.5 × 10-13 at a reference frequency of 1 μHz. We also find a 95 per cent upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of low-frequency CGWs to be ≲ 1.4 × 10-14 at a reference frequency of 20 nHz.

Two Long-Term Intermittent Pulsars Discovered in the PALFA Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyne, A. G.; Stappers, B. W.; Freire, P. C. C.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Kaspi, V. M.; Allen, B.; Bogdanov, S.; Brazier, A.; Camilo, F.; Cardoso, F.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J. S.; Ferdman, R. D.; Jenet, F. A.; Knispel, B.; Lazarus, P.; van Leeuwen, J.; Lynch, R.; Madsen, E.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Parent, E.; Patel, C.; Ransom, S. M.; Scholz, P.; Seymour, A.; Siemens, X.; Spitler, L. G.; Stairs, I. H.; Stovall, K.; Swiggum, J.; Wharton, R. S.; Zhu, W. W.

2017-01-01

We report the discovery of two long-term intermittent radio pulsars in the ongoing Pulsar Arecibo L-Band Feed Array survey. Following discovery with the Arecibo Telescope, extended observations of these pulsars over several years at Jodrell Bank Observatory have revealed the details of their rotation and radiation properties. PSRs J1910+0517 and J1929+1357 show long-term extreme bimodal intermittency, switching between active (ON) and inactive (OFF) emission states and indicating the presence of a large, hitherto unrecognized underlying population of such objects. For PSR J1929+1357, the initial duty cycle was fON = 0.008, but two years later, this changed quite abruptly to fON = 0.16. This is the first time that a significant evolution in the activity of an intermittent pulsar has been seen, and we show that the spin-down rate of the pulsar is proportional to the activity. The spin-down rate of PSR J1929+1357 is increased by a factor of 1.8 when it is in active mode, similar to the increase seen in the other three known long-term intermittent pulsars. These discoveries increase the number of known pulsars displaying long-term intermittency to five. These five objects display a remarkably narrow range of spin-down power (\\dot{E} ˜ {10}32 {erg} {{{s}}}-1) and accelerating potential above their polar caps. If confirmed by further discoveries, this trend might be important for understanding the physical mechanisms that cause intermittency.

The Frequency Evolution of Interstellar Pulse Broadening from Radio Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löhmer, O.; Mitra, D.; Gupta, Y.; Kramer, M.; Ahuja, A.

2004-10-01

Using radio pulsars as probes of the interstellar medium (ISM) we study the frequency evolution of interstellar scattering. The frequency dependence of scatter broadening times, τsc, for most of the pulsars with low and intermediate dispersion measures (DM ≲ 400 pc cm-3) is consistent with the Kolmogorov spectrum of electron density fluctuations in a turbulent medium. In contrast, the measured τsc's for highly dispersed pulsars in the central region of the Galaxy are larger than expected and show a spectrum which is flatter than the Kolmogorov law. We analyse the first measurements of spectral indices of scatter broadening over the full known DM range and discuss possible explanations for the anomalous scattering behaviour along peculiar lines of sight (LOS).

Fundamental Astronomy (Astronomie Fondamentale)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

defined by Earth rotation, then by the motion of the Earth around the Sun, now by atomic clocks, and maybe by pulsars in future, the time and its...intensively in cooperation with other unions, mainly the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Pulsars with very stable millisecond periods seem to

An Accretion Model for Anomalous X-Ray Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Pinaki; Hernquist, Lars; Narayan, Ramesh

2000-05-01

We present a model for the anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) in which the emission is powered by accretion from a fossil disk, established from matter falling back onto the neutron star following its birth. The time-dependent accretion drives the neutron star toward a ``tracking'' solution in which the rotation period of the star increases slowly, in tandem with the declining accretion rate. For appropriate choices of disk mass, neutron star magnetic field strength, and initial spin period, we demonstrate that a rapidly rotating neutron star can be spun down to periods characteristic of AXPs on timescales comparable to the estimated ages of these sources. In other cases, accretion onto the neutron star switches off after a short time and the star becomes an ordinary radio pulsar. Thus, in our picture, radio pulsars and AXPs are drawn from the same underlying population, in contrast to the situation in models involving neutron stars with ultrastrong magnetic fields, which require a new population of stars with very different properties.

Spatially-Dependent Modelling of Pulsar Wind Nebula G0.9+0.1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Rensburg, C.; Krüger, P. P.; Venter, C.

2018-03-01

We present results from a leptonic emission code that models the spectral energy distribution of a pulsar wind nebula by solving a Fokker-Planck-type transport equation and calculating inverse Compton and synchrotron emissivities. We have created this time-dependent, multi-zone model to investigate changes in the particle spectrum as they traverse the pulsar wind nebula, by considering a time and spatially-dependent B-field, spatially-dependent bulk particle speed implying convection and adiabatic losses, diffusion, as well as radiative losses. Our code predicts the radiation spectrum at different positions in the nebula, yielding the surface brightness versus radius and the nebular size as function of energy. We compare our new model against more basic models using the observed spectrum of pulsar wind nebula G0.9+0.1, incorporating data from H.E.S.S. as well as radio and X-ray experiments. We show that simultaneously fitting the spectral energy distribution and the energy-dependent source size leads to more stringent constraints on several model parameters.

Spatially dependent modelling of pulsar wind nebula G0.9+0.1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Rensburg, C.; Krüger, P. P.; Venter, C.

2018-07-01

We present results from a leptonic emission code that models the spectral energy distribution of a pulsar wind nebula by solving a Fokker-Planck-type transport equation and calculating inverse Compton and synchrotron emissivities. We have created this time-dependent, multizone model to investigate changes in the particle spectrum as they traverse the pulsar wind nebula, by considering a time and spatially dependent B-field, spatially dependent bulk particle speed implying convection and adiabatic losses, diffusion, as well as radiative losses. Our code predicts the radiation spectrum at different positions in the nebula, yielding the surface brightness versus radius and the nebular size as function of energy. We compare our new model against more basic models using the observed spectrum of pulsar wind nebula G0.9+0.1, incorporating data from H.E.S.S. as well as radio and X-ray experiments. We show that simultaneously fitting the spectral energy distribution and the energy-dependent source size leads to more stringent constraints on several model parameters.

Techniques for measuring arrival times of pulsar signals 1: DSN observations from 1968 to 1980

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Downs, G. S.; Reichley, P. E.

1980-01-01

Techniques used in the ground based observations of pulsars are described, many of them applicable in a navigation scheme. The arrival times of the pulses intercepting Earth are measured at time intervals from a few days to a few months. Low noise, wide band receivers, amplify signals intercepted by 26 m, 34, and 64 m antennas. Digital recordings of total received signal power versus time are cross correlated with the appropriate pulse template.

ngVLA Key Science Goal 4: Using Pulsars in the Galactic Center as Fundamental Tests of Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bower, Geoffrey C.; Chatterjee, Shami; Cordes, James; Demorest, Paul; Dexter, Jason; Kramer, Michael; Lazio, Joseph; Ransom, Scott; Wharton, Robert; ngVLA Science Working Group 4

2018-01-01

Pulsars in the Galactic Center (GC) are important probes of general relativity (GR), star formation, stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, and the interstellar medium. A pulsar in orbit around the massive black hole in the GC, Sgr A*, has the power to provide a high-precision measurement of the black hole mass and spin in a unique regime of GR. It is sufficient to find and time a normal, slowly rotating pulsar in a reasonable orbit, in order to measure the mass of Sgr A* with a precision of 1 solar mass, to test the cosmic censorship conjecture to a precision of 0.1%, and to test the no-hair theorem to a precision of 1%. The pulsar population in the GC on scales from the inner parsec to the edge of the Central Molecular Zone (250 parsecs in diameter) can provide fresh insight into the complex processes at work in this region: the characteristic age distribution of the discovered pulsars will give insight into the star formation history; millisecond pulsars can be used as acceleratormeters to probe the local gravitational potential; the observed dispersion and scattering measures (and their variability) will allow us to probe the distribution, clumpiness and other properties of the central interstellar medium, including characterization of the central magnetic field using Faraday rotation. Proper motions of young pulsars can be used to point back to regions of recent star formation and/or supernova remnants.Despite years of searching, only a handful of pulsars in the central 0.5 degrees are known. This is likely the result of strong interstellar scattering along the line of sight, which broadens individual pulses to greater width than the pulse period. Scattering effects decline as wavelength to the fourth power, implying that we require observation at higher frequencies than are typical for typical pulsar searches. The characteristic steep spectrum of pulsars, however, implies the need for greater instrumental sensitivity at higher frequencies in order to detect and monitor pulsars. The ngVLA with its enhanced sensitivity at radio frequencies between 10 and 30 GHz will be unique in its capability to open a new door for the study of pulsars in the GC.

Prospects for gravitational wave astronomy with next generation large-scale pulsar timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yan; Mohanty, Soumya D.

2018-02-01

Next generation radio telescopes, namely the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), will revolutionize the pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) based gravitational wave (GW) searches. We review some of the characteristics of FAST and SKA, and the resulting PTAs, that are pertinent to the detection of gravitational wave signals from individual supermassive black hole binaries.

Population Studies of Radio and Gamma-Ray Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K; Gonthier, Peter; Coltisor, Stefan

2004-01-01

Rotation-powered pulsars are one of the most promising candidates for at least some of the 40-50 EGRET unidentified gamma-ray sources that lie near the Galactic plane. Since the end of the EGRO mission, the more sensitive Parkes Multibeam radio survey has detected mere than two dozen new radio pulsars in or near unidentified EGRET sources, many of which are young and energetic. These results raise an important question about the nature of radio quiescence in gamma-ray pulsars: is the non-detection of radio emission a matter of beaming or of sensitivity? The answer is very dependent on the geometry of the radio and gamma-ray beams. We present results of a population synthesis of pulsars in the Galaxy, including for the first time the full geometry of the radio and gamma-ray beams. We use a recent empirically derived model of the radio emission and luminosity, and a gamma-ray emission geometry and luminosity derived theoretically from pair cascades in the polar slot gap. The simulation includes characteristics of eight radio surveys of the Princeton catalog plus the Parkes MB survey. Our results indicate that EGRET was capable of detecting several dozen pulsars as point sources, with the ratio of radio-loud to radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars increasing significantly to about ten to one when the Parkes Survey is included. Polar cap models thus predict that many of the unidentified EGRET sources could be radio-loud gamma- ray pulsars, previously undetected as radio pulsars due to distance, large dispersion and lack of sensitivity. If true, this would make gamma-ray telescopes a potentially more sensitive tool for detecting distant young neutron stars in the Galactic plane.

Shining Light on Quantum Gravity with Pulsar-Black hole Binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Estes, John; Kavic, Michael; Lippert, Matthew; Simonetti, John H.

2017-03-01

Pulsars are some of the most accurate clocks found in nature, while black holes offer a unique arena for the study of quantum gravity. As such, pulsar-black hole (PSR-BH) binaries provide ideal astrophysical systems for detecting the effects of quantum gravity. With the success of aLIGO and the advent of instruments like SKA and eLISA, the prospects for the discovery of such PSR-BH binaries are very promising. We argue that PSR-BH binaries can serve as ready-made testing grounds for proposed resolutions to the black hole information paradox. We propose using timing signals from a pulsar beam passing through the region near a black hole event horizon as a probe of quantum gravitational effects. In particular, we demonstrate that fluctuations of the geometry outside a black hole lead to an increase in the measured root mean square deviation of the arrival times of pulsar pulses traveling near the horizon. This allows for a clear observational test of the nonviolent nonlocality proposal for black hole information escape. For a series of pulses traversing the near-horizon region, this model predicts an rms in pulse arrival times of ˜ 30 μ {{s}} for a 3{M}⊙ black hole, ˜ 0.3 {ms} for a 30{M}⊙ black hole, and ˜ 40 {{s}} for Sgr A*. The current precision of pulse time-of-arrival measurements is sufficient to discern these rms fluctuations. This work is intended to motivate observational searches for PSR-BH systems as a means of testing models of quantum gravity.

Alteration of the magnetosphere of the Vela pulsar during a glitch.

PubMed

Palfreyman, Jim; Dickey, John M; Hotan, Aidan; Ellingsen, Simon; van Straten, Willem

2018-04-01

As pulsars lose energy, primarily in the form of magnetic dipole radiation, their rotation slows down accordingly. For some pulsars, this spin-down is interrupted by occasional abrupt spin-up events known as glitches 1 . A glitch is hypothesized to be a catastrophic release of pinned vorticity 2 that provides an exchange of angular momentum between the superfluid outer core and the crust. This is manifested by a minute alteration in the rotation rate of the neutron star and its co-rotating magnetosphere, which is revealed by an abrupt change in the timing of observed radio pulses. Measurement of the flux density, polarization and single-pulse arrival times of the glitch with high time resolution may reveal the equation of state of the crustal superfluid, its drag-to-lift ratio and the parameters that describe its friction with the crust 3 . This has not hitherto been possible because glitch events happen unpredictably. Here we report single-pulse radio observations of a glitch in the Vela pulsar, which has a rotation frequency of 11.2 hertz. The glitch was detected on 2016 December 12 at 11:36 universal time, during continuous observations of the pulsar over a period of three years. We detected sudden changes in the pulse shape coincident with the glitch event: one pulse was unusually broad, the next pulse was missing (a 'null') and the following two pulses had unexpectedly low linear polarization. This sequence was followed by a 2.6-second interval during which pulses arrived later than usual, indicating that the glitch affects the magnetosphere.

Alteration of the magnetosphere of the Vela pulsar during a glitch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palfreyman, Jim; Dickey, John M.; Hotan, Aidan; Ellingsen, Simon; van Straten, Willem

2018-04-01

As pulsars lose energy, primarily in the form of magnetic dipole radiation, their rotation slows down accordingly. For some pulsars, this spin-down is interrupted by occasional abrupt spin-up events known as glitches1. A glitch is hypothesized to be a catastrophic release of pinned vorticity2 that provides an exchange of angular momentum between the superfluid outer core and the crust. This is manifested by a minute alteration in the rotation rate of the neutron star and its co-rotating magnetosphere, which is revealed by an abrupt change in the timing of observed radio pulses. Measurement of the flux density, polarization and single-pulse arrival times of the glitch with high time resolution may reveal the equation of state of the crustal superfluid, its drag-to-lift ratio and the parameters that describe its friction with the crust3. This has not hitherto been possible because glitch events happen unpredictably. Here we report single-pulse radio observations of a glitch in the Vela pulsar, which has a rotation frequency of 11.2 hertz. The glitch was detected on 2016 December 12 at 11:36 universal time, during continuous observations of the pulsar over a period of three years. We detected sudden changes in the pulse shape coincident with the glitch event: one pulse was unusually broad, the next pulse was missing (a `null') and the following two pulses had unexpectedly low linear polarization. This sequence was followed by a 2.6-second interval during which pulses arrived later than usual, indicating that the glitch affects the magnetosphere.

PRS J0045-7319: A massive SMC binary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, J. F.

1994-04-01

The existence of X-ray binary systems shows that neutron stars are found in orbit around massive stars. Before these systems enter the mass accretion phase, one would expect the neutron star might be detectable as a radio pulsar. The discovery of PSR B1259-63 by Johnston et al. (1992, Astrophys. J. Lett, 387, L37), which is in orbit around the Be star SS2883, provided the first evidence for such systems. PSR J0045-7319 was discovered in a systematic search of the Magellanic Clouds for radio pulsars by McConnell et al. (1991, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 249, 645). Its dispersion measure of 105 pc/cu cm assures its association with the Small Magellanic Cloud making it the only known pulsar in the SMC. The discovery of regular Doppler shifts of the pulse period of PSR J0045-7319 implies that the pulsar is in a highly eccentric 51-day binary orbit, making it the most luminous binary pulsar known (Kaspi et al., 1993, submitted to Astrophys. J.). The observed Keplerian orbital parameters show that the companion mass is greater the 4 solar mass. Optical observations of the field reveal a 16th magnitude, 11 solar mass, B1 main-sequence star, which we conclude is the pulsar's companion. The timing observations imply that this pulsar has not been spun up by accretion from the companion. This suggests that, like the PSR B1259-63 binary system, the PSR J0045-7319 system is a progenitor of an X-ray binary system. At periastron the pulsar approaches to within six stellar radii of the companion.

Millisecond Pulsar Timing Precision with NICER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deneva, Julia; Ray, Paul S.; Ransom, Scott; Wood, Kent S.; Kerr, Matthew T.; Lommen, Andrea; Arzoumanian, Zaven; Black, Kevin; Gendreau, Keith C.; Lewandowska, Natalia; Markwardt, Craig B.; Price, Samuel; Winternitz, Luke

2018-01-01

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) is an array of 56 X-ray detectors mounted on the outside of the International Space Station. It allows high-precision timing of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) without the pulse broadening effects due to dispersion and scattering by the interstellar medium that plague radio timing. We present initial timing results from four months of NICER data on the MSPs B1937+21, B1821-24, and J0218+4232, and compare them to simulations and theoretical models for X-ray times-of-arrival, and radio observations.

Meter-wavelength observations of pulsars using very long baseline interferometry. Ph.D. Thesis - Maryland Univ., College Park; [with particular attention to the Crab nebula

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vandenberg, N. R.

1974-01-01

The results of an investigation of the angular structure imposed on pulsar radiation due to scattering in the interstellar medium are presented. The technique of very-long-baseline interferometry was used to obtain the necessary high angular resolution. The interferometers formed by the Arecibo, NRAO, and Sugar Grove telescopes were used at radio frequencies of 196, 111, and 74 MHz during seven separate observing sessions between November 1971 and February 1973. A crude visibility function for the Crab nebular pulsar was obtained along with the correlated pulse profile. The technique of differential fringe phase was used to show that the pulsar and the compact source in the Crab nebula are coincident to within 0.001 arcsec which corresponds to aproximately 2 a.u. at the distance to the nebula. The ratio of pulsing to total flux, and the fringe visibility of the time-averaged pulsing flux are also discussed, and apparent angular sizes of the pulsars were measured.

High-Energy Emission from Rotation-Powered Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K.

2007-01-01

Thirty-five years after the discovery of rotation-powered pulsars, we still do not understand their pulsed emission at any wavelength. In the last few years there have been some fundamental developments in acceleration and emission models. I will review both the basic physics of the models as well as the latest developments in understanding the high-energy emission of rotation-powered pulsars. Special and general relativistic effects play important roles in pulsar emission, from inertial frame-dragging near the stellar surface to aberration, time-of-flight and retardation of the magnetic field near the light cylinder. Understanding how these effects determine what we observe at different wavelengths is critical to unraveling the emission physics. Fortunately two new gamma-ray telescopes, AGILE and GLAST, with launches expected this year will detect many new gamma-ray pulsars and test the predictions of these models with unprecedented sensitivity and energy resolution for gamma-rays in the range of 30 MeV to 300 GeV.

Simulated gamma-ray pulse profile of the Crab pulsar with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burtovoi, A.; Zampieri, L.

2016-07-01

We present simulations of the very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray light curve of the Crab pulsar as observed by the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The CTA pulse profile of the Crab pulsar is simulated with the specific goal of determining the accuracy of the position of the interpulse. We fit the pulse shape obtained by the Major Atmospheric Gamma-Ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope with a three-Gaussian template and rescale it to account for the different CTA instrumental and observational configurations. Simulations are performed for different configurations of CTA and for the ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) mini-array. The northern CTA configuration will provide an improvement of a factor of ˜3 in accuracy with an observing time comparable to that of MAGIC (73 h). Unless the VHE spectrum above 1 TeV behaves differently from what we presently know, unreasonably long observing times are required for a significant detection of the pulsations of the Crab pulsar with the high-energy-range sub-arrays. We also found that an independent VHE timing analysis is feasible with Large Size Telescopes. CTA will provide a significant improvement in determining the VHE pulse shape parameters necessary to constrain theoretical models of the gamma-ray emission of the Crab pulsar. One of such parameters is the shift in phase between peaks in the pulse profile at VHE and in other energy bands that, if detected, may point to different locations of the emission regions.

Accreting Millisecond Pulsars: Neutron Star Masses and Radii

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strohmayer, Tod

2004-01-01

High amplitude X-ray brightness oscillations during thermonuclear X-ray bursts were discovered with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) in early 1996. Spectral and timing evidence strongly supports the conclusion that these oscillations are caused by rotational modulation of the burst emission and that they reveal the spin frequency of neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries. The recent discovery of X-ray burst oscillations from two accreting millisecond pulsars has confirmed this basic picture and provided a new route to measuring neutron star properties and constraining the dense matter equation of state. I will briefly summarize the current observational understanding of accreting millisecond pulsars, and describe recent attempts to determine the mass and radius of the neutron star in XTE J1814-338.

On the role of the current loss in radio pulsar evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beskin, V. S.; Nokhrina, E. E.

2007-04-01

The aim of this article is to draw attention to the importance of the electric current loss in the energy output of radio pulsars. We remind that even the losses attributed to the magneto-dipole radiation of a pulsar in vacuum can be written as a result of an Ampere force action of the electric currents flowing over the neutron star surface (see the books of Michel (Theory of Neutron Star Magnetosphere. University of Chicago Press (1991)) and of Beskin, Gurevich and Istomin (Physics of the Pulsar Magnetosphere. Cambridge Univ. Press (1993)). It is this force that is responsible for the transfer of angular momentum of a neutron star to an outgoing magneto-dipole wave. If a pulsar is surrounded by plasma, and there is no longitudinal current in its magnetosphere, there is no energy loss. It is the longitudinal current closing within the pulsar polar cap that exerts the retardation torque acting on the neutron star. This torque can be determined if the structure of longitudinal current is known. Here we remind of the solution by Beskin, Gurevich and Istomin (ed. cit.) and discuss the validity of such an assumption. The behavior of the recently observed “part-time job” pulsar B1931+24 can be naturally explained within the model of current loss while the magneto-dipole model faces difficulties.

Pulsar wind nebulae created by fast-moving pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kargaltsev, O.; Pavlov, G. G.; Klingler, N.; Rangelov, B.

2017-10-01

We review multiwavelength properties of pulsar wind nebulae created by supersonically moving pulsars and the effects of pulsar motion on the pulsar wind nebulae morphologies and the ambient medium. Supersonic pulsar wind nebulae are characterized by bow-shaped shocks around the pulsar and/or cometary tails filled with the shocked pulsar wind. In the past several years significant advances in supersonic pulsar wind nebula studies have been made in deep observations with the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories and the Hubble Space Telescope. In particular, these observations have revealed very diverse supersonic pulsar wind nebula morphologies in the pulsar vicinity, different spectral behaviours of long pulsar tails, the presence of puzzling outflows misaligned with the pulsar velocity and far-UV bow shocks. Here we review the current observational status focusing on recent developments and their implications.

MEASURING THE MASS OF SOLAR SYSTEM PLANETS USING PULSAR TIMING

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Champion, D. J.; Hobbs, G. B.; Manchester, R. N.

High-precision pulsar timing relies on a solar system ephemeris in order to convert times of arrival (TOAs) of pulses measured at an observatory to the solar system barycenter. Any error in the conversion to the barycentric TOAs leads to a systematic variation in the observed timing residuals; specifically, an incorrect planetary mass leads to a predominantly sinusoidal variation having a period and phase associated with the planet's orbital motion about the Sun. By using an array of pulsars (PSRs J0437-4715, J1744-1134, J1857+0943, J1909-3744), the masses of the planetary systems from Mercury to Saturn have been determined. These masses are consistentmore » with the best-known masses determined by spacecraft observations, with the mass of the Jovian system, 9.547921(2) x10{sup -4} M {sub sun}, being significantly more accurate than the mass determined from the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft, and consistent with but less accurate than the value from the Galileo spacecraft. While spacecraft are likely to produce the most accurate measurements for individual solar system bodies, the pulsar technique is sensitive to planetary system masses and has the potential to provide the most accurate values of these masses for some planets.« less

SEXTANT X-Ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Flight System and Test Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winternitz, Luke; Mitchell, Jason W.; Hassouneh, Munther A.; Valdez, Jennifer E.; Price, Samuel R.; Semper, Sean R.; Yu, Wayne H.; Ray, Paul S.; Wood, Kent S.; Arzoumanian, Zaven;

SEXTANT X-Ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Flight System and Test Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winternitz, Luke M. B.; Mitchell, Jason W.; Hassouneh, Munther A.; Valdez, Jennifer E.; Price, Samuel R.; Semper, Sean R.; Yu, Wayne H.; Ray, Paul S.; Wood, Kent S.; Arzoumanian, Zaven;

Narrow-band search of continuous gravitational-wave signals from Crab and Vela pulsars in Virgo VSR4 data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aasi, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V.; Affeldt, C.; Agathos, M.; Agatsuma, K.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Alemic, A.; Allen, B.; Allocca, A.; Amariutei, D.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C.; Areeda, J. S.; Ashton, G.; Ast, S.; Aston, S. M.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Aylott, B. E.; Babak, S.; Baker, P. T.; Baldaccini, F.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barbet, M.; Barclay, S.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Bartlett, J.; Barton, M. A.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Basti, A.; Batch, J. C.; Bauer, Th. S.; Baune, C.; Bavigadda, V.; Behnke, B.; Bejger, M.; Belczynski, C.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C.; Benacquista, M.; Bergman, J.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Bersanetti, D.; Bertolini, A.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, J.; Biscans, S.; Bitossi, M.; Biwer, C.; Bizouard, M. A.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackburn, L.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D.; Bloemen, S.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Boer, M.; Bogaert, G.; Bojtos, P.; Bond, C.; Bondu, F.; Bonelli, L.; Bonnand, R.; Bork, R.; Born, M.; Boschi, V.; Bose, Sukanta; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Branchesi, M.; Brau, J. E.; Briant, T.; Bridges, D. O.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brown, D. D.; Brown, N. M.; Buchman, S.; Buikema, A.; Bulik, T.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Buskulic, D.; Buy, C.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Calderón Bustillo, J.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Carbognani, F.; Caride, S.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C.; Cesarini, E.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chen, Y.; Chincarini, A.; Chiummo, A.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chua, S.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cohadon, P.-F.; Colla, A.; Collette, C.; Colombini, M.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M.; Conte, A.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coulon, J.-P.; Countryman, S.; Couvares, P.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Cutler, C.; Dahl, K.; Canton, T. Dal; Damjanic, M.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dartez, L.; Dattilo, V.; Dave, I.; Daveloza, H.; Davier, M.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; DeBra, D.; Debreczeni, G.; Degallaix, J.; De Laurentis, M.; Deléglise, S.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dereli, H.; Dergachev, V.; De Rosa, R.; DeRosa, R. T.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Lieto, A.; Di Palma, I.; Di Virgilio, A.; Dojcinoski, G.; Dolique, V.; Dominguez, E.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Ducrot, M.; Dwyer, S.; Eberle, T.; Edo, T.; Edwards, M.; Edwards, M.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Essick, R.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T.; Factourovich, M.; Fafone, V.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.; Fang, Q.; Farinon, S.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Feldbaum, D.; Ferrante, I.; Ferreira, E. C.; Ferrini, F.; Fidecaro, F.; Fiori, I.; Fisher, R. P.; Flaminio, R.; Fournier, J.-D.; Franco, S.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fuentes-Tapia, S.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gair, J. R.; Gammaitoni, L.; Gaonkar, S.; Garufi, F.; Gatto, A.; Gehrels, N.; Gemme, G.; Gendre, B.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; Gergely, L. Á.; Ghosh, S.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Gleason, J.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; González, G.; Gordon, N.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S.; Goßler, S.; Gouaty, R.; Gräf, C.; Graff, P. B.; Granata, M.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Greco, G.; Greenhalgh, R. J. S.; Gretarsson, A. M.; Groot, P.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guidi, G. M.; Guido, C. J.; Guo, X.; Gushwa, K.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.; Hanke, M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, J.; Hardwick, T.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Hee, S.; Heidmann, A.; Heintze, M.; Heinzel, G.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Hemming, G.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hewitson, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Hofman, D.; Hollitt, S. E.; Holt, K.; Hopkins, P.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Houston, E.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huerta, E.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh, M.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Idrisy, A.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Islas, G.; Isler, J. C.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jacobson, M.; Jang, H.; Jaranowski, P.; Jawahar, S.; Ji, Y.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, R.; Jonker, R. J. G.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, H.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kawazoe, F.; Kéfélian, F.; Keiser, G. M.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Keppel, D. G.; Key, J. S.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kim, C.; Kim, K.; Kim, N. G.; Kim, N.; Kim, Y.-M.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Klimenko, S.; Kline, J.; Koehlenbeck, S.; Kokeyama, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krishnan, B.; Królak, A.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, P.; Kuo, L.; Kutynia, A.; Landry, M.; Lantz, B.; Larson, S.; Lasky, P. D.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Lazzaro, C.; Le, J.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Leonardi, M.; Leong, J. R.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Levin, Y.; Levine, B.; Lewis, J.; Li, T. G. F.; Libbrecht, K.; Libson, A.; Lin, A. C.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lockett, V.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lough, J.; Lubinski, M. J.; Lück, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; Macarthur, J.; MacDonald, T.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magaña-Sandoval, F.; Magee, R.; Mageswaran, M.; Maglione, C.; Mailand, K.; Majorana, E.; Maksimovic, I.; Malvezzi, V.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A.; Maros, E.; Martelli, F.; Martellini, L.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martynov, D.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Massinger, T. J.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McLin, K.; McWilliams, S.; Meacher, D.; Meadors, G. D.; Meidam, J.; Meinders, M.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mercer, R. A.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Meyers, P. M.; Mezzani, F.; Miao, H.; Michel, C.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Milano, L.; Miller, A.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Minenkov, Y.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Moe, B.; Moggi, A.; Mohan, M.; Mohanty, S. D.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Moore, B.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, C. L.; Mueller, G.; Mukherjee, S.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D.; Murray, P. G.; Mytidis, A.; Nagy, M. F.; Nardecchia, I.; Nash, T.; Naticchioni, L.; Nayak, R. K.; Necula, V.; Nedkova, K.; Nelemans, G.; Neri, I.; Neri, M.; Newton, G.; Nguyen, T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nissanke, S.; Nitz, A. H.; Nocera, F.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, R.; O'Reilly, B.; Ortega, W.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Osthelder, C.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Padilla, C.; Pai, A.; Pai, S.; Palashov, O.; Palomba, C.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Paoletti, F.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patrick, Z.; Pedraza, M.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Phelps, M.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pillant, G.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Poeld, J.; Poggiani, R.; Post, A.; Poteomkin, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Premachandra, S.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Prijatelj, M.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Pürrer, M.; Qin, J.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E.; Quiroga, G.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Rácz, I.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajalakshmi, G.; Rakhmanov, M.; Ramirez, K.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Reula, O.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.; Sachdev, S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Sammut, L.; Sandberg, V.; Sanders, J. R.; Sannibale, V.; Santiago-Prieto, I.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Savage, R.; Sawadsky, A.; Scheuer, J.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Serafinelli, R.; Sergeev, A.; Serna, G.; Sevigny, A.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shah, S.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shao, Z.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Sidery, T. L.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Silva, A. D.; Simakov, D.; Singer, A.; Singer, L.; Singh, R.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, M. R.; Smith, R. J. E.; Smith-Lefebvre, N. D.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Souradeep, T.; Staley, A.; Stebbins, J.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Steplewski, S.; Stevenson, S.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Strigin, S.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B.; Szczepanczyk, M.; Szeifert, G.; Tacca, M.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tápai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, R.; Tellez, G.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, V.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Tse, M.; Tshilumba, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; van den Broeck, C.; van der Sluys, M. V.; van Heijningen, J.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vass, S.; Vasúth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Vincent-Finley, R.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L.; Wade, M.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Welborn, T.; Wen, L.; Wessels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. J.; Whiting, B. F.; Wilkinson, C.; Williams, L.; Williams, R.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Worden, J.; Xie, S.; Yablon, J.; Yakushin, I.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yang, Q.; Yvert, M.; ZadroŻny, A.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zhang, Fan; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S.; Zweizig, J.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; Virgo Collaboration

2015-01-01

In this paper we present the results of a coherent narrow-band search for continuous gravitational-wave signals from the Crab and Vela pulsars conducted on Virgo VSR4 data. In order to take into account a possible small mismatch between the gravitational-wave frequency and two times the star rotation frequency, inferred from measurement of the electromagnetic pulse rate, a range of 0.02 Hz around two times the star rotational frequency has been searched for both the pulsars. No evidence for a signal has been found and 95% confidence level upper limits have been computed assuming both that polarization parameters are completely unknown and that they are known with some uncertainty, as derived from x-ray observations of the pulsar wind torii. For Vela the upper limits are comparable to the spin-down limit, computed assuming that all the observed spin-down is due to the emission of gravitational waves. For Crab the upper limits are about a factor of 2 below the spin-down limit, and represent a significant improvement with respect to past analysis. This is the first time the spin-down limit is significantly overcome in a narrow-band search.

Narrow-Band Search of Continuous Gravitational-Wave Signals from Crab and Vela Pulsars in Virgo VSR4 Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aasi, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Adams, T.;

Pulsar discoveries by volunteer distributed computing and the strongest continuous gravitational wave signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knispel, Benjamin

2011-07-01

Neutron stars are the endpoints of stellar evolution and one of the most compact forms of matter in the universe. They can be observed as radio pulsars and are promising sources for the emission of continuous gravitational waves. Discovering new radio pulsars in tight binary orbits offers the opportunity to conduct very high precision tests of General Relativity and to further our understanding of neutron star structure and matter at super-nuclear densities. The direct detection of gravitational waves would validate Einstein's theory of Relativity and open a new window to the universe by offering a novel astronomical tool. This thesis addresses both of these scientific fields: the first fully coherent search for radio pulsars in tight, circular orbits has been planned, set up and conducted in the course of this thesis. Two unusual radio pulsars, one of them in a binary system, have been discovered. The other half of this thesis is concerned with the simulation of the Galactic neutron star population to predict their emission of continuous gravitational waves. First realistic statistical upper limits on the strongest continuous gravitational-wave signal and detection predictions for realistic all-sky blind searches have been obtained. The data from a large-scale pulsar survey with the 305-m Arecibo radio telescope were searched for signals from radio pulsars in binary orbits. The massive amount of computational work was done on hundreds of thousands of computers volunteered by members of the general public through the distributed computing project Einstein@Home. The newly developed analysis pipeline searched for pulsar spin frequencies below 250 Hz and for orbital periods as short as 11 min. The structure of the search pipeline consisting of data preparation, data analysis, result post-processing, and set-up of the pipeline components is presented in detail. The first radio pulsar, discovered with this search, PSR J2007+2722, is an isolated radio pulsar, likely from a double neutron star system disrupted by the second supernova. We present discovery and initial characterisation using observations from five of the largest radio telescopes worldwide. Only a dozen similar systems were previously known. The second discovered radio pulsar, PSR J1952+2630, is in a 9.4-hr orbit with most likely a massive white dwarf of at least 0.95 M⊙. We characterise its orbit by analysis of the apparent spin period changes. This pulsar most likely belongs to the very rare class of intermediate-mass binary pulsars, from which only five systems were previously known. It is a promising target for the future measurement of relativistic effects. In the second half of this thesis, the emission of continuous gravitational waves from a Galactic population of neutron stars is studied. For the first time, realistic estimates of the statistical upper limit of the expected gravitational wave signal are obtained, improving previous estimates by about a factor of six. The simulation is used to obtain for the first time detectability predictions for these objects with ground based gravitational wave detectors and realistic blind searches. It is also shown how to improve possible searches by maximising the number of detections for a fixed amount of computation cycles.

The largest glitch observed in the Crab pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, B.; Lyne, A. G.; Stappers, B. W.; Weltevrede, P.; Bassa, C. G.; Lien, A. Y.; Mickaliger, M. B.; Breton, R. P.; Jordan, C. A.; Keith, M. J.; Krimm, H. A.

2018-05-01

We have observed a large glitch in the Crab pulsar (PSR B0531+21). The glitch occurred around MJD 58064 (2017 November 8) when the pulsar underwent an increase in the rotation rate of Δν = 1.530 × 10-5 Hz, corresponding to a fractional increase of Δν/ν = 0.516 × 10-6 making this event the largest glitch ever observed in this source. Due to our high-cadence and long-dwell time observations of the Crab pulsar we are able to partially resolve a fraction of the total spin-up of the star. This delayed spin-up occurred over a timescale of ˜1.7 days and is similar to the behaviour seen in the 1989 and 1996 large Crab pulsar glitches. The spin-down rate also increased at the glitch epoch by Δ \\dot{ν } / \\dot{ν } = 7 × 10^{-3}. In addition to being the largest such event observed in the Crab, the glitch occurred after the longest period of glitch inactivity since at least 1984 and we discuss a possible relationship between glitch size and waiting time. No changes to the shape of the pulse profile were observed near the glitch epoch at 610 MHz or 1520 MHz, nor did we identify any changes in the X-ray flux from the pulsar. The long-term recovery from the glitch continues to progress as \\dot{ν } slowly rises towards pre-glitch values. In line with other large Crab glitches, we expect there to be a persistent change to \\dot{ν }. We continue to monitor the long-term recovery with frequent, high quality observations.

Pulsar J1411+2551: A Low-mass Double Neutron Star System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, J. G.; Stovall, K.; Freire, P. C. C.; Deneva, J. S.; Tauris, T. M.; Ridolfi, A.; Wex, N.; Jenet, F. A.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Bagchi, M.

2017-12-01

In this work, we report the discovery and characterization of PSR J1411+2551, a new binary pulsar discovered in the Arecibo 327 MHz Drift Pulsar Survey. Our timing observations of the radio pulsar in the system span a period of about 2.5 years. This timing campaign allowed a precise measurement of its spin period (62.4 ms) and its derivative (9.6 ± 0.7) × 10‑20 s s‑1 from these, we derive a characteristic age of >9.1 Gyr and a surface magnetic field strength of <2.6 × 109 G. These numbers indicate that this pulsar was mildly recycled by accretion of matter from the progenitor of the companion star. The system has an eccentric (e = 0.17) 2.61 day orbit. This eccentricity allows a highly significant measurement of the rate of advance of periastron, \\dot{ω } =0.07686+/- 0.00046^\\circ {{yr}}-1. Assuming general relativity accurately describes the orbital motion, this implies a total system mass M = 2.538 ± 0.022 M ⊙. The minimum companion mass is 0.92 M ⊙ and the maximum pulsar mass is 1.62 M ⊙. The large companion mass and the orbital eccentricity suggest that PSR J1411+2551 is a double neutron star system; the lightest known to date including the DNS merger GW170817. Furthermore, the relatively low orbital eccentricity and small proper motion limits suggest that the second supernova had a relatively small associated kick; this and the low system mass suggest that it was an ultra-stripped supernova.

Rapidly Rising Optical Transients from the Birth of Binary Neutron Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hotokezaka, Kenta; Kashiyama, Kazumi; Murase, Kohta

2017-11-01

We study optical counterparts of a new-born pulsar in a double neutron star system like PSR J0737-3039A/B. This system is believed to have ejected a small amount of mass of { O }(0.1 {M}⊙ ) at the second core-collapse supernova. We argue that the initial spin of the new-born pulsar can be determined by the orbital period at the time when the second supernova occurs. The spin angular momentum of the progenitor is expected to be similar to that of the He-burning core, which is tidally synchronized with the orbital motion, and then the second remnant may be born as a millisecond pulsar. If the dipole magnetic field strength of the nascent pulsar is comparable with that inferred from the current spin-down rate of PSR J0737-3039B, the initial spin-down luminosity is comparable to the luminosity of super-luminous supernovae. We consider thermal emission arising from the supernova ejecta driven by the relativistic wind from such a new-born pulsar. The resulting optical light curves have a rise time of ˜10 days and a peak luminosity of ˜1044 erg s-1. The optical emission may last for a month to several months, due to the reprocessing of X-rays and UV photons via photoelectric absorption. These features are broadly consistent with those of the rapidly rising optical transients. The high spin-down luminosity and small ejecta mass are favorable for the progenitor of the repeating fast radio burst, FRB 121102. We discuss a possible connection between new-born double pulsars and fast radio bursts.

Tests of general relativity using pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reichley, P. E.

1971-01-01

The arrival times of the pulses from each pulsar are measured by a cesium clock. The observations are all made at a frequency of 2388 MHz (12.5 cm wavelength) on a 26 m dish antenna. The effect of interstellar charged particles is a random one that increases the noise level on the arrival time measurements. The variation in clock rate is shown consisting of two effects: the time dilation effect of special relativity and the red shift effect of general relativity.

The Crab pulsar in the visible and ultraviolet with 20 microsecond effective time resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Percival, J. W.; Biggs, J. D.; Dolan, J. F.; Robinson, E. L.; Taylor, M. J.; Bless, R. C.; Elliot, J. L.; Nelson, M. J.; Ramseyer, T. F.; Van Citters, G. W.

1993-01-01

Observations of PSR 0531+21 with the High Speed Photometer on the HST in the visible in October 1991 and in the UV in January 1992 are presented. The time resolution of the instrument was 10.74 microsec; the effective time resolution of the light curves folded modulo the pulsar period was 21.5 microsec. The main pulse arrival time is the same in the UV as in the visible and radio to within the accuracy of the establishment of the spacecraft clock, +/- 1.05 ms. The peak of the main pulse is resolved in time. Corrected for reddening, the intensity spectral index of the Crab pulsar from 1680 to 7400 A is 0.11 +/- 0.13. The pulsed flux has an intensity less than 0.9 percent of the peak flux just before the onset of the main pulse. The variations in intensity of individual main and secondary pulses are uncorrelated, even within the same rotational period.

Gravitational wave searches with pulsar timing arrays: Cancellation of clock and ephemeris noises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinto, Massimo

2018-04-01

We propose a data processing technique to cancel monopole and dipole noise sources (such as clock and ephemeris noises, respectively) in pulsar timing array searches for gravitational radiation. These noises are the dominant sources of correlated timing fluctuations in the lower-part (≈10-9-10-8 Hz ) of the gravitational wave band accessible by pulsar timing experiments. After deriving the expressions that reconstruct these noises from the timing data, we estimate the gravitational wave sensitivity of our proposed processing technique to single-source signals to be at least one order of magnitude higher than that achievable by directly processing the timing data from an equal-size array. Since arrays can generate pairs of clock and ephemeris-free timing combinations that are no longer affected by correlated noises, we implement with them the cross-correlation statistic to search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background. We find the resulting optimal signal-to-noise ratio to be more than one order of magnitude larger than that obtainable by correlating pairs of timing data from arrays of equal size.

Distribution of inhomogeneities in the interstellar plasma in the directions of three distant pulsars from observations with the RadioAstron ground-space interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popov, M. V.; Andrianov, A. S.; Bartel, N.; Gwinn, C.; Joshi, B. C.; Jauncey, D.; Kardashev, N. S.; Rudnitskii, A. G.; Smirnova, T. V.; Soglasnov, V. A.; Fadeev, E. N.; Shishov, V. I.

2016-09-01

The RadioAstron ground-space interferometer has been used to measure the angular sizes of the scattering disks of the three distant pulsars B1641-45, B1749-28, and B1933+16. The observations were carried out with the participation of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope; two 32-m telescopes at Torun, Poland and Svetloe, Russia (the latter being one antenna of the KVAZAR network); the Saint Croix VLBA antenna; the Arecibo radio telescope; the Parkes, Narrabri (ATCA), Mopra, Hobart, and Ceduna Australian radio telescopes; and the Hartebeesthoek radio telescope in South Africa. The full widths at half maximum of the scattering disks were 27 mas at 1668 MHz for B1641-45, 0.5 mas at 1668 MHz for B1749-28, and 12.3 at 316 MHz and 0.84 mas at 1668 MHz for B1933+16. The characteristic time scales for scatter-broadening of the pulses on inhomogeneities in the interstellar plasma τsc were also measured for these pulsars using various methods. Joint knowledge of the size of the scattering disk and the scatter-broadening time scale enables estimation of the distance to the effective scattering screen d. For B1641-45, d = 3.0 kpc for a distance to the pulsar D = 4.9 kpc, and for B1749-28, d = 0.95 kpc for D = 1.3 kpc. Observations of B1933+16 were carried out simultaneously at 316 and 1668 MHz. The positions of the screen derived using the measurements at the two frequencies agree: d 1 = 2.6 and d 2 = 2.7 kpc, for a distance to the pulsar of 3.7 kpc. Two screens were detected for this pulsar from an analysis of parabolic arcs in the secondary dynamic spectrum at 1668 MHz, at 1.3 and 3.1 kpc. The scattering screens for two of the pulsars are identified with real physical objects located along the lines of sight toward the pulsars: G339.1-04 (B1641-45) and G0.55-0.85 (B1749-28).

CHANGES IN THE CRAB PULSAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Scientists are learning more about how pulsars work by studying a series of Hubble Space Telescope images of the heart of the Crab Nebula. The images, taken over a period of several months, show that the Crab is a far more dynamic object than previously understood. At the center of the nebula lies the Crab Pulsar. The pulsar is a tiny object by astronomical standards -- only about six miles across -- but has a mass greater than that of the Sun and rotates at a rate of 30 times a second. As the pulsar spins its intense magnetic field whips around, acting like a sling shot, accelerating subatomic particles and sending them hurtling them into space at close to the speed of light. The tiny pulsar and its wind are the powerhouse for the entire Crab Nebula, which is 10 light-years across -- a feat comparable to an object the size of a hydrogen atom illuminating a volume of space a kilometer across. The three pictures shown here, taken from the series of Hubble images, show dramatic changes in the appearance of the central regions of the nebula. These include wisp-like structures that move outward away from the pulsar at half the speed of light, as well as a mysterious 'halo' which remains stationary, but grows brighter then fainter over time. Also seen are the effects of two polar jets that move out along the rotation axis of the pulsar. The most dynamic feature seen -- a small knot that 'dances around' so much that astronomers have been calling it a 'sprite' -- is actually a shock front (where fast-moving material runs into slower-moving material)in one of these polar jets. The telescope captured the images with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 using a filter that passes light of wavelength around 550 nanometers, near the middle of the visible part of the spectrum. The Crab Nebula is located 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Credit: Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen (Arizona State University), and NASA

Sampling the Radio Transient Universe: Studies of Pulsars and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chennamangalam, Jayanth

The transient radio universe is a relatively unexplored area of astronomy, offering a variety of phenomena, from solar and Jovian bursts, to flare stars, pulsars, and bursts of Galactic and potentially even cosmological origin. Among these, perhaps the most widely studied radio transients, pulsars are fast-spinning neutron stars that emit radio beams from their magnetic poles. In spite of over 40 years of research on pulsars, we have more questions than answers on these exotic compact objects, chief among them the nature of their emission mechanism. Nevertheless, the wealth of phenomena exhibited by pulsars make them one of the most useful astrophysical tools. With their high densities, pulsars are probes of the nature of ultra-dense matter. Characterized by their high timing stability, pulsars can be used to verify the predictions of general relativity, discover planets around them, study bodies in the solar system, and even serve as an interplanetary (and possibly some day, interstellar) navigation aid. Pulsars are also used to study the nature of the interstellar medium, much like a flashlight illuminating airborne dust in a dark room. Studies of pulsars in the Galactic center can help answer questions about the massive black hole in the region and the star formation history in its vicinity. Millisecond pulsars in globular clusters are long-lived tracers of their progenitors, low-mass X-ray binaries, and can be used to study the dynamical history of those clusters. Another source of interest in radio transient astronomy is the hitherto undetected engineered signal from extraterrestrial intelligence. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is an ongoing attempt at discovering the presence of technological life elsewhere in the Galaxy. In this work, I present my forays into two aspects of the study of the radio transient universe---pulsars and SETI. Firstly, I describe my work on the luminosity function and population size of pulsars in the globular clusters Terzan 5, 47 Tucanae, and M 28. Applying Bayesian statistics to our data set consisting of the number of detected pulsars, their flux densities, and the amount of diffuse radio emission from the direction of these clusters, we show that the number of potentially observable pulsars in Terzan 5 should be within a 95 per cent credible interval of 147+112-65 For 47 Tucanae and M 28, our results are 83+54-35 and 100+91-52 , spectively. We also constrain the luminosity function parameters for the pulsars in these clusters. The Galactic center pulsar population has been an interesting target for various studies, especially given that only one pulsar has been detected in the region, when we expect hundreds of pulsars to be present. In this work, we use the scattering measurements from recent observations of PSR J1745--2900, the Galactic center pulsar, and show that the size of the potentially observable pulsar population has a conservative upper limit of ~200. We show that the observational results so far are consistent with this number and make predictions for future radio pulsar surveys of the region. The Versatile GBT Astronomical Spectrometer (VEGAS) is a heterogeneous instrument used mainly for pulsar studies with the Green Bank Telescope. I describe our work on the GPU spectrometer that we developed as part of VEGAS. The GPU code supports a dual-polarization bandwidth of up to 600 MHz. In the field of SETI, I discuss two works. SERENDIP VI is a heterogeneous SETI spectrometer to be installed both at the Green Bank Telescope and at the Arecibo Observatory. In this work, we describe the design of the GPU spectrometer that forms part of SERENDIP VI. In the second work, we speculate on a novel search strategy for SETI, based on the idea that technological civilizations lacking the advancement required to build high-powered beacons may choose to build a modulator situated around a nearby pulsar, depending on whether it is energetically favorable. We discuss observational signatures to search for, using a model of artificially-nulled pulsars.

Phase Evolution of the Crab Pulsar between Radio and X-Ray

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yan, L. L.; Ge, M. Y.; Zheng, S. J.

We study the X-ray phases of the Crab pulsar utilizing the 11-year observations from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer , 6-year radio observations from Nanshan Telescope, and the ephemeris from Jodrell Bank Observatory. It is found that the X-ray phases in different energy bands and the radio phases from the Nanshan Telescope show similar behaviors, including long-time evolution and short-time variations. Such strong correlations between the X-ray and radio phases imply that the radio and X-ray timing noises are both generated from the pulsar spin that cannot be well described by the the monthly ephemeris from the Jodrell Bank observatory.more » When using the Nanshan phases as references to study the X-ray timing noise, it has a significantly smaller variation amplitude and shows no long-time evolution, with a change rate of (−1.1 ± 1.1) × 10{sup −7} periods per day. These results show that the distance of the X-ray and radio emission regions on the Crab pulsar has no detectable secular change, and it is unlikely that the timing noises resulted from any unique physical processes in the radio or X-ray emitting regions. The similar behaviors of the X-ray and radio timing noises also imply that the variation of the interstellar medium is not the origin of the Crab pulsar’s timing noises, which is consistent with the results obtained from the multi-frequency radio observations of PSR B1540−06.« less

Ultra high energy electrons powered by pulsar rotation.

PubMed

Mahajan, Swadesh; Machabeli, George; Osmanov, Zaza; Chkheidze, Nino

2013-01-01

A new mechanism of particle acceleration, driven by the rotational slow down of the Crab pulsar, is explored. The rotation, through the time dependent centrifugal force, can efficiently excite unstable Langmuir waves in the electron-positron (hereafter e(±)) plasma of the star magnetosphere. These waves, then, Landau damp on electrons accelerating them in the process. The net transfer of energy is optimal when the wave growth and the Landau damping times are comparable and are both very short compared to the star rotation time. We show, by detailed calculations, that these are precisely the conditions for the parameters of the Crab pulsar. This highly efficient route for energy transfer allows the electrons in the primary beam to be catapulted to multiple TeV (~ 100 TeV) and even PeV energy domain. It is expected that the proposed mechanism may, unravel the puzzle of the origin of ultra high energy cosmic ray electrons.

Timing irregularities of PSR J1705-1906

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. L.; Yuan, J. P.; Wang, J. B.; Liu, X. W.; Wang, N.; Yuen, R.

2018-05-01

Timing analysis of PSR J1705-1906 using data from Nanshan 25-m and Parkes 64-m radio telescopes, which span over fourteen years, shows that the pulsar exhibits significant proper motion, and rotation instability. We updated the astrometry parameters and the spin parameters of the pulsar. In order to minimize the effect of timing irregularities on measuring its position, we employ the Cholesky method to analyse the timing noise. We obtain the proper motion of -77(3) mas yr-1 in right ascension and -38(29) mas yr-1 in declination. The power spectrum of timing noise is analyzed for the first time, which gives the spectral exponent α =-5.2 for the power-law model indicating that the fluctuations in spin frequency and spin-down rate dominate the red noise. We detect two small glitches from this pulsar with fractional jump in spin frequency of Δ ν /ν ˜ 2.9 × 10^{-10} around MJD 55199 and Δ ν /ν ˜ 2.7× 10^{-10} around MJD 55953. Investigations of pulse profile at different time segments suggest no significant changes in the pulse profiles around the two glitches.

Limits on Planets Orbiting Massive Stars from Radio Pulsar Timing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thorsett, S. E.; Dewey, R. J.

1993-01-01

When a massive star collapses to a neutron star, rapidly losing over half its mass in a symmetric supernova explosiosn, any planets orbiting the star will be unbound. However, to explain the observed space velocity and binary fraction of radio pulsars, an asymmetric kick must be given to the neutron star of birth.

TIMING OF FIVE MILLISECOND PULSARS DISCOVERED IN THE PALFA SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scholz, P.; Kaspi, V. M.; Ferdman, R. D.

2015-02-20

We present the discovery of five millisecond pulsars (MSPs) from the PALFA Galactic plane survey using Arecibo. Four of these (PSRs J0557+1551, J1850+0244, J1902+0300, and J1943+2210) are binary pulsars whose companions are likely white dwarfs, and one (PSR J1905+0453) is isolated. Phase-coherent timing solutions, ranging from ∼1 to ∼3 yr in length, and based on observations from the Jodrell Bank and Arecibo telescopes, provide precise determinations of spin, orbital, and astrometric parameters. All five pulsars have large dispersion measures (>100 pc cm{sup –3}, within the top 20% of all known Galactic field MSPs) and are faint (1.4 GHz flux densitymore » ≲0.1 mJy, within the faintest 5% of all known Galactic field MSPs), illustrating PALFA's ability to find increasingly faint, distant MSPs in the Galactic plane. In particular, PSR J1850+0244 has a dispersion measure of 540 pc cm{sup –3}, the highest of all known MSPs. Such distant, faint MSPs are important input for accurately modeling the total Galactic MSP population.« less

UniBoard: generic hardware for radio astronomy signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hargreaves, J. E.

2012-09-01

UniBoard is a generic high-performance computing platform for radio astronomy, developed as a Joint Research Activity in the RadioNet FP7 Programme. The hardware comprises eight Altera Stratix IV Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) interconnected by a high speed transceiver mesh. Each FPGA is connected to two DDR3 memory modules and three external 10Gbps ports. In addition, a total of 128 low voltage differential input lines permit connection to external ADC cards. The DSP capability of the board exceeds 644E9 complex multiply-accumulate operations per second. The first production run of eight boards was distributed to partners in The Netherlands, France, Italy, UK, China and Korea in May 2011, with a further production runs completed in December 2011 and early 2012. The function of the board is determined by the firmware loaded into its FPGAs. Current applications include beamformers, correlators, digital receivers, RFI mitigation for pulsar astronomy, and pulsar gating and search machines The new UniBoard based correlator for the European VLBI network (EVN) uses an FX architecture with half the resources of the board devoted to station based processing: delay and phase correction and channelization, and half to the correlation function. A single UniBoard can process a 64MHz band from 32 stations, 2 polarizations, sampled at 8 bit. Adding more UniBoards can expand the total bandwidth of the correlator. The design is able to process both prerecorded and real time (eVLBI) data.

"Missing Link" Revealing Fast-Spinning Pulsar Mysteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-05-01

Astronomers have discovered a unique double-star system that represents a "missing link" stage in what they believe is the birth process of the most rapidly-spinning stars in the Universe -- millisecond pulsars. "We've thought for some time that we knew how these pulsars get 'spun up' to rotate so swiftly, and this system looks like it's showing us the process in action," said Anne Archibald, of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Pulsar and Companion Neutron star with accretion disk (left) drawing material from companion star (right). CREDIT:Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF Animations of this system and its evolution. Pulsars are superdense neutron stars, the remnants left after massive stars have exploded as supernovae. Their powerful magnetic fields generate lighthouse-like beams of light and radio waves that sweep around as the star rotates. Most rotate a few to tens of times a second, slowing down over thousands of years. However, some, dubbed millisecond pulsars, rotate hundreds of times a second. Astronomers believe the fast rotation is caused by a companion star dumping material onto the neutron star and spinning it up. The material from the companion would form a flat, spinning disk around the neutron star, and during this period, the radio waves characteristic of a pulsar would not be seen coming from the system. As the amount of matter falling onto the neutron star decreased and stopped, the radio waves could emerge, and the object would be recognized as a pulsar. This sequence of events is apparently what happened with a binary-star system some 4000 light-years from Earth. The millisecond pulsar in this system, called J1023, was discovered by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia in 2007 in a survey led by astronomers at West Virginia University and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The astronomers then found that the object had been detected by NSF's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope during a large sky survey in 1998, and had been observed in visible light by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in 1999, revealing a Sun-like star. When observed again in 2000, the object had changed dramatically, showing evidence for a rotating disk of material, called an accretion disk, surrounding the neutron star. By May of 2002, the evidence for this disk had disappeared. "This strange behavior puzzled astronomers, and there were several different theories for what the object could be," said Ingrid Stairs of the University of British Columbia, who has been visiting the Australia Telescope National Facility and Swinburne University this year. The 2007 GBT observations showed that the object is a millisecond pulsar, spinning 592 times per second. "No other millisecond pulsar has ever shown evidence for an accretion disk," Archibald said. "We know that another type of binary-star system, called a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB), also contains a fast-spinning neutron star and an accretion disk, but these don't emit radio waves. We've thought that LMXBs probably are in the process of getting spun up, and will later emit radio waves as a pulsar. This object appears to be the 'missing link' connecting the two types of systems," she explained. "It appears this thing has flipped from looking like an LMXB to looking like a pulsar, as it experienced an episode during which material pulled from the companion star formed an accretion disk around the neutron star. Later, that mass transfer stopped, the disk disappeared, and the pulsar emerged," said Scott Ransom of the NRAO. The scientists have studied J1023 in detail with the GBT, with the Westerbork radio telescope in the Netherlands, with the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, and with the Parkes radio telescope in Australia. Their results indicate that the neutron star's companion has less than half the Sun's mass, and orbits the neutron star once every four hours and 45 minutes. "This system gives us an unparalled 'cosmic laboratory' for studying how millisecond pulsars evolve," Stairs said. Maura McLaughlin, of West Virginia University, agrees: "Future observations of this system at radio and other wavelengths are sure to hold many surprises." Archibald, Ransom, Stairs and McLaughlin are members of an international scientific team with representatives from McGill University, the University of British Columbia, the NRAO, West Virginia University, and others. The scientists announced their discovery in the May 21 online issue of the journal Science.

High-energy emission from the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR 1957+20

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arons, Jonathan; Tavani, Marco

1993-01-01

The properties of the high-energy emission expected from the eclipsing millisecond pulsar system PSR 1957+20 are investigated. Emission is considered by both the relativistic shock produced by the pulsar wind in the nebula surrounding the binary and by the shock constraining the mass outflow from the companion star of PSR 1957+20. On the basis of the results of microscopic plasma physical models of relativistic shocks it is suggested that the high-energy radiation is produced in the range from X-rays to MeV gamma rays in the binary and in the range from 0.01 eV to about 40 keV in the nebula. Doppler boost of the emission in the radiating wind suggests the flux should vary on the orbital time scale, with the largest flux observed roughly coincident with the pulsar's radio eclipse.

A New, Low Braking Index for the LMC Pulsar B0540-69

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, F. E.; Guillemot, L.; Harding, A. K.; Martin, P.; Smith, D. A.

2016-01-01

We report the results of a 16-month monitoring campaign using the Swift satellite of PSR 0540, a young pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Phase connection was maintained throughout the campaign so that a reliable ephemeris could be determined, and the length of the campaign is adequate to accurately determine the spin frequency and its first and second derivatives. The braking index n is 0.031 +/- 0.013 (90% confidence), a value much lower than previously reported for 0 540 and almost all other young pulsars. We use data from the extensive monitoring campaign with RXTE to showt hat timing noise is unlikely to significantly affect the measurement. This is the first measurement of the braking index in the pulsars recently discovered high spin-down state. We discuss possible mechanisms for producing the low braking index.

Sporadic emission of ultra high energy gamma rays from Crab pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhat, P. N.; Gupta, S. K.; Ramana Murthy, P. V.; Sreekantan, B. V.; Tonwar, S. C.; Vishwanath, P. R.

A 24 hr emission variability of the Crab pulsar was examined. The data were gathered in the energy range up to 500 GeV using the Oota Atmospheric Cerenkov array. Analysis proceeded in terms of one second curves with retention of only those data within 5 sigma of the nominal values. The mean time between events was about 125 msec, while some microbursts occurred at a rate of one per 0.5 msec and could happen twice within a minute (macroburst). A coincidence of pulse occurrence and phase was noted. Phasograms were generated for the events coming from the Crab pulsar, which displayed peak emissions for only 0.0001 of the observing time. It is concluded that traditional averaging analysis can mask periods of intense emissions.

NuSTAR Hard X-ray Observations of the Energetic Millisecond Pulsars PSR B1821-24, PSR B1937+21, and PSR J0218+4232

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gotthelf, Eric V.; Bogdanov, Slavko

2017-08-01

We present NuSTAR hard X-ray timing and spectroscopy of the three exceptionally energetic rotation-powered millisecond pulsars PSRs B1821-24, B1937+21, and J0218+4232. By correcting for frequency and phase drifts of the NuSTAR on-board clock we are able to recover the intrinsic hard X-ray pulse profiles of all three pulsars with a resolution down to <15 ms. The substantial reduction of background emission relative to previous broad-band X-ray observations allows us to detect for the first time pulsed emission up to ~50 keV, ~20 keV, and ~25 keV, for the three pulsars, respectively. We conduct phase-resolved spectroscopy in the 0.5 - 79 keV range for all three objects, obtaining the best yet measurements of the broad-band spectral shape and high-energy pulsed emission to date. We find extensions of the same power-law continua seen at lower energies, with no conclusive evidence for a spectral turnover or break. Extrapolation of the X-ray power-law spectrum to higher energies reveals that a turnover in the 100 keV to 100 MeV range is required to accommodate the high energy gamma-ray emission observed with Fermi LAT, similar to the broad-band spectral energy distribution observed for the Crab pulsar.

GOALS, STRATEGIES AND FIRST DISCOVERIES OF AO327, THE ARECIBO ALL-SKY 327 MHz DRIFT PULSAR SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deneva, J. S.; Stovall, K.; Martinez, J. G.

2013-09-20

We report initial results from AO327, a drift survey for pulsars with the Arecibo telescope at 327 MHz. The first phase of AO327 will cover the sky at declinations of –1° to 28°, excluding the region within 5° of the Galactic plane, where high scattering and dispersion make low-frequency surveys sub-optimal. We record data from a 57 MHz bandwidth with 1024 channels and 125 μs sampling time. The 60 s transit time through the AO327 beam means that the survey is sensitive to very tight relativistic binaries even with no acceleration searches. To date we have detected 44 known pulsarsmore » with periods ranging from 3 ms to 2.21 s and discovered 24 new pulsars. The new discoveries include 3 ms pulsars, three objects with periods of a few tens of milliseconds typical of young as well as mildly recycled pulsars, a nuller, and a rotating radio transient. Five of the new discoveries are in binary systems. The second phase of AO327 will cover the sky at declinations of 28°-38°. We compare the sensitivity and search volume of AO327 to the Green Bank North Celestial Cap survey and the GBT350 drift survey, both of which operate at 350 MHz.« less

Pulsars as Calibration Tools and X-Ray Observations of Spider Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gentile, Peter Anthony

We present the polarization pulse profiles for 29 pulsars observed with the Arecibo Observatory by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) timing project at 2.1 GHz, 1.4 GHz, and 430 MHz. These profiles represent the most sensitive polarimetric millisecond pulsar profiles to date, revealing the existence of microcomponents (that is, pulse components with peak intensities much lower than the total pulse peak intensity). Although microcomponents have been detected in some pulsars previously, we are able to detect new microcomponents for PSRs B1937+21, J1713+0747, and J2234+0944. We also present rotation measures for 28 of these pulsars, determined independently at different observation frequencies and epochs, and find the Galactic magnetic fields derived from these rotation measures to be consistent with current models. These polarization profiles were made using measurement equation template matching, which allows us to generate the polarimetric response of the Arecibo Observatory on an epoch-by-epoch basis. We use this method to describe its time variability, and find that the polarimetric responses of the Arecibo Observatory's 1.4 and 2.1 GHz receivers varies significantly with time. We then describe the first X-ray observations of five short orbital period (PB < 1 day), gamma-ray emitting, binary millisecond pulsars. Four of these--PSRs J0023+0923, J1124-3653, J1810+1744, and J2256-1024--are "black-widow" pulsars, with degenerate companions of mass 0.1 solar mass, three of which exhibit radio eclipses. The fifth source, PSR J2215+5135, is an eclipsing "redback" with a near Roche-lobe filling 0.2 solar mass non-degenerate companion. Data were taken using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and covered a full binary orbit for each pulsar. Two pulsars, PSRs J2215+5135 and J2256-1024, show significant orbital variability while PSR J1124-3653 shows marginal orbital variability. The lightcurves for these three pulsars have X-ray flux minima coinciding with the phases of the radio eclipses. This phenomenon is consistent with an intrabinary shock emission interpretation for the X-rays. The other two pulsars, PSRs J0023+0923 and J1810+1744, are fainter and do not demonstrate variability at a level we can detect in these data. All five spectra are fit with three separate models: a power-law model, a blackbody model, and a combined model with both power-law and blackbody components. The preferred spectral fits yield power-law indices that range from 1.3 to 3.2 and blackbody temperatures in the hundreds of eV. The spectrum for PSR J2215+5135 shows a significant hard X-ray component, with a large number of counts above 2 keV, which is additional evidence for the presence of intrabinary shock emission. This is similar to what has been detected in the low-mass X-ray binary to MSP transition object PSR J1023+0038. We also describe X-Ray observations of three "redback" pulsars taken with the XMM-Newton X-Ray telescope, and cover at least one orbit for each source. We had previously analyzed data for one of these sources, PSR J2215+5135, taken with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory . These new observations also show orbital variability in PSR J2215+5135's X-Ray lightcurve, including an X-Ray minimum near superior conjunction, and the increased sensitivity allows us to see two clear features away from superior conjunction. For the other two sources, PSRs J1622-0315 and J1908+2105, we do not detect enough counts to constrain the X-Ray orbital variability. The spectra for each of these sources showed significant hard X-Ray emission, and were therefore not well described by thermal models. We report power-law indices from these fits in the range of 1.28 to 2.0. These spectral properties are consistent with intrabinary shock emission.

Long-term fluctuation of standard automatic perimetry, pulsar perimetry and frequency-doubling technology in early glaucoma diagnosis.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Hernandez, M; de la Rosa, M Gonzalez; de la Vega, R Rodriguez; Hernandez-Vidal, A

2007-01-01

Analyze the stability and accuracy of 3 perimetric techniques. A total of 104 stable eyes (65 subjects) with ocular hypertension and early glaucoma [group G, mean defect = 1.08 dB, SD = 2.0, in standard TOP automatic perimetry (SAP)] were examined 5 times during 18 months using: (a) SAP; (b) Pulsar temporal modulation perimetry (T30W), and (c) frequency-doubling technology (FDT N30). Ninety eyes from 90 normal controls were compared with the first set of examinations of group G. The learning effect was minimal in the 3 techniques but higher in Pulsar (1.0 src, p < 0.05) than in SAP and FDT (0.4 dB). Long-term fluctuation (F) was significantly higher in FDT (3.1 dB, SD = 1.4, p < 0.0001) than in SAP (2.3 dB, SD = 1.1) and in Pulsar (1.9 src, SD = 0.7). Pulsar and FDT reduce F when increasing the number of examinations. F seems equivalent in SAP and FDT and lower in Pulsar, considering small-scale differences of the 3 perimeters. A slight learning effect would be expected on FDT and SAP in patients with previous experience with SAP. The stability and sensitivity of Pulsar is greater than on the other 2 systems. For early diagnosis of glaucoma it is essential to prove the reproducibility and coincidence of perimetric results. (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Characterizing the nature of subpulse drifting in pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Rahul; Mitra, Dipanjan

2018-04-01

We report a detailed study of subpulse drifting in four long-period pulsars. These pulsars were observed in the Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey and the presence of phase-modulated subpulse drifting was reported in each case. We carried out longer duration and more sensitive observations lasting 7000-12 000 periods in the frequency range 306-339 MHz. The drifting features were characterized in great detail, including the phase variations across the pulse window. For two pulsars, J0820-1350 and J1720-2933, the phases changed steadily across the pulse window. The pulsar J1034-3224 has five components. The leading component was very weak and was barely detectable in our single-pulse observations. The four trailing components showed subpulse drifting. The phase variations changed in alternate components with a reversal in the sign of the gradient. This phenomenon is known as bi-drifting. The pulsar J1555-3134 showed two distinct peak frequencies of comparable strengths in the fluctuation spectrum. The two peaks did not appear to be harmonically related and were most likely a result of different physical processes. Additionally, the long observations enabled us to explore the temporal variations of the drifting features. The subpulse drifting was largely constant with time but small fluctuations around a mean value were seen.

Accretion and Propeller Torque in the Spin-Down Phase of Neutron Stars: The case of transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertan, Ünal

2018-05-01

The spin-down rate of PSR J1023+0038, one of the three confirmed transitional millisecond pulsars, was measured in both radio pulsar (RMSP) and X-ray pulsar (LMXB) states. The spin-down rate in the LMXB state is only about 27% greater than in the RMSP state (Jaodand et al. 2016). The inner disk radius, rin, obtained recently by Ertan (2017) for the propeller phase, which is close to the co-rotation radius, rco, and insensitive to the mass-flow rate, can explain the observed torques together with the X-ray luminosities, Lx . The X-ray pulsar and radio pulsar states correspond to accretion with spin-down (weak propeller) and strong propeller situations respectively. Several times increase in the disk mass-flow rate takes the source from the strong propeller with a low Lx to the weak propeller with a higher Lx powered by accretion on to the star. The resultant decrease in rin increases the magnetic torque slightly, explaining the observed small increase in the spin-down rate. We have found that the spin-up torque exerted by accreting material is much smaller than the magnetic spin-down torque exerted by the disk in the LMXB state.

An X-ray Pulsar with a Superstrong Magnetic Field in the Soft Gamma-Ray Repeater SGR1806-20

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kouveliotou, C.; Dieters, S.; Strohmayer, T.; vanParadijs, J.; Fishman, G. J.; Meegan, C. A.; Hurley, K.; Kommers, J.; Smith, I.; Frail, D.;

A transient, flat spectrum radio pulsar near the Galactic Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dexter, J.; Degenaar, N.; Kerr, M.; Deller, A.; Deneva, J.; Lazarus, P.; Kramer, M.; Champion, D.; Karuppusamy, R.

2017-06-01

Recent studies have shown possible connections between highly magnetized neutron stars ('magnetars'), whose X-ray emission is too bright to be powered by rotational energy, and ordinary radio pulsars. In addition to the magnetar SGR J1745-2900, one of the radio pulsars in the Galactic Centre (GC) region, PSR J1746-2850, had timing properties implying a large magnetic field strength and young age, as well as a flat spectrum. All characteristics are similar to those of rare, transient, radio-loud magnetars. Using several deep non-detections from the literature and two new detections, we show that this pulsar is also transient in the radio. Both the flat spectrum and large amplitude variability are inconsistent with the light curves and spectral indices of three radio pulsars with high magnetic field strengths. We further use frequent, deep archival imaging observations of the GC in the past 15 yr to rule out a possible X-ray outburst with a luminosity exceeding the rotational spin-down rate. This source, either a transient magnetar without any detected X-ray counterpart or a young, strongly magnetized radio pulsar producing magnetar-like radio emission, further blurs the line between the two categories. We discuss the implications of this object for the radio emission mechanism in magnetars and for star and compact object formation in the GC.

Interstellar scintillations of PSR B1919+21: space-ground interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shishov, V. I.; Smirnova, T. V.; Gwinn, C. R.; Andrianov, A. S.; Popov, M. V.; Rudnitskiy, A. G.; Soglasnov, V. A.

2017-07-01

We carried out observations of pulsar PSR B1919+21 at 324 MHz to study the distribution of interstellar plasma in the direction of this pulsar. We used the RadioAstron (RA) space radio telescope, together with two ground telescopes: Westerbork (WB) and Green Bank (GB). The maximum baseline projection for the space-ground interferometer was about 60 000 km. We show that interstellar scintillation of this pulsar consists of two components: diffractive scintillations from inhomogeneities in a layer of turbulent plasma at a distance z1 = 440 pc from the observer or homogeneously distributed scattering material to the pulsar; and weak scintillations from a screen located near the observer at z2 = 0.14 ± 0.05 pc. Furthermore, in the direction to the pulsar we detected a prism that deflects radiation, leading to a shift in observed source position. We show that the influence of the ionosphere can be ignored for the space-ground baseline. Analysis of the spatial coherence function for the space-ground baseline (RA-GB) yielded a scattering angle in the observer plane of θscat = 0.7 mas. An analysis of the time-frequency correlation function for weak scintillations yielded an angle of refraction in the direction to the pulsar θref, 0 = 110 ms and a distance to the prism zprism ≤ 2 pc.

"Magnetar-like Emission from the Young Pulsar in Kes 75"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gavrill, R.; Gonzalez, M.; Livingstone, M.; Gotthelf, E.; Kaspi, V.; Woods, P.

2008-01-01

Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) are thought to be magnetars - isolated neutron stars with ultra-high magnetic fields. These sources exhibit X-ray and gamma-ray bursts, and week to month-long flux enhancements, all too bright to be accounted for by their spindown luminosity. A mystery in neutron star astrophysics is why such emission has never been seen from rotation-powered pulsars with magnetar-like fields. Here we report the first detection of magnetar-like X-ray bursts from what has been long thought to be a rotation-powered pulsar, PSR 51846-0258, at the center of the supernova remnant Kes 75. PSR J1846-0258 has an inferred surface dipolar magnetic field of 4.9 X 1103 G, which is sixth highest among the > 1700 known rotation-powered pulsars, but less than those of the approximately 12 confirmed magnetars. The bursts coincided with a sudden flux increase and an unprecedented change in timing behavior, f m l y establishing PSR 51 846-0258 as a rotation-powered pulsar/magnetar transition object. These observations demonstrate that magnetar-like emission can be seen from sources with fields lower than the magnetars, and suggest that the intensity of magnetar-like activity in neutron stars depends on magnetic field strength in a more continuous way than previously thought.

A search for circumstellar material around pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, J. A.; Chandler, C. J.

1994-01-01

We have searched for thermal dust emission from circumstellar disks around five neutron stars using the Owens Valley millimeter array at 99 GHz and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope at 380 GHz. Two of the neutron stars (PSR 0950+08 and 1133+16) are nearby isolated pulsars with characteristic ages 106 to 107 yr. The remaining three (PSR 1257+12, 1534+12, and 1937+21) are old millisecond pulsars with ages in the range 108 to 109 yr. None of the pulsars was detected above the noise, giving 2 sigma limits on the mass of disk material of approximately 10-2 solar mass if their disks are similar to those around pre-main-sequence stars. We discuss mechanisms for clearing dust grains from circumpulsar disks. We show that dust particles orbiting a neutron star lose angular momentum due to the ram pressure of the interstellar medium, which is approximately 104 times stronger for pulsars than for normal stars because of their high space velocity. For a pulsar moving at 100 km/s through an ambient medium with number density n approximately 1/cu cm, dust grains 0.1 micrometer(s) in size spiral into the star in approximately 106 years. This mechanism is more effective at clearing grains than the Poynting-Robertson effect and may limit the detectability of disks around old neutron stars.

Binary Pulsar PSR J1518+4904: Orbital Precession and Mass Estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nice, D. J.; Sayer, R. W.; Taylor, J. H.

1995-03-01

We have made timing observations of newly discovered binary pulsar PSR J1518+4904 over a span of five months using the 140ft telescope of NRAO/Green Bank at frequencies between 320 and 800 MHz. Typical precision of a pulse time of arrival is 15 mu s in a 1 hour integration (using a 40 MHz passband at 370 or 575 MHz). The timing data were reduced using standard techniques, and they fit well to a standard model of neutron star and orbital behavior. The pulse period is 40.934 ms, and the period derivative is at most 10(-18) , implying an age of at least 600 Myr and a surface magnetic field no stronger than 6*E(9) Gauss. The pulsar is in an 8.6 day, eccentric (e=0.249) orbit, with semi-major axis 0.040 AU. Orbital precession of 0.0110+/-0.0008 deg/yr (2sigma uncertainty) has been detected. This implies a total system mass of 2.6+/-0.3 M_sun. The masses of the pulsar and companion (quite possibly another neutron star) cannot be fully separated. However, the system mass, combined with other orbital parameters, implies a pulsar mass of at most 1.9 M_sun and a companion mass of at least 0.9 M_sun. Precision of the precession measurement increases at least linearly with the length of the data series, so further observations of this system will provide a better measure of the total system mass. It is unlikely that the estimates of the individual component masses will improve.

Orbital variability in the eclipsing pulsar binary PSR B1957+20

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arzoumanian, Z.; Fruchter, A. S.; Taylor, J. H.

1994-01-01

We have conducted timing observations of the eclipsing millisecond binary pulsar PSR B1957+20, extending the span of data on this pulsar to more than five years. During this time the orbital period of the system has varied by roughly Delta P(sub b)/P(sub b) = 1.6 x 10(exp -7), changing quardratically with time and displaying with time and displaying an orbital period second derivative of P(sub b) = (1.43 +/- 0.08) x 10(exp -18)/sec. The previous measurement of a large negative orbital period derivative reflected only the short-term behavior of the system during the early observations; the orbital period derivative is now positive. If, as we suspect, the PSR B1957+20 system is undergoing quasi-cyclic orbital period variations similar to those found in other close binaries such as Algol and RS CVn, then the 0.025 solar mass companion to PSR B1957+20 is most likely non-degenerate, convective, and magnetically active.

Ultra Light Axionic Dark Matter: Galactic Halos and Implications for Observations with Pulsar Timing Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Martino, Ivan; Broadhurst, Tom; Tye, S.-H. Henry; Chiueh, Tzihong; Shive, Hsi-Yu; Lazkoz, Ruth

2018-01-01

The cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm successfully explains the cosmic structure over an enormous span of redshifts. However, it fails when probing the innermost regions of dark matter halos and the properties of the Milky Way's dwarf galaxy satellites. Moreover, the lack of experimental detection of Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) favors alternative candidates such as light axionic dark matter that naturally arise in string theory. Cosmological N-body simulations have shown that axionic dark matter forms a solitonic core of size of ≃ 150 pc in the innermost region of the galactic halos. The oscillating scalar field associated to the axionic dark matter halo produces an oscillating gravitational potential that induces a time dilation of the pulse arrival time of ≃ 400 ns/(m_B/10^{-22} eV) for pulsar within such a solitonic core. Over the whole galaxy, the averaged predicted signal may be detectable with current and forthcoming pulsar timing array telescopes.

Comment on “Characterizing the population of pulsars in the Galactic bulge with the Fermi large area telescope” [arXiv:1705.00009v1

DOE PAGES

Bartels, Richard

2018-04-24

Here, themore » $$\\textit{Fermi}$$-LAT Collaboration recently presented a new catalog of gamma-ray sources located within the $$40^{\\circ} \\times 40^{\\circ}$$ region around the Galactic Center~(Ajello et al. 2017) -- the Second Fermi Inner Galaxy (2FIG) catalog. Utilizing this catalog, they analyzed models for the spatial distribution and luminosity function of sources with a pulsar-like gamma-ray spectrum. Ajello et al. 2017 v1 also claimed to detect, in addition to a disk-like population of pulsar-like sources, an approximately 7$$\\sigma$$ preference for an additional centrally concentrated population of pulsar-like sources, which they referred to as a "Galactic Bulge" population. Such a population would be of great interest, as it would support a pulsar interpretation of the gamma-ray excess that has long been observed in this region. In an effort to further explore the implications of this new source catalog, we attempted to reproduce the results presented by the $$\\textit{Fermi}$$-LAT Collaboration, but failed to do so. Mimicking as closely as possible the analysis techniques undertaken in Ajello et al. 2017, we instead find that our likelihood analysis favors a very different spatial distribution and luminosity function for these sources. Most notably, our results do not exhibit a strong preference for a "Galactic Bulge" population of pulsars. Furthermore, we find that masking the regions immediately surrounding each of the 2FIG pulsar candidates does $$\\textit{not}$$ significantly impact the spectrum or intensity of the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess. Although these results refute the claim of strong evidence for a centrally concentrated pulsar population presented in Ajello et al. 2017, they neither rule out nor provide support for the possibility that the Galactic Center excess is generated by a population of low-luminosity and currently largely unobserved pulsars.« less

Comment on “Characterizing the population of pulsars in the Galactic bulge with the Fermi large area telescope” [arXiv:1705.00009v1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartels, Richard

Here, themore » $$\\textit{Fermi}$$-LAT Collaboration recently presented a new catalog of gamma-ray sources located within the $$40^{\\circ} \\times 40^{\\circ}$$ region around the Galactic Center~(Ajello et al. 2017) -- the Second Fermi Inner Galaxy (2FIG) catalog. Utilizing this catalog, they analyzed models for the spatial distribution and luminosity function of sources with a pulsar-like gamma-ray spectrum. Ajello et al. 2017 v1 also claimed to detect, in addition to a disk-like population of pulsar-like sources, an approximately 7$$\\sigma$$ preference for an additional centrally concentrated population of pulsar-like sources, which they referred to as a "Galactic Bulge" population. Such a population would be of great interest, as it would support a pulsar interpretation of the gamma-ray excess that has long been observed in this region. In an effort to further explore the implications of this new source catalog, we attempted to reproduce the results presented by the $$\\textit{Fermi}$$-LAT Collaboration, but failed to do so. Mimicking as closely as possible the analysis techniques undertaken in Ajello et al. 2017, we instead find that our likelihood analysis favors a very different spatial distribution and luminosity function for these sources. Most notably, our results do not exhibit a strong preference for a "Galactic Bulge" population of pulsars. Furthermore, we find that masking the regions immediately surrounding each of the 2FIG pulsar candidates does $$\\textit{not}$$ significantly impact the spectrum or intensity of the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess. Although these results refute the claim of strong evidence for a centrally concentrated pulsar population presented in Ajello et al. 2017, they neither rule out nor provide support for the possibility that the Galactic Center excess is generated by a population of low-luminosity and currently largely unobserved pulsars.« less

RADIO POLARIZATION OBSERVATIONS OF G319.9-0.7: A BOW-SHOCK NEBULA WITH AN AZIMUTHAL MAGNETIC FIELD POWERED BY PULSAR J1509-5850

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ng, C.-Y.; Gaensler, B. M.; Chatterjee, S.

2010-03-20

We report radio polarization observations of G319.9-0.7 (MSC 319.9-0.7) at 3 and 6 cm obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The source shows a highly elongated morphology with the energetic pulsar J1509-5850 located at the tip. We found a flat radio spectrum of index alpha = -0.26 +- 0.04 and a high degree of linear polarization. These results confirm G319.9-0.7 as a bow-shock pulsar wind nebula. The polarization maps suggest a helical magnetic field trailing the pulsar, with the symmetry axis parallel to the system's inferred direction of motion. This is the first time such a field geometry hasmore » been seen in a bow-shock nebula, and it may be the result of an alignment between the pulsar spin axis and its space velocity. Compared to other bow-shock examples, G319.9-0.7 exhibits very different properties in the field structure and surface brightness distribution, illustrating the large diversity of the population.« less

Vortex creep and the internal temperature of neutron stars - Linear and nonlinear response to a glitch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alpar, M. A.; Cheng, K. S.; Pines, D.

1989-01-01

The dynamics of pinned superfluid in neutron stars is determined by the thermal 'creep' of vortices. Vortex creep can respond to changes in the rotation rate of the neutron star crust and provide the observed types of dynamical relaxation following pulsar glitches. It also gives rise to energy dissipation, which determines the thermal evolution of pulsars once the initial heat content has been radiated away. The different possible regimes of vortex creep are explored, and it is shown that the nature of the dynamical response of the pinned superfluid evolves with a pulsar's age. Younger pulsars display a linear regime, where the response is linear in the initial perturbation and is a simple exponential relaxation as a function of time. A nonliner response, with a characteristic nonlinear dependence on the initial perturbation, is responsible for energy dissipation and becomes the predominant mode of response as the pulsar ages. The transition from the linear to the nonlinear regime depends sensitively on the temperature of the neutron star interior. A preliminary review of existing postglitch observations is given within this general evolutionary framework.

Novel X-ray Communication Based XNAV Augmentation Method Using X-ray Detectors

PubMed Central

Song, Shibin; Xu, Luping; Zhang, Hua; Bai, Yuanjie

2015-01-01

The further development of X-ray pulsar-based NAVigation (XNAV) is hindered by its lack of accuracy, so accuracy improvement has become a critical issue for XNAV. In this paper, an XNAV augmentation method which utilizes both pulsar observation and X-ray ranging observation for navigation filtering is proposed to deal with this issue. As a newly emerged concept, X-ray communication (XCOM) shows great potential in space exploration. X-ray ranging, derived from XCOM, could achieve high accuracy in range measurement, which could provide accurate information for XNAV. For the proposed method, the measurement models of pulsar observation and range measurement observation are established, and a Kalman filtering algorithm based on the observations and orbit dynamics is proposed to estimate the position and velocity of a spacecraft. A performance comparison of the proposed method with the traditional pulsar observation method is conducted by numerical experiments. Besides, the parameters that influence the performance of the proposed method, such as the pulsar observation time, the SNR of the ranging signal, etc., are analyzed and evaluated by numerical experiments. PMID:26404295

THE NANOGRAV NINE-YEAR DATA SET: OBSERVATIONS, ARRIVAL TIME MEASUREMENTS, AND ANALYSIS OF 37 MILLISECOND PULSARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arzoumanian, Zaven; Brazier, Adam; Chatterjee, Shami

2015-11-01

We present high-precision timing observations spanning up to nine years for 37 millisecond pulsars monitored with the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project. We describe the observational and instrumental setups used to collect the data, and methodology applied for calculating pulse times of arrival; these include novel methods for measuring instrumental offsets and characterizing low signal-to-noise ratio timing results. The time of arrival data are fit to a physical timing model for each source, including terms that characterize time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-dependent pulse shape evolution. Inmore » conjunction with the timing model fit, we have performed a Bayesian analysis of a parameterized timing noise model for each source, and detect evidence for excess low-frequency, or “red,” timing noise in 10 of the pulsars. For 5 of these cases this is likely due to interstellar medium propagation effects rather than intrisic spin variations. Subsequent papers in this series will present further analysis of this data set aimed at detecting or limiting the presence of nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave signals.« less

Geriatric Pulsar Still Kicking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-02-01

The oldest isolated pulsar ever detected in X-rays has been found with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This very old and exotic object turns out to be surprisingly active. The pulsar, PSR J0108-1431 (J0108 for short) is about 200 million years old. Among isolated pulsars -- ones that have not been spun-up in a binary system -- it is over 10 times older than the previous record holder with an X-ray detection. At a distance of 770 light years, it is one of the nearest pulsars known. Pulsars are born when stars that are much more massive than the Sun collapse in supernova explosions, leaving behind a small, incredibly weighty core, known as a neutron star. At birth, these neutron stars, which contain the densest material known in the Universe, are spinning rapidly, up to a hundred revolutions per second. As the rotating beams of their radiation are seen as pulses by distant observers, similar to a lighthouse beam, astronomers call them "pulsars". Astronomers observe a gradual slowing of the rotation of the pulsars as they radiate energy away. Radio observations of J0108 show it to be one of the oldest and faintest pulsars known, spinning only slightly faster than one revolution per second. The surprise came when a team of astronomers led by George Pavlov of Penn State University observed J0108 in X-rays with Chandra. They found that it glows much brighter in X-rays than was expected for a pulsar of such advanced years. People Who Read This Also Read... Chandra Data Reveal Rapidly Whirling Black Holes Milky Way’s Giant Black Hole Awoke from Slumber 300 Years Ago Erratic Black Hole Regulates Itself Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy Some of the energy that J0108 is losing as it spins more slowly is converted into X-ray radiation. The efficiency of this process for J0108 is found to be higher than for any other known pulsar. "This pulsar is pumping out high-energy radiation much more efficiently than its younger cousins," said Pavlov. "So, although it's clearly fading as it ages, it is still more than holding its own with the younger generations." It's likely that two forms of X-ray emission are produced in J0108: emission from particles spiraling around magnetic fields, and emission from heated areas around the neutron star's magnetic poles. Measuring the temperature and size of these heated regions can provide valuable insight into the extraordinary properties of the neutron star surface and the process by which charged particles are accelerated by the pulsar. The younger, bright pulsars commonly detected by radio and X-ray telescopes are not representative of the full population of objects, so observing objects like J0108 helps astronomers see a more complete range of behavior. At its advanced age, J0108 is close to the so-called "pulsar death line," where its pulsed radiation is expected to switch off and it will become much harder, if not impossible, to observe. "We can now explore the properties of this pulsar in a regime where no other pulsar has been detected outside the radio range," said co-author Oleg Kargaltsev of the University of Florida. "To understand the properties of 'dying pulsars,' it is important to study their radiation in X-rays. Our finding that a very old pulsar can be such an efficient X-ray emitter gives us hope to discover new nearby pulsars of this class via their X-ray emission." The Chandra observations were reported by Pavlov and colleagues in the January 20, 2009, issue of The Astrophysical Journal. However, the extreme nature of J0108 was not fully apparent until a new distance to it was reported on February 6 in the PhD thesis of Adam Deller from Swinburne University in Australia. The new distance is both larger and more accurate than the distance used in the Chandra paper, showing that J0108 was brighter in X-rays than previously thought. "Suddenly this pulsar became the record holder for its ability to make X-rays," said Pavlov, "and our result became even more interesting without us doing much extra work." PSR J0108-1431 Chandra X-ray Image of PSR J0108-1431 The position of the pulsar seen by Chandra in X-rays in early 2007 is slightly different from the radio position observed in early 2001. This implies that the pulsar is moving at a velocity of about 440,000 miles per hour, close to a typical value for pulsars. Currently the pulsar is moving south from the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, but because it is moving more slowly than the escape velocity of the Galaxy, it will eventually curve back towards the plane of the Galaxy in the opposite direction. The detection of this motion has allowed Roberto Mignani of University College London, in collaboration with Pavlov and Kargaltsev, to possibly detect J0108 in optical light, using estimates of where it should be found in an image taken in 2000. Such a multi-wavelength study of old pulsars is critical for understanding the long-term evolution of neutron stars, such as how they cool with time, and how their powerful magnetic fields evolve. The team of astronomers that worked with Pavlov also included Gordon Garmire and Jared Wong at Penn State. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

The End of Accretion: The X-Ray Binary/Millisecond Pulsar Transition Object PSR J1023+0038

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Archibald, Anne

2015-04-01

Millisecond radio pulsars (MSRPs), those spinning hundreds of times per second, have long been understood to be old pulsars that have been spun up by the accretion of matter from a companion in a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) phase. Yet the details of this transformation, particularly the end of the accretion process and the birth of a radio pulsar, remain mysterious. I will describe the discovery and detailed study of the first object known to transition between MSRP and LMXB states, PSR J1023+0038. By dint of a multiwavelength campaign of observations in the RMSP state, we are able to measure all the key system parameters and show the existence of an X-ray shock close to the pulsar-facing side of the companion. Since the discovery of PSR J1023+0038, two more objects (XSS J12270-4859 and M28I) have been found to make the same transition, and the study of these transitioning objects has become an active field of research. Most interestingly, PSR J1023+0038 has transitioned back into an LMXB state, with an active accretion disk and a puzzling increase in gamma-ray flux. Our detailed picture of the system allows us to test models of accretion against the phenomena we observe in PSR J1023+0038, and in fact these observations challenge current models: in spite of the low luminosity of the system (and low inferred accretion rate) some material is penetrating the centrifugal barrier and falling on the neutron-star surface. Key evidence for explaining this puzzling behaviour will come when PSR J1023+0038 returns to an MSRP state and we are able to compare pulsar timing models from after the LMXB state with those we obtained in this work.

Chandra Associates Pulsar and Historic Supernova

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2001-01-01

SAN DIEGO -- Scientists using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have found new evidence that a pulsar in the constellation of Sagittarius was created when a massive star exploded, witnessed by Chinese astronomers in the year 386 AD. If confirmed, this will be only the second pulsar to be clearly associated with a historic event. These results were presented today by Victoria Kaspi and Mallory Roberts of McGill University at the American Astronomical Society meeting. Also participating in the research were Gautum Vasisht from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Eric Gotthelf from Columbia University, Michael Pivovaroff from Therma-Wave, Inc., and Nobuyuki Kawai from the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Japan. The scientists used Chandra to locate the pulsar exactly at the geometric center of the supernova remnant known as G11.2-0.3. This location provides very strong evidence that the pulsar, a neutron star that is rotating 14 times a second, was formed in the supernova of 386 AD, and therefore has an age of 1615 years. "Determining the true ages of astronomical objects is notoriously difficult, and for this reason, historical records of supernovas are of great importance,"said Kaspi."In roughly the past 2,000 years, fewer than 10 reports of probable supernovae have been archived mostly by Asian astronomers. Of those handful, the remnant of 1054 AD, the Crab Nebula, was until now the only pulsar whose birth could be associated with a historic event - and, hence, the only neutron star that has a firm age." Between mid-April and mid-May in the year 386 AD, a young "guest star", presumably a supernova, was recorded by Chinese observers in the direction of the sky now known as the constellation of Sagittarius. In the 1970s, radio astronomers discovered an expanding nebula of gas and high-energy particles, called G11.2-0.3, that is believed to be the remnant of that explosion. In 1997, a team of X-ray astronomers used Japan’s ASCA satellite to discover a pulsar in the same area of the sky. Past attempts to identify the pulsar with G11.2-0.3, and hence the ancient Chinese observations, have been controversial. The location of the pulsar at the center of the remnant provides new evidence that it is associated with the remnant. Since pulsars are known to move rapidly away from where they are formed, a pulsar near the center of the remnant implies the system must be very young, since not enough time has elapsed for the pulsar to travel far from its birthplace. "We believe that the pulsar and the supernova remnant G11.2-0.3 are both likely to be left over from the explosion seen by the Chinese observers over 1600 years ago," said Roberts. "While this is exciting by itself, it also raises new questions about what we know about pulsars especially during their infancies." These questions follow from a discrepancy that arose when the ASCA team applied the present spin rate to current models to determine the pulsar’s estimated lifetime and compare it to the age of G11.2-0.3. The result was an age of roughly 24,000 years - far predating the birth year of 386 AD. To explain this contradiction, the Chandra team argues that this pulsar may have had approximately the same spin rate today as it did at its birth, as had been suggested by the ASCA data. If this is true, then it could have important implications for the conventional wisdom regarding pulsars, which, may be born spinning more slowly than has been thought. "We now have strong evidence that the standard age estimate for this pulsar is probably wrong, and it is much younger than previously believed," said Kaspi. "This, in turn, suggests that other standard pulsar age estimates may be wrong as well, and this has important implications for the population as a whole." In addition to these results, the Chandra observations of G11.2-0.3 have, for the first time, revealed the bizarre appearance of the pulsar wind nebula (also known as "plerions") at the center of the supernova remnant. Its rough cigar-like shape is in contrast to the graceful arcs observed around the Crab and Vela pulsars. However, together with those pulsars, G11.2-0.3 demonstrates that such complicated structures are ubiquitous around young pulsars. This has left astronomers confounded. Chandra observed G11.2-0.3 with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer at two epochs: August 6, 2000, and October 15, 2000, for approximately 20,000 and 15,000 seconds respectively. The ACIS X-ray camera was developed for NASA by Pennsylvania State University and MIT. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, manages the Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, California, is the prime contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, MA. In addition to their appointments at McGill, Dr. Kaspi is also affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. Roberts is a Quebec Merit Postdoctoral Fellow. Funding for this work was provided by NASA, NSF, and NSERC (Canada). During the AAS meeting, the scientists involved in this release can be reached at the AAS Press Room at the Town & Country Resort in San Diego, CA. The phone numbers for the Press Room are (619) 908-5057, (619) 908-5040, and (619) 908-5041 from January 8-11. Images associated with this release are available on the World Wide Web at: http://chandra.harvard.edu AND http://chandra.nasa.gov

Long-Term Time Variability in the X-Ray Pulse Shape of the Crab Nebula Pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazio, Giovanni G.

2000-01-01

This is the final performance report for our grant 'Long-Term Time Variability in the X-Ray Pulse Shape of the Crab Nebula Pulsar.' In the first year of this grant, we received the 50,000-second ROSAT (German acronym for X-ray satellite) High Resolution Images (HRI) observation of the Crab Nebula pulsar. We used the data to create a 65-ms-resolution pulse profile and compared it to a similar pulse profile obtained in 1991. No statistically significant differences were found. These results were presented at the January 1998 meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Since then, we have performed more sensitive analyses to search for potential changes in the pulse profile shape between the two data sets. Again, no significant variability was found. In order to augment this long (six-year) baseline data set, we have analyzed archival observations of the Crab Nebula pulsar with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). While these observations have shorter time baselines than the ROSAT data set, their higher signal-to-noise offers similar sensitivity to long-term variability. Again, no significant variations have been found, confirming our ROSAT results. This work was done in collaboration with Prof. Stephen Eikenberry, Cornell University. These analyses will be included in Cornell University graduate student Dae-Sik Moon's doctoral thesis.

The 2006-2007 Active Phase Of Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61: Radiative and Timing Changes, Bursts, and Burst Spectral Features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gavril, Fotis P.; Dib, Rim; Kaspi, Victoria M.

2009-01-01

After at least 6 years of quiescence, Anomalous X-ray Pulsar (AXP) 4U 0142+61 entered an active phase in 2006 March that lasted several months and included six X-ray bursts as well as many changes in the persistent X-ray emission. The bursts, the first seen from this AXP in >11 years of Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer monitoring, all occurred in the interval between 2006 April 6 and 2007 February 7. The burst durations ranged from 8-3x10(exp 3)s. The first five burst spectra are well modeled by blackbodies, with temperatures kT approx. 2 - 6 keV. However, the sixth burst had a complicated spectrum that is well characterized by a blackbody plus three emission features whose amplitude varied throughout the burst. The most prominent feature was at 14.0 keV. Upon entry into the active phase the pulsar showed a significant change in pulse morphology and a likely timing glitch. The glitch had a total frequency jump of (1.9+/-0.4)x10(exp -7) Hz, which recovered with a decay time of 17+/-2 days by more than the initial jump, implying a net spin-down of the pulsar. We discuss these events in the context of the magnetar model.

Einstein@Home Finds a Double Neutron Star

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-12-01

Have you been contributing your computer idle time to the Einstein@Home project? If so, youre partly responsible for the programs recent discovery of a new double-neutron-star system that will be key to learning about general relativity and stellar evolution.The 305-m Arecibo Radio Telescope, built into the landscape at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. [NOAO/AURA/NSF/H. Schweiker/WIYN]The Hunt for PulsarsObserving binary systems containing two neutron stars and in particular, measuring the timing of the pulses when one or both companions is a pulsar can provide highly useful tests of general relativity and binary stellar evolution. Unfortunately, these systems are quite rare: of 2500 known radio pulsars, only 14 of them are in double-neutron-starbinaries.To find more systems like these, we perform large-scale, untargeted radio-pulsar surveys like the ongoing Pulsar-ALFA survey conducted with the enormous 305-m radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. But combing through these data for the signature of a highly accelerated pulsar (the acceleration is a clue that its in a compact binary) is very computationally expensive.PSR J1913+1102s L-band pulse profile, created by phase-aligning and summing all observations. [Adapted from Lazarus et al. 2016]To combat this problem, the Einstein@Home project was developed. Einstein@Home allows anyone to volunteer their personal computers idle time to help run the analysis of survey data in the search for pulsars. In a recent publication led by Patrick Lazarus (Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy), the Einstein@Home team announced the discovery of the pulsar PSR J1913+1102 a member of what seems to be a brand new double-neutron-starsystem.An Intriguing DiscoveryLazarus and collaborators followed up on the discovery to obtain timing measurements of the pulsar, which they found to have a spin period of 27.3 ms. They measured PSR J1913+1102 to be in a 4.95-hr, nearly circular (e 0.09) binary orbit with a massive companion that, based on its properties, is most likely another neutron star. The team wasnt able to detect pulsations from the companion, but that could mean that its beam doesnt cross the Earth, or its very faint, or its simply no longer active as a pulsar.Orbital evolution of the six known double-neutron-star systems that will coalesce within a Hubble time, including J1913+1102 (black solid line). They move toward the origin as they lose energy to gravitational waves and approach merger. Shown are current positions (black dots), estimates of the positions when the compact binaries were formed (grey dots), and future evolution. [Lazarus et al. 2016]Lazarus and collaborators use their observations of the system to arguethat PSR J1913+1102 waslikely spun up (recycled) by accretion of matter from its companions progenitor. The companion then exploded in the second supernova of the system, providing a very small kick hence the low eccentricity of the system and resulting in the current double-neutron-starbinary we observe.Lessons from PSR J1913+1102Observations of compact binaries such as this one can reveal a wealth of information. Besides providing clues about how the binary evolved, precise timing measurements (now being made) will also allow powerful tests of general relativity.One of the measurements that may be possible by the end of this year will provide information about the orbital decay of the binary expected to continue for 0.5 Gyr until the system merges due to the emission of gravitational waves.In the meantime, you can bet that Einstein@Home will continue hunting for more systems like PSR J1913+1102 and its companion!CitationP. Lazarus et al 2016 ApJ 831 150. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/831/2/150

Recognising Axionic Dark Matter by Compton and de-Broglie Scale Modulation of Pulsar Timing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Martino, Ivan; Broadhurst, Tom; Tye, S.-H. Henry; Chiueh, Tzihong; Schive, Hsi-Yu; Lazkoz, Ruth

2017-11-01

Light Axionic Dark Matter, motivated by string theory, is increasingly favored for the "no-WIMP era". Galaxy formation is suppressed below a Jeans scale, of ≃ 10^8 M_⊙ by setting the axion mass to, m_B ˜ 10^{-22}eV, and the large dark cores of dwarf galaxies are explained as solitons on the de-Broglie scale. This is persuasive, but detection of the inherent scalar field oscillation at the Compton frequency, ω_B= (2.5 months)^{-1}(m_B/10^{-22}eV), would be definitive. By evolving the coupled Schrödinger-Poisson equation for a Bose-Einstein condensate, we predict the dark matter is fully modulated by de-Broglie interference, with a dense soliton core of size ≃ 150pc, at the Galactic center. The oscillating field pressure induces General Relativistic time dilation in proportion to the local dark matter density and pulsars within this dense core have detectably large timing residuals, of ≃ 400nsec/(m_B/10^{-22}eV). This is encouraging as many new pulsars should be discovered near the Galactic center with planned radio surveys. More generally, over the whole Galaxy, differences in dark matter density between pairs of pulsars imprints a pairwise Galactocentric signature that can be distinguished from an isotropic gravitational wave background.

Galactic Shapiro delay to the Crab pulsar and limit on weak equivalence principle violation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desai, Shantanu; Kahya, Emre

2018-02-01

We calculate the total galactic Shapiro delay to the Crab pulsar by including the contributions from the dark matter as well as baryonic matter along the line of sight. The total delay due to dark matter potential is about 3.4 days. For baryonic matter, we included the contributions from both the bulge and the disk, which are approximately 0.12 and 0.32 days respectively. The total delay from all the matter distribution is therefore 3.84 days. We also calculate the limit on violations of Weak equivalence principle by using observations of "nano-shot" giant pulses from the Crab pulsar with time-delay <0.4 ns, as well as using time differences between radio and optical photons observed from this pulsar. Using the former, we obtain a limit on violation of Weak equivalence principle in terms of the PPN parameter Δ γ < 2.41× 10^{-15}. From the time-difference between simultaneous optical and radio observations, we get Δ γ < 1.54× 10^{-9}. We also point out differences in our calculation of Shapiro delay and that from two recent papers (Yang and Zhang, Phys Rev D 94(10):101501, 2016; Zhang and Gong, Astrophys J 837:134, 2017), which used the same observations to obtain a corresponding limit on Δ γ.

Birth of a Pulsar Wind Nebula in SN 1970G

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milisavljevic, Dan

2016-09-01

Chandra observations of the Type IIL supernova SN1970G obtained in 2011 showed a dramatic re-brightening in its X-ray luminosity. This sudden change contrasted starkly with radio emissions that have declined in strength throughout the supernova's lifetime. We request a modest investment of Chandra time to test our hypothesis that this combination of emission properties is associated with a newly formed pulsar wind nebula. We also request three hours of VLA time to look for possible late-time SN-CSM interaction and to fully characterize the nature of the emission.

Supermassive black hole binaries and transient radio events: studies in pulsar astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burke-Spolaor, S.

2011-06-01

The field of pulsar astronomy encompasses a rich breadth of astrophysical topics. The research in this thesis contributes to two particular subjects of pulsar astronomy: gravitational wave science, and identifying celestial sources of pulsed radio emission. We first investigated the detection of supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries, which are the brightest expected source of gravitational waves for pulsar timing. We considered whether two electromagnetic SMBH tracers, velocity-resolved emission lines in active nuclei, and radio galactic nuclei with spatially-resolved, flat-spectrum cores, can reveal systems emitting gravitational waves in the pulsar timing band. We found that there are systems which may in principle be simultaneously detectable by both an electromagnetic signature and gravitational emission, however the probability of actually identifying such a system is low (they will represent much less than 1% of a randomly selected galactic nucleus sample). This study accents the fact that electromagnetic indicators may be used to explore binary populations down to the 'stalling radii' at which binary inspiral evolution may stall indefinitely at radii exceeding those which produce gravitational radiation in the pulsar timing band. We then performed a search for binary SMBH holes in archival Very Long Baseline Interferometry data for 3114 radio-luminous active galactic nuclei. One source was detected as a double nucleus. This result is interpreted in terms of post-merger timescales for SMBH centralisation, implications for 'stalling', and the relationship of radio activity in nuclei to mergers. Our analysis suggested that binary pair evolution of SMBHs (both of masses >108M circled bullet) spends less than 500Myr in progression from the merging of galactic stellar cores to within the purported stalling radius for SMBH pairs, giving no evidence for an excess of stalled binary systems at small separations. Circumstantial evidence showed that the relative state of radio emission between paired SMBHs is correlated within orbital separations of 2.5 kpc. We then searched for transient radio events in two archival pulsar surveys, and in the new High Time Resolution Universe (HTRU) Survey. We present the methodology employed for these searches, noting the novel addition of methods for single-event recognition, automatic interference mitigation, and data inspection. 27 new neutron stars were discovered. We discuss the relationship between "rotating radio transient" (RRAT) and pulsar populations, finding that the Galactic z-distribution of RRATs closely resembles the distribution of pulsars, and where measurable, RRAT pulse widths are similar to individual pulses from pulsars of similar period, implying a similar beaming fraction. We postulate that many RRATs may simply represent a tail of extreme-nulling pulsars that are "on" for less than a pulse period; this is supported by the fact that nulling pulsars and single-pulse discoveries exhibit a continuous distribution across null/activity timescales and nulling fractions. We found a drop-off in objects with emissivity cycles longer than 300 seconds at intermediate and low nulling fractions which is not readily explained by selection effects. The HTRU deep low-latitude survey (70-min. pointings at galactic latitudes |b| < 3.5 degrees and longitudes -80 degrees < l < 30 degrees) will be capable of exploring whether this deficit is natural or an effect of selection. The intriguing object PSR J0941-39 may represent an evolutionary link between nulling populations; discovered as an sparsely-pulsing RRAT, in follow-up observations it often appeared as a bright (10 mJy) pulsar with a low nulling fraction. It is therefore apparent that a neutron star can oscillate between nulling levels, much like mode-changing pulsars. Crucially, the RRAT and pulsar-mode emission sites are coincident, implying that the two emission mechanisms are linked. We estimate that the full HTRU survey will roughly quadruple the known deep-nulling pulsar population, allowing statistical studies to be made of extreme-nulling populations. HTRU's low-latitude survey will explore the neutron star population with null lengths lasting up to several hours. We lastly reported the discovery of 16 pulses, the bulk of which exhibit a frequency sweep with a shape and magnitude resembling the "Lorimer Burst" (Lorimer et al. 2007), which three years ago was reported as a solitary radio burst that was thought to be the first discovery of a rare, impulsive event of unknown extragalactic origin. However, the new events were of clearly terrestrial origin, with properties unlike any known sources of terrestrial broad-band radio emission. The new detections cast doubt on the extragalactic interpretation of the original burst, and call for further sophistication in radio-pulse survey techniques to identify the origin of the anomalous terrestrial signals and definitively distinguish future extragalactic pulse detections from local signals. The ambiguous origin of these seemingly dispersed, swept-frequency signals suggest that radio-pulse searches using multiple detectors will be the only experiments able to provide definitive information about the origin of new swept-frequency radio burst detections. Finally, we summarise our major findings and suggest future work which would expand on the work in this thesis.

Searching for gravitational waves from pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gill, Colin D.

The work presented here looks at several aspects of searching for continuous gravitational waves from pulsars, often referred to simply as continuous waves or CWs. This begins with an examination of noise in the current generation of laser interferometer gravitational wave detectors in the region below ~100 Hz. This frequency region is of particular interest with regards to CW detection as two prime sources for a first CW detection, the Crab and Vela pulsars, are expected to emit CWs in this frequency range. The Crab pulsar's frequency lies very close to a strong noise line due to the 60 Hz mains electricity in the LIGO detectors. The types of noise generally present in this region are discussed. Also presented are investigations into the noise features present in the LIGO S6 data and the Virgo VSR2 data using a program called Fscan. A particular noise feature present during VSR2 was discovered with the use of Fscan, which I report on and show how it degrades the sensitivity of searches for CWs from the Vela pulsar using this data. I next present search results for CWs from the Vela pulsar using VSR2 and VSR4 data. Whilst these searches did not find any evidence for gravitational waves being present in the data, they were able to place upper limits on the strength of gravitational wave emission from Vela lower than the upper limit set by the pulsars spin-down, making it only the second pulsar for which this milestone has been achieved. The lowest upper limit derived from these searches confines the spin-down energy lost from Vela due to gravitational waves as just 9% of Vela's total spin-down energy. The data from VSR2 and VSR4 are also examined, analysis of hardware injections in these datasets verify the calibration of the data and the search method. Similar results are also presented for a search for CWs from the Crab pulsar, where data from VSR2, VSR3, VSR4, S5 and S6 are combined to produce an upper limit on the gravitational wave (GW) amplitude lower than has been previously possible, representing 0.5% of the energy lost by the pulsar as seen through its spin-down. The same search method is also applied to analyse data for another 110 known pulsars, with five of these being gamma-ray pulsars that have been timed by the Fermi satellite.

EIGHT {gamma}-RAY PULSARS DISCOVERED IN BLIND FREQUENCY SEARCHES OF FERMI LAT DATA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saz Parkinson, P. M.; Dormody, M.; Ziegler, M.

2010-12-10

We report the discovery of eight {gamma}-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches of {approx}650 source positions using the Large Area Telescope (LAT), on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We present the timing models, light curves, and detailed spectral parameters of the new pulsars. PSRs J1023-5746, J1044-5737, J1413-5205, J1429-5911, and J1954+2836 are young ({tau}{sub c} < 100 kyr), energetic (E-dot {approx}>10{sup 36} erg s{sup -1}), and located within the Galactic plane (|b| < 3{sup 0}). The remaining three pulsars, PSRs J1846+0919, J1957+5033, and J2055+25, are less energetic, and located off the plane. Five pulsars are associated with sources included inmore » the Fermi-LAT bright {gamma}-ray source list, but only one, PSR J1413-6205, is clearly associated with an EGRET source. PSR J1023-5746 has the smallest characteristic age ({tau}{sub c} = 4.6 kyr) and is the most energetic (E-dot = 1.1x10{sup 37} erg s{sup -1}) of all {gamma}-ray pulsars discovered so far in blind searches. By analyzing >100 ks of publicly available archival Chandra X-ray data, we have identified the likely counterpart of PSR J1023-5746 as a faint, highly absorbed source, CXOU J102302.8-574606. The large X-ray absorption indicates that this could be among the most distant {gamma}-ray pulsars detected so far. PSR J1023-5746 is positionally coincident with the TeV source HESS J1023-575, located near the young stellar cluster Westerlund 2, while PSR J1954+2836 is coincident with a 4.3{sigma} excess reported by Milagro at a median energy of 35 TeV. PSRs J1957+5033 and J2055+25 have the largest characteristic ages ({tau}{sub c} {approx} 1 Myr) and are the least energetic (E-dot {approx}5x10{sup 33} erg s{sup -1}) of the newly discovered pulsars. We used recent XMM observations to identify the counterpart of PSR J2055+25 as XMMU J205549.4+253959. Deep radio follow-up observations of the eight pulsars resulted in no detections of pulsations and upper limits comparable to the faintest known radio pulsars, indicating that these pulsars can be included among the growing population of radio-quiet pulsars in our Galaxy being uncovered by the LAT, and currently numbering more than 20.« less

Early NICER Observations of Magnetars and Young Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nynka, Melania

2018-01-01

Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is an X-ray telescope attached to the International Space Station (ISS). Launched in June 2017, it is designed to precisely measure the masses and radii of neutron stars (NS) and probe NS equations of state. But its precision timing capabilities and large effective area uniquely position NICER for the study of magnetars. The NICER Magnetar & Magnetosphere (M&M) science working group focuses on studying highly-magnetized neutron stars, a diverse program that includes magnetars, high-B pulsars, rotation powered pulsars, and isolated neutron stars. Our ongoing campaign has already observed targets such as 4U 0142+61, a magnetar in outburst with coincident NuSTAR and Swift observations, the radio rotation powered Vela pulsar PSR B0833-45, and a transient magnetar XTE J1810-197. I will discuss the goals of the M&M program, spectral and temporal results from the observed targets, and an overview of upcoming observations.

Rotating Radio Transients and Their Place Among Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke-Spolaor, S.

2012-01-01

Six years ago, the discovery of Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs) marked what appeared to be a new type of sparsely-emitting pulsar. Since 2006, more than 70 of these objects have been discovered in single-pulse searches of archival and new surveys. With a continual inflow of new information about the RRAT population in the form of new discoveries, multi-frequency follow ups, coherent timing solutions, and pulse rate statistics, a view is beginning to form of the place in the pulsar population RRATs hold. Here we review the properties of neutron stars discovered through single pulse searches. We first seek to clarify the definition of the term RRAT, emphasising that "the RRAT population" encompasses several phenomenologies. A large subset of RRATs appears to represent the tail of an extended distribution of pulsar nulling fractions and activity cycles; these objects present several key open questions remaining in this field.

The High Time Resolution Radio Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornton, D.

2013-11-01

Pulsars are laboratories for extreme physics unachievable on Earth. As individual sources and possible orbital companions can be used to study magnetospheric, emission, and superfluid physics, general relativistic effects, and stellar and binary evolution. As populations they exhibit a wide range of sub-types, with parameters varying by many orders of magnitude signifying fundamental differences in their evolutionary history and potential uses. There are currently around 2200 known pulsars in the Milky Way, the Magellanic clouds, and globular clusters, most of which have been discovered with radio survey observations. These observations, as well as being suitable for detecting the repeating signals from pulsars, are well suited for identifying other transient astronomical radio bursts that last just a few milliseconds that either singular in nature, or rarely repeating. Prior to the work of this thesis non-repeating radio transients at extragalactic distances had possibly been discovered, however with just one example status a real astronomical sources was in doubt. Finding more of these sources was a vital to proving they were real and to open up the universe for millisecond-duration radio astronomy. The High Time Resolution Universe survey uses the multibeam receiver on the 64-m Parkes radio telescope to search the whole visible sky for pulsars and transients. The temporal and spectral resolution of the receiver and the digital back-end enable the detection of relatively faint, and distant radio sources. From the Parkes telescope a large portion of the Galactic plane can be seen, a rich hunting ground for radio pulsars of all types, while previously poorly surveyed regions away from the Galactic plane are also covered. I have made a number of pulsar discoveries in the survey, including some rare systems. These include PSR J1226-6208, a possible double neutron star system in a remarkably circular orbit, PSR J1431-471 which is being eclipsed by its companion with each orbit, PSR J1729-2117 which is an unusual isolated recycled pulsar, and PSR J2322-2650 which has a companion of very low mass - just 7 × 10^{-4} {M}_{⊙}, amongst others. I begin this thesis with the study of these pulsars and discuss their histories. In addition, I demonstrate that optical observations of the companions to some of the newly discovered pulsars in the High Time Resolution Universe survey may result in a measurement of their age and that of the pulsar. I have discovered five new extragalactic single radio bursts, confirming them as an astronomical population. These appear to occur frequently, with a rate of 1.0^{+0.6}_{-0.5} × 10^4 sky^{-1} day^{-1}. The sources are likely at cosmological distances - with redshifts between 0.45 and 1.45, making them more than half way to the Big Bang in the most distant case. This implies their luminosities must be enormous, 10^{31} to 10^{33} J emitted in just a few milliseconds. Their source is unknown but I present an analysis of the options. I also perform a population simulation of the bursts which demonstrates how their intrinsic spectrum could be measured, even for unlocalised FRBs: early indications are that the spectral index of FRBs < 0.

CORRECTING FOR INTERSTELLAR SCATTERING DELAY IN HIGH-PRECISION PULSAR TIMING: SIMULATION RESULTS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Palliyaguru, Nipuni; McLaughlin, Maura; Stinebring, Daniel

2015-12-20

Light travel time changes due to gravitational waves (GWs) may be detected within the next decade through precision timing of millisecond pulsars. Removal of frequency-dependent interstellar medium (ISM) delays due to dispersion and scattering is a key issue in the detection process. Current timing algorithms routinely correct pulse times of arrival (TOAs) for time-variable delays due to cold plasma dispersion. However, none of the major pulsar timing groups correct for delays due to scattering from multi-path propagation in the ISM. Scattering introduces a frequency-dependent phase change in the signal that results in pulse broadening and arrival time delays. Any methodmore » to correct the TOA for interstellar propagation effects must be based on multi-frequency measurements that can effectively separate dispersion and scattering delay terms from frequency-independent perturbations such as those due to a GW. Cyclic spectroscopy, first described in an astronomical context by Demorest (2011), is a potentially powerful tool to assist in this multi-frequency decomposition. As a step toward a more comprehensive ISM propagation delay correction, we demonstrate through a simulation that we can accurately recover impulse response functions (IRFs), such as those that would be introduced by multi-path scattering, with a realistic signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). We demonstrate that timing precision is improved when scatter-corrected TOAs are used, under the assumptions of a high S/N and highly scattered signal. We also show that the effect of pulse-to-pulse “jitter” is not a serious problem for IRF reconstruction, at least for jitter levels comparable to those observed in several bright pulsars.« less

Galactic X-ray emission from pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, A. K.

1981-01-01

The contribution of pulsars to the gamma-ray flux from the galactic plane is examined using data from the most recent pulsar surveys. It is assumed that pulsar gamma-rays are produced by curvature radiation from relativistic particles above the polar cap and attenuated by pair production in the strong magnetic and electric fields. Assuming that all pulsars produce gamma-rays in this way, their luminosities can be predicted as a function of period and magnetic field strength. Using the distribution of pulsars in the galaxy as determined from data on 328 pulsars detected in three surveys, the local gamma-ray production spectrum, the longitude profile, and the latitude profile of pulsar gamma-ray flux are calculated. The largest sources of uncertainty in the size of the pulsar contribution are the value of the mean interstellar electron density, the turnover in the pulsar radio luminosity function, and the average pulsar magnetic field strength. A present estimate is that pulsars contribute from 15 to 20 % of the total flux of gamma-rays from the galactic plane.

The NANOGrav Observing Program: Automation and Reproducibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brazier, Adam; Cordes, James; Demorest, Paul; Dolch, Timothy; Ferdman, Robert; Garver-Daniels, Nathaniel; Hawkins, Steven; Lam, Michael Timothy; Lazio, T. Joseph W.

2018-01-01

The NANOGrav Observing Program is a decades-long search for gravitational waves using pulsar timing which relies, for its sensitivity, on large data sets from observations of many pulsars. These are constructed through an intensive, long-term observing campaign. The nature of the program requires automation in the transfer and archiving of the large volume of raw telescope data, the calibration of those data, and making these resulting data products—required for diagnostic and data exploration purposes—available to NANOGrav members. Reproducibility of results is a key goal in this project, and essential to its success; it requires treating the software itself as a data product of the research, while ensuring easy access by, and collaboration between, members of NANOGrav, the International Pulsar Timing Array consortium (of which NANOGrav is a key member), as well as the wider astronomy community and the public.

Sporadic emission of ultra high energy gamma rays from Crab pulsar

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhat, P.N.; Gupta, S.K.; Ramana Murthy, P.V.

1984-01-01

A 24 hr emission variability of the Crab pulsar was examined. The data were gathered in the energy range up to 500 GeV using the Oota Atmospheric Cerenkov array. Analysis proceeded in terms of one second curves with retention of only those data within 5 sigma of the nominal values. The mean time between events was about 125 msec, while some microbursts occurred at a rate of one per 0.5 msec and could happen twice within a minute (macroburst). A coincidence of pulse occurrence and phase was noted. Phasograms were generated for the events coming from the Crab pulsar, whichmore » displayed peak emissions for only 0.0001 of the observing time. It is concluded that traditional averaging analysis can mask periods of intense emissions. 7 references.« less

A Full Mesh ATCA-based General Purpose Data Processing Board (Pulsar II)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ajuha, S.

The Pulsar II is a custom ATCA full mesh enabled FPGA-based processor board which has been designed with the goal of creating a scalable architecture abundant in flexible, non-blocking, high bandwidth interconnections. The design has been motivated by silicon-based tracking trigger needs for LHC experiments. In this technical memo we describe the Pulsar II hardware and its performance, such as the performance test results with full mesh backplanes from different vendors, how the backplane is used for the development of low-latency time-multiplexed data transfer schemes and how the inter-shelf and intra-shelf synchronization works.

A New Parameterization of the Shapiro delay and improved tests of general relativity in binary pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freire, Paulo; Wex, Norbert

In this talk, we present a re-parameterization of the Shapiro delay as observed in the timing of radio pulses of binary pulsars. We express the Shapiro delay as a sum of harmonics of the orbital period of the system, and use the harmonic coefficients as the main parameters of a much improved description of the effect. This includes a superior description of the constraints on the masses and orbital inclination introduced by a measurement of the Shapiro delay. In some cases (which we discuss) this leads to dramatically improved parametric tests of general relativity with binary pulsars.

Star Cluster Buzzing With Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2005-01-01

A dense globular star cluster near the center of our Milky Way Galaxy holds a buzzing beehive of rapidly-spinning millisecond pulsars, according to astronomers who discovered 21 new pulsars in the cluster using the National Science Foundation's 100-meter Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia. The cluster, called Terzan 5, now holds the record for pulsars, with 24, including three known before the GBT observations. Pulsar Diagram Pulsar Diagram: Click on image for more detail. "We hit the jackpot when we looked at this cluster," said Scott Ransom, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, VA. "Not only does this cluster have a lot of pulsars -- and we still expect to find more in it -- but the pulsars in it are very interesting. They include at least 13 in binary systems, two of which are eclipsing, and the four fastest-rotating pulsars known in any globular cluster, with the fastest two rotating nearly 600 times per second, roughly as fast as a household blender," Ransom added. Ransom and his colleagues reported their findings to the American Astronomical Society's meeting in San Diego, CA, and in the online journal Science Express. The star cluster's numerous pulsars are expected to yield a bonanza of new information about not only the pulsars themselves, but also about the dense stellar environment in which they reside and probably even about nuclear physics, according to the scientists. For example, preliminary measurements indicate that two of the pulsars are more massive than some theoretical models would allow. "All these exotic pulsars will keep us busy for years to come," said Jason Hessels, a Ph.D student at McGill University in Montreal. Globular clusters are dense agglomerations of up to millions of stars, all of which formed at about the same time. Pulsars are spinning, superdense neutron stars that whirl "lighthouse beams" of radio waves or light around as they spin. A neutron star is what is left after a massive star explodes as a supernova at the end of its life. The pulsars in Terzan 5 are the product of a complex history. The stars in the cluster formed about 10 billion years ago, the astronomers say. Some of the most massive stars in the cluster exploded and left the neutron stars as their remnants after only a few million years. Normally, these neutron stars would no longer be seen as swiftly-rotating pulsars: their spin would have slowed because of the "drag" of their intense magnetic fields until the "lighthouse" effect is no longer observable. The Green Bank Telescope The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope CREDIT: NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for GBT gallery) However, the dense concentration of stars in the cluster gave new life to the pulsars. In the core of a globular cluster, as many as a million stars may be packed into a volume that would fit easily between the Sun and our nearest neighbor star. In such close quarters, stars can pass near enough to form new binary pairs, split apart such pairs, and binary systems even can trade partners, like an elaborate cosmic square dance. When a neutron star pairs up with a "normal" companion star, its strong gravitational pull can draw material off the companion onto the neutron star. This also transfers some of the companion's spin, or angular momentum, to the neutron star, thereby "recycling" the neutron star into a rapidly-rotating millisecond pulsar. In Terzan 5, all the pulsars discovered are rotating rapidly as a result of this process. Astronomers previously had discovered three pulsars in Terzan 5, some 28,000 light-years distant in the constellation Sagittarius, but suspected there were more. On July 17, 2004, Ransom and his colleagues used the GBT, and, in a 6-hour observation, found 14 new pulsars, the most ever found in a single observation. "This was possible because of the great sensitivity of the GBT and the new capabilities of our backend processor," said Ingrid Stairs, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The processor, named, appropriately, the Pulsar Spigot, was built in a collaboration between the NRAO and the California Institute of Technology. The processor, which generates almost 100 GigaBytes of data per hour, allowed the astronomers to gather and analyze radio waves over a wide range of frequencies (1650-2250 MegaHertz), adding to the sensitivity of their system. Eight more observations between July and November of 2004 discovered seven additional pulsars in Terzan 5. In addition, the astronomers' data show evidence for several more pulsars that still need to be confirmed. Future studies of the pulsars in Terzan 5 will help scientists understand the nature of the cluster and the complex interactions of the stars at its dense core. Also, several of the pulsars offer a rich yield of new scientific information. The scientists suspect that one pulsar, which shows strange eclipses of its radio emission, has recently traded its original binary companion for another, and two others have white-dwarf companions that they believe may have been produced by the collision of a neutron star and a red-giant star. Subtle effects seen in these two systems can be explained by Einstein's general relativistic theory of gravity, and indicate that the neutron stars are more massive than some theories allow. The material in a neutron star is as dense as that in an atomic nucleus, so that fact has implications for nuclear physics as well as astrophysics. "Finding all these pulsars has been extremely exciting, but the excitement really has just begun," Ransom said. "Now we can start to use them as a rich and valuable cosmic laboratory," he added. In addition to Ransom, Hessels and Stairs, the research team included Paulo Freire of Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, Fernando Camilo of Columbia University, Victoria Kaspi of McGill University, and David Kaplan of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The pulsar research also was supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Science and Engineering Research Canada, the Quebec Foundation for Research on Nature and Technology, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Canada Research Chairs Program, and the National Science Foundation.

PULSAR OBSERVATIONS USING THE FIRST STATION OF THE LONG WAVELENGTH ARRAY AND THE LWA PULSAR DATA ARCHIVE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stovall, K.; Dowell, J.; Eftekhari, T.

2015-08-01

We present initial pulsar results from the first station of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA1) obtained during the commissioning period of LWA1 and in early science results. We present detections of periodic emission from 44 previously known pulsars, including 3 millisecond pulsars. The effects of the interstellar medium (ISM) on pulsar emission are significantly enhanced at the low frequencies of the LWA1 band (10–88 MHz), making LWA1 a very sensitive instrument for characterizing changes in the dispersion measure (DM) and other effects from the ISM. Pulsars also often have significant evolution in their pulse profile at low frequency and amore » break in their spectral index. We report DM measurements for 44 pulsars, mean flux density measurements for 36 pulsars, and multi-frequency component spacing and widths for 15 pulsars with more than one profile component. For 27 pulsars, we report spectral index measurements within our frequency range. We also introduce the LWA1 Pulsar Data Archive, which stores reduced data products from LWA1 pulsar observations. Reduced data products for the observations presented here can be found in the archive. Reduced data products from future LWA1 pulsar observations will also be made available through the archive.« less

Real-Time RFI Mitigation in Pulsar Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramey, Emily; Joslyn, Nick; Prestage, Richard; Whitehead, Mark; Lam, Michael Timothy; Blattner, Tim; Hawkins, Luke; Viou, Cedric; Masson, Jessica

2018-01-01

As the use of wireless technology has increased around the world, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) has become more and more of a problem for radio astronomers. Preventative measures exist to limit the presence of RFI, and programs exist to remove it from saved data, but the routine use of algorithms to detect and remove RFI as an observation is occurring is much less common. Such a method would be incredibly useful for observations in which the data must undergo several rounds of processing before being saved, as in pulsar timing studies. Strategies for real-time mitigation have been discussed and tested with simulated data (Buch et al., 2016), but ideally the results of any approach would be validated by a detailed comparison of the final data products - for pulsar timing, the variance in the pulse times of arrival (TOAs) - with and without mitigation applied. The goal of this project is to develop an RFI mitigation approach based on the previously suggested strategies and test this program on actual data from the observation of pulsar J1713+0747. We use a Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) filter to identify interference in the observation and replace the compromised data with random Gaussian noise to match a characteristic radio signal from space. In order to verify our results, we analyze the pulsar’s TOAs obtained both from the mitigated data and from the unmitigated data processed through offline RFI removal software. Comparing the two, our preliminary findings indicate that our program is able to improve the quality of timing results from the observation.

DETECTION OF POLARIZED QUASI-PERIODIC MICROSTRUCTURE EMISSION IN MILLISECOND PULSARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

De, Kishalay; Sharma, Prateek; Gupta, Yashwant, E-mail: kde@caltech.edu

Microstructure emission, involving short timescale, often quasi-periodic, intensity fluctuations in subpulse emission, is well known in normal period pulsars. In this Letter, we present the first detections of quasi-periodic microstructure emission from millisecond pulsars (MSPs), from Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations of two MSPs at 325 and 610 MHz. Similar to the characteristics of microstructure observed in normal period pulsars, we find that these features are often highly polarized and exhibit quasi-periodic behavior on top of broader subpulse emission, with periods of the order of a few μ s. By measuring their widths and periodicities from single pulse intensity profilesmore » and their autocorrelation functions, we extend the microstructure timescale–rotation period relationship by more than an order of magnitude down to rotation periods ∼5 ms, and find it to be consistent with the relationship derived earlier for normal pulsars. The similarity of behavior is remarkable, given the significantly different physical properties of MSPs and normal period pulsars, and rules out several previous speculations about the possible different characteristics of microstructure in MSP radio emission. We discuss the possible reasons for the non-detection of these features in previous high time resolution MSP studies along with the physical implications of our results, both in terms of a geometric beam sweeping model and temporal modulation model for micropulse production.« less

Pulsar glitches in a strangeon star model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, X. Y.; Yun, C. A.; Lu, J. G.; Lü, G. L.; Wang, Z. J.; Xu, R. X.

2018-05-01

Pulsar-like compact stars provide us a unique laboratory to explore properties of dense matter at supra-nuclear densities. One of the models for pulsar-like stars is that they are totally composed of "strangeons", and in this paper, we studied the pulsar glitches in a strangeon star model. Strangeon stars would be solidified during cooling, and the solid stars would be natural to have glitches as the result of starquakes. Based on the starquake model established before, we proposed that when the starquake occurs, the inner motion of the star which changes the moment of inertia and has impact on the glitch sizes, is divided into plastic flow and elastic motion. The plastic flow which is induced in the fractured part of the outer layer, would move tangentially to redistribute the matter of the star and would be hard to recover. The elastic motion, on the other hand, changes its shape and would recover significantly. Under this scenario, we could understand the behaviors of glitches without significant energy releasing, including the Crab and the Vela pulsars, in an uniform model. We derive the recovery coefficient as a function of glitch size, as well as the time interval between two successive glitches as the function of the released stress. Our results show consistency with observational data under reasonable ranges of parameters. The implications on the oblateness of the Crab and the Vela pulsars are discussed.

Chandra Phase-Resolved Spectroscopy of the High-Magnetic-Field Pulsar B1509-58

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Chin-Ping; Ng, Chi-Yung

2016-04-01

We report on timing and spectral analysis of the young, high-magnetic-field pulsar B1509-58 using Chandra continuous-clocking mode observation. The on-pulsed X-ray spectrum can be described by a power law with a photon index of 1.16(2), which is flatter than those determined with RXTE/PCA and NuSTAR. This result supports the log-parabolic model for the broadband X-ray spectrum. With the unprecedented angular resolution of Chandra, we clearly identified off-pulsed X-ray emission from the pulsar. The spectrum is best fitted by a power law plus blackbody model. The latter component has a temperature of ~0.14 keV, which is similar to those of other young and high-magnetic-field pulsars, and lies between those of magnetars and typical rotational-powered pulsars. For the non-thermal emission of PSR B1509-58, we found that the power law component of the off-pulsed emission is significantly steeper than that of the on-pulsed one. We further divided the data into 24 phase bins and found that the photon index varies between 1.0 and 2.0 and anti-correlating with the flux. A similar correlation was also found in the Crab Pulsar, and this requires further theoretical interpretations. This work is supported by a GRF grant of Hong Kong Government under 17300215.

Discovery of Three New Millisecond Pulsars in Terzan 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadelano, M.; Ransom, S. M.; Freire, P. C. C.; Ferraro, F. R.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Lanzoni, B.; Pallanca, C.; Stairs, I. H.

2018-03-01

We report on the discovery of three new millisecond pulsars (MSPs; namely J1748‑2446aj, J1748‑2446ak, and J1748‑2446al) in the inner regions of the dense stellar system Terzan 5. These pulsars have been discovered thanks to a method, alternative to the classical search routines, that exploited the large set of archival observations of Terzan 5 acquired with the Green Bank Telescope over five years (from 2010 to 2015). This technique allowed the analysis of stacked power spectra obtained by combining ∼206 hr of observation. J1748‑2446aj has a spin period of ∼2.96 ms, J1748‑2446ak of ∼1.89 ms (thus it is the fourth fastest pulsar in the cluster) and J1748‑2446al of ∼5.95 ms. All three MSPs are isolated, and currently we have timing solutions only for J1748‑2446aj and J1748‑2446ak. For these two systems, we evaluated the contribution to the measured spin-down rate of the acceleration due to the cluster potential field, thus estimating the intrinsic spin-down rates, which are in agreement with those typically measured for MSPs in globular clusters (GCs). Our results increase the number of pulsars known in Terzan 5 to 37, which now hosts 25% of the entire pulsar population identified, so far, in GCs.

NuSTAR Hard X-Ray Observations of the Energetic Millisecond Pulsars PSR B1821-24, PSR B1937+21, and PSR J0218+4232

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gotthelf, E. V.; Bogdanov, S.

2017-08-01

We present Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) hard X-ray timing and spectroscopy of the three exceptionally energetic rotation-powered millisecond pulsars PSRs B1821-24, B1937+21, and J0218+4232. By correcting for the frequency and phase drifts of the NuSTAR onboard clock, we are able to recover the intrinsic hard X-ray pulse profiles of all three pulsars with a resolution down to ≤slant 15 μ {{s}}. The substantial reduction of background emission relative to previous broadband X-ray observations allows us to detect for the first time pulsed emission up to ˜50 keV, ˜20 keV, and ˜25 keV for the three pulsars, respectively. We conduct phase-resolved spectroscopy in the 0.5-79 keV range for all three objects, obtaining the best measurements yet of the broadband spectral shape and high-energy pulsed emission to date. We find extensions of the same power-law continua seen at lower energies, with no conclusive evidence for a spectral turnover or break. Extrapolation of the X-ray power-law spectrum to higher energies reveals that a turnover in the 100 keV to 100 MeV range is required to accommodate the high-energy γ-ray emission observed with Fermi-LAT, similar to the spectral energy distribution observed for the Crab pulsar.

PULSE BROADENING MEASUREMENTS FROM THE GALACTIC CENTER PULSAR J1745-2900

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spitler, L. G.; Lee, K. J.; Eatough, R. P.

2014-01-01

We present temporal scattering measurements of single pulses and average profiles of PSR J1745-2900, a magnetar recently discovered only 3 arcsec away from Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), from 1.2 to 18.95 GHz using the Effelsberg 100 m Radio Telescope, the Nançay Decimetric Radio Telescope, and the Jodrell Bank Lovell Telescope. Single pulse analysis shows that the integrated pulse profile above 2 GHz is dominated by pulse jitter, while below 2 GHz the pulse profile shape is dominated by scattering. This is the first object in the Galactic center (GC) with both pulse broadening and angular broadening measurements. We measure a pulse broadening time scale at 1 GHzmore » of τ{sub 1GHz} = 1.3 ± 0.2 and pulse broadening spectral index of α = –3.8 ± 0.2, which is several orders of magnitude lower than predicted by the NE2001 model (Cordes and Lazio 2002). If this scattering time scale is representative of the GC as a whole, then previous surveys should have detected many pulsars. The lack of detections implies either our understanding of scattering in the GC is incomplete or there are fewer pulsars in the GC than previously predicted. Given that magnetars are a rare class of radio pulsar, there are likely many canonical and millisecond pulsars in the GC, and not surprisingly, scattering in the GC is spatially complex.« less

Radio pulsar glitches as a state-dependent Poisson process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulgenzi, W.; Melatos, A.; Hughes, B. D.

2017-10-01

Gross-Pitaevskii simulations of vortex avalanches in a neutron star superfluid are limited computationally to ≲102 vortices and ≲102 avalanches, making it hard to study the long-term statistics of radio pulsar glitches in realistically sized systems. Here, an idealized, mean-field model of the observed Gross-Pitaevskii dynamics is presented, in which vortex unpinning is approximated as a state-dependent, compound Poisson process in a single random variable, the spatially averaged crust-superfluid lag. Both the lag-dependent Poisson rate and the conditional distribution of avalanche-driven lag decrements are inputs into the model, which is solved numerically (via Monte Carlo simulations) and analytically (via a master equation). The output statistics are controlled by two dimensionless free parameters: α, the glitch rate at a reference lag, multiplied by the critical lag for unpinning, divided by the spin-down rate; and β, the minimum fraction of the lag that can be restored by a glitch. The system evolves naturally to a self-regulated stationary state, whose properties are determined by α/αc(β), where αc(β) ≈ β-1/2 is a transition value. In the regime α ≳ αc(β), one recovers qualitatively the power-law size and exponential waiting-time distributions observed in many radio pulsars and Gross-Pitaevskii simulations. For α ≪ αc(β), the size and waiting-time distributions are both power-law-like, and a correlation emerges between size and waiting time until the next glitch, contrary to what is observed in most pulsars. Comparisons with astrophysical data are restricted by the small sample sizes available at present, with ≤35 events observed per pulsar.

European Pulsar Timing Array limits on an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lentati, L.; Taylor, S. R.; Mingarelli, C. M. F.; Sesana, A.; Sanidas, S. A.; Vecchio, A.; Caballero, R. N.; Lee, K. J.; van Haasteren, R.; Babak, S.; Bassa, C. G.; Brem, P.; Burgay, M.; Champion, D. J.; Cognard, I.; Desvignes, G.; Gair, J. R.; Guillemot, L.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Janssen, G. H.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Lassus, A.; Lazarus, P.; Liu, K.; Osłowski, S.; Perrodin, D.; Petiteau, A.; Possenti, A.; Purver, M. B.; Rosado, P. A.; Smits, R.; Stappers, B.; Theureau, G.; Tiburzi, C.; Verbiest, J. P. W.

2015-11-01

We present new limits on an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) using a six pulsar data set spanning 18 yr of observations from the 2015 European Pulsar Timing Array data release. Performing a Bayesian analysis, we fit simultaneously for the intrinsic noise parameters for each pulsar, along with common correlated signals including clock, and Solar system ephemeris errors, obtaining a robust 95 per cent upper limit on the dimensionless strain amplitude A of the background of A < 3.0 × 10-15 at a reference frequency of 1 yr-1 and a spectral index of 13/3, corresponding to a background from inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries, constraining the GW energy density to Ωgw(f)h2 < 1.1 × 10-9 at 2.8 nHz. We also present limits on the correlated power spectrum at a series of discrete frequencies, and show that our sensitivity to a fiducial isotropic GWB is highest at a frequency of ˜5 × 10-9 Hz. Finally, we discuss the implications of our analysis for the astrophysics of supermassive black hole binaries, and present 95 per cent upper limits on the string tension, Gμ/c2, characterizing a background produced by a cosmic string network for a set of possible scenarios, and for a stochastic relic GWB. For a Nambu-Goto field theory cosmic string network, we set a limit Gμ/c2 < 1.3 × 10-7, identical to that set by the Planck Collaboration, when combining Planck and high-ℓ cosmic microwave background data from other experiments. For a stochastic relic background, we set a limit of Ω ^relic_gw(f)h^2<1.2 × 10^{-9}, a factor of 9 improvement over the most stringent limits previously set by a pulsar timing array.

PSRs J0248+6021 and J2240+5832: young pulsars in the northern Galactic plane: Discovery, timing, and gamma-ray observations

DOE PAGES

Theureau, G.; Parent, D.; Cognard, I.; ...

2010-12-03

Context. Pulsars PSR J0248+6021 (with a rotation period P = 217 ms and spin-down powermore » $$\\dot{E}$$ = 2.13 × 10 35 erg s -1) and PSR J2240+5832 (P = 140 ms, $$\\dot{E}$$ = 2.12 × 10 35 erg s -1) were discovered in 1997 with the Nançay radio telescope during a northern Galactic plane survey, using the Navy-Berkeley Pulsar Processor (NBPP) filter bank. The GeV gamma-ray pulsations from both were discovered using the Fermi Large Area Telescope. Aims. We characterize the neutron star emission using radio and gamma-ray observations, and explore the rich environment of PSR J0248+6021. Methods. Twelve years of radio timing data, including glitches, with steadily improved instrumentation, such as the Berkeley-Orleans-Nançay pulsar backend, and a gamma-ray data set 2.6 times larger than previously published allow detailed investigations of these pulsars. Radio polarization data allow comparison with the geometry inferred from gamma-ray emission models. Results. The two pulsars resemble each other in both radio and gamma-ray data. Both are rare in having a single gamma-ray pulse offset far from the radio peak. The anomalously high dispersion measure for PSR J0248+6021 (DM = 370 pc cm -3) is most likely due to its being within the dense, giant HII region W5 in the Perseus arm at a distance of 2 kpc, as opposed to being beyond the edge of the Galaxy as obtained from models of average electron distributions. Its large transverse velocity and the low magnetic field along the line-of-sight favor this small distance. Neither gamma-ray, X-ray, nor optical data yield evidence of a pulsar wind nebula surrounding PSR J0248+6021. We report the discovery of gamma-ray pulsations from PSR J2240+5832. We argue that it could be in the outer arm, although slightly nearer than its DM-derived distance, but that it may be in the Perseus arm at half the distance. Conclusions. The energy flux and distance yield a gamma-ray luminosity for PSR J0248+6021 of Lγ = (1.4 ± 0.3) × 10 34 erg s -1. For PSR J2240+5832, we find either Lγ = (7.9 ± 5.2) × 10 34 erg s -1 if the pulsar is in the outer arm, or L γ = (2.2 ± 1.7) × 10 34 erg s -1 for the Perseus arm. These luminosities are consistent with an L γ∝ $$\\sqrt{\\dot{E}}$$ rule. Lastly, comparison of the gamma-ray pulse profiles with model predictions, including the constraints obtained from radio polarization data, implies outer magnetosphere emission. These two pulsars differ mainly in terms of their inclination angles and acceleration gap widths, which in turn explain the observed differences in the gamma-ray peak widths.« less

Algebraically special space-time in relativity, black holes, and pulsar models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adler, R. J.; Sheffield, C.

1973-01-01

The entire field of astronomy is in very rapid flux, and at the center of interest are problems relating to the very dense, rotating, neutron stars observed as pulsars. the hypothesized collapsed remains of stars known as black holes, and quasars. Degenerate metric form, or Kerr-Schild metric form, was used to study several problems related to intense gravitational fields.

Gamma rays of 0.3 to 30 MeV from PSR 0531+21

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, R. S.; Sweeney, W.; Tuemer, T.; Zych, A. D.

1985-01-01

Pulsed gamma rays from the Crab Pulsar PSR 0531+21 are reported for energies of 0.3 to 30 MeV. The observations were carried out with the UCR gamma ray double Compton scatter telescope launched on a balloon from Palestine, Texas at 4.5 GV, at 2200 LT, September 29, 1978. Two 8 hr observations of the pulsar were made, the first starting at 0700 UT (0200 LT) September 30 just after reaching float altitude of 4.5 g/sq cm. Analysis of the total gamma ray flux from the Crab Nebula plus pulsar using telescope vertical cell pairs was published previously. The results presented supersede the preliminary ones. The double scatter mode of the UCR telescope measures the energy of each incident gamma ray from 1 to 30 MeV and its incident angle to a ring on the sky. The time of arrival is measured to 0.05 ms. The direction of the source is obtained from overlapping rings on the sky. The count rate of the first scatter above a threshold of 0.3 MeV is recorded every 5.12 ms. The Crab Pulsar parameters were determined from six topocentric arrival times of optical pulses.

The second FERMI large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, A. A.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.

2013-09-19

This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence ≥0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117 pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emissionmore » for several young and millisecond pulsars. We compare the gamma-ray properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermi's selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing comparisons with predicted population distributions.« less

The second fermi large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, A. A.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.

2013-09-19

This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence ≥0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117 pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emissionmore » for several young and millisecond pulsars. We compare the gamma-ray properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermi's selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing comparisons with predicted population distributions.« less

Gravitational-Wave Tests of General Relativity with Ground-Based Detectors and Pulsar-Timing Arrays.

PubMed

Yunes, Nicolás; Siemens, Xavier

2013-01-01

This review is focused on tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity with gravitational waves that are detectable by ground-based interferometers and pulsar-timing experiments. Einstein's theory has been greatly constrained in the quasi-linear, quasi-stationary regime, where gravity is weak and velocities are small. Gravitational waves will allow us to probe a complimentary, yet previously unexplored regime: the non-linear and dynamical strong-field regime . Such a regime is, for example, applicable to compact binaries coalescing, where characteristic velocities can reach fifty percent the speed of light and gravitational fields are large and dynamical. This review begins with the theoretical basis and the predicted gravitational-wave observables of modified gravity theories. The review continues with a brief description of the detectors, including both gravitational-wave interferometers and pulsar-timing arrays, leading to a discussion of the data analysis formalism that is applicable for such tests. The review ends with a discussion of gravitational-wave tests for compact binary systems.

Constraints on pulsar masses from the maximum observed glitch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pizzochero, P. M.; Antonelli, M.; Haskell, B.; Seveso, S.

2017-07-01

Neutron stars are unique cosmic laboratories in which fundamental physics can be probed in extreme conditions not accessible to terrestrial experiments. In particular, the precise timing of rotating magnetized neutron stars (pulsars) reveals sudden jumps in rotational frequency in these otherwise steadily spinning-down objects. These 'glitches' are thought to be due to the presence of a superfluid component in the star, and offer a unique glimpse into the interior physics of neutron stars. In this paper we propose an innovative method to constrain the mass of glitching pulsars, using observations of the maximum glitch observed in a star, together with state-of-the-art microphysical models of the pinning interaction between superfluid vortices and ions in the crust. We study the properties of a physically consistent angular momentum reservoir of pinned vorticity, and we find a general inverse relation between the size of the maximum glitch and the pulsar mass. We are then able to estimate the mass of all the observed glitchers that have displayed at least two large events. Our procedure will allow current and future observations of glitching pulsars to constrain not only the physics of glitch models but also the superfluid properties of dense hadronic matter in neutron star interiors.

Flares from Galactic Centre pulsars: a new class of X-ray transients?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannios, Dimitrios; Lorimer, Duncan R.

2016-06-01

Despite intensive searches, the only pulsar within 0.1 pc of the central black hole in our Galaxy, Sgr A*, is a radio-loud magnetar. Since magnetars are rare among the Galactic neutron star population, and a large number of massive stars are already known in this region, the Galactic Centre (GC) should harbour a large number of neutron stars. Population syntheses suggest several thousand neutron stars may be present in the GC. Many of these could be highly energetic millisecond pulsars which are also proposed to be responsible for the GC gamma-ray excess. We propose that the presence of a neutron star within 0.03 pc from Sgr A* can be revealed by the shock interactions with the disc around the central black hole. As we demonstrate, these interactions result in observable transient non-thermal X-ray and gamma-ray emission over time-scales of months, provided that the spin-down luminosity of the neutron star is Lsd ˜ 1035 erg s-1. Current limits on the population of normal and millisecond pulsars in the GC region suggest that a number of such pulsars are present with such luminosities.

Studies of Binary Pulsar Evolution Through Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of White Dwarf Companions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundgren, S. C.; Foster, R. S.; Camilo, F.

1995-12-01

In observations of six binary millisecond pulsars with the Hubble Space Telescope, we have discovered white dwarf companions to PSRs J0034-0534, J1022+1001, and J1713+0747 and improved photometry on PSRs J1640+2224 and J2145-0750. The companion to PSR J2019+2425 was not detected down to m_I=25.4. For the five companions detected, effective temperatures were estimated for the colors measured. Two of the white dwarfs, J0034-0534 and J1713+0747, are among the coolest and oldest known. Using distance estimates to the pulsars, the absolute luminosities were determined. Constrains on the masses and cooling times were obtained from the luminosities and temperatures. The results for each pulsar were related to expectations based on models for white dwarf cooling, Roche lobe overflow in the preceding low-mass X-ray binary phase, and mass accretion rate/neutron star spin period relations. Precision pulsar astrophysics at the Naval Research Laboratory is supported by the Office of Naval Research. SL is supported by a post-doctoral fellowship through the National Research Council. FC acknowledges support from NSF grant AST 91-15103 and a fellowship under the auspices of the European Commission.

Recent Results on SNRs and PWNe from the Fermi Large Area Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hays, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

Topics include: Fermi LAT Collaboration groups; galactic results from LAT; a GeV, wide-field instrument; the 1FGL catalog, the Fermi LAT 1FGL source catalog, unidentified gamma-ray sources; variability in 1FGL sources; curvature in 1FGL sources; spectral-variability classification; pulsars and their wind nebulae; gamma-ray pulsars and MSPs; GeV PWN search; Crab pulsar and nebula; Vela X nebular of Vela pulsar; MSH 15-52; supernova remnants, resolved GeV sources, galactic transients, LAT unassociated transient detections; gamma rays from a nova; V407 Cyngi - a symbiotic nova; V407 Cygni: a variable star; and March 11 - a nova. Summary slides include pulsars everywhere, blazars, LAT as an electron detector, cosmic ray spectrum, the Large Area Telescope, the Fermi Observatory, LAT sensitivity with time, candidate gamma-ray events, on-orbit energy calibration and rate, a 1 year sky map, LAT automated science processing, reported GeV flares, early activity and spectacular flare, gamma-ray transients near the galactic plane , two early unassociated transients, counter part search - Fermi J0910-5404; counterpart search 3EG J0903-3531, and a new LAT transient - J1057-6027.

The International Pulsar Timing Array: First data release

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verbiest, J. P. W.; Lentati, L.; Hobbs, G.; van Haasteren, R.; Demorest, P. B.; Janssen, G. H.; Wang, J.-B.; Desvignes, G.; Caballero, R. N.; Keith, M. J.; Champion, D. J.; Arzoumanian, Z.; Babak, S.; Bassa, C. G.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Brazier, A.; Brem, P.; Burgay, M.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chatterjee, S.; Christy, B.; Cognard, I.; Cordes, J. M.; Dai, S.; Dolch, T.; Ellis, J. A.; Ferdman, R. D.; Fonseca, E.; Gair, J. R.; Garver-Daniels, N. E.; Gentile, P.; Gonzalez, M. E.; Graikou, E.; Guillemot, L.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Jones, G.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kerr, M.; Kramer, M.; Lam, M. T.; Lasky, P. D.; Lassus, A.; Lazarus, P.; Lazio, T. J. W.; Lee, K. J.; Levin, L.; Liu, K.; Lynch, R. S.; Lyne, A. G.; Mckee, J.; McLaughlin, M. A.; McWilliams, S. T.; Madison, D. R.; Manchester, R. N.; Mingarelli, C. M. F.; Nice, D. J.; Osłowski, S.; Palliyaguru, N. T.; Pennucci, T. T.; Perera, B. B. P.; Perrodin, D.; Possenti, A.; Petiteau, A.; Ransom, S. M.; Reardon, D.; Rosado, P. A.; Sanidas, S. A.; Sesana, A.; Shaifullah, G.; Shannon, R. M.; Siemens, X.; Simon, J.; Smits, R.; Spiewak, R.; Stairs, I. H.; Stappers, B. W.; Stinebring, D. R.; Stovall, K.; Swiggum, J. K.; Taylor, S. R.; Theureau, G.; Tiburzi, C.; Toomey, L.; Vallisneri, M.; van Straten, W.; Vecchio, A.; Wang, Y.; Wen, L.; You, X. P.; Zhu, W. W.; Zhu, X.-J.

2016-05-01

The highly stable spin of neutron stars can be exploited for a variety of (astro)physical investigations. In particular, arrays of pulsars with rotational periods of the order of milliseconds can be used to detect correlated signals such as those caused by gravitational waves. Three such `pulsar timing arrays' (PTAs) have been set up around the world over the past decades and collectively form the `International' PTA (IPTA). In this paper, we describe the first joint analysis of the data from the three regional PTAs, I.e. of the first IPTA data set. We describe the available PTA data, the approach presently followed for its combination and suggest improvements for future PTA research. Particular attention is paid to subtle details (such as underestimation of measurement uncertainty and long-period noise) that have often been ignored but which become important in this unprecedentedly large and inhomogeneous data set. We identify and describe in detail several factors that complicate IPTA research and provide recommendations for future pulsar timing efforts. The first IPTA data release presented here (and available online) is used to demonstrate the IPTA's potential of improving upon gravitational-wave limits placed by individual PTAs by a factor of ˜2 and provides a 2σ limit on the dimensionless amplitude of a stochastic gravitational-wave background of 1.7 × 10-15 at a frequency of 1 yr-1. This is 1.7 times less constraining than the limit placed by Shannon et al., due mostly to the more recent, high-quality data they used.

Wide-band profile domain pulsar timing analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lentati, L.; Kerr, M.; Dai, S.; Hobson, M. P.; Shannon, R. M.; Hobbs, G.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. Ramesh; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Coles, W.; Dempsey, J.; Lasky, P. D.; Levin, Y.; Manchester, R. N.; Osłowski, S.; Ravi, V.; Reardon, D. J.; Rosado, P. A.; Spiewak, R.; van Straten, W.; Toomey, L.; Wang, J.; Wen, L.; You, X.; Zhu, X.

2017-04-01

We extend profile domain pulsar timing to incorporate wide-band effects such as frequency-dependent profile evolution and broad-band shape variation in the pulse profile. We also incorporate models for temporal variations in both pulse width and in the separation in phase of the main pulse and interpulse. We perform the analysis with both nested sampling and Hamiltonian Monte Carlo methods. In the latter case, we introduce a new parametrization of the posterior that is extremely efficient in the low signal-to-noise regime and can be readily applied to a wide range of scientific problems. We apply this methodology to a series of simulations, and to between seven and nine years of observations for PSRs J1713+0747, J1744-1134 and J1909-3744 with frequency coverage that spans 700-3600 Mhz. We use a smooth model for profile evolution across the full frequency range, and compare smooth and piecewise models for the temporal variations in dispersion measure (DM). We find that the profile domain framework consistently results in improved timing precision compared to the standard analysis paradigm by as much as 40 per cent for timing parameters. Incorporating smoothness in the DM variations into the model further improves timing precision by as much as 30 per cent. For PSR J1713+0747, we also detect pulse shape variation uncorrelated between epochs, which we attribute to variation intrinsic to the pulsar at a level consistent with previously published analyses. Not accounting for this shape variation biases the measured arrival times at the level of ˜30 ns, the same order of magnitude as the expected shift due to gravitational waves in the pulsar timing band.

Expansion and Variability in the Pulsar-Wind Nebula in Kes 75 (G29.7-0.3) with Chandra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynolds, Stephen P.; Borkowski, Kazimierz J.

2017-08-01

We report new Chandra X-ray observations of the shell supernova remnant (SNR) Kes 75 (G29.7-0.3), containing a pulsar and pulsar-wind nebula (PWN). Expansion of both shell and PWN is apparent across the three epochs, 2000, 2006, and 2016, but brightness and morphology changes of the PWN make a quantitative measurement difficult. One image comparison method gives an expansion rate between 2006 and 2016 of the NW edge of the PWN of about (0.2 -- 0.25)%/yr, for an expansion age R/(dR/dt) of 400 -- 500 yr. Consistent results are obtained between 2000 and 2016. Since 2008, the pulsar has had a period of 328 ms and a braking index n of 2.19 (Archibald et al. 2015), giving a spindown age tsd = P/ ((n - 1) dP/dt) of 1230 yr, an upper limit to the true age under the normal assumptions of magnetic-dipole energy loss with constant n (though n has changed from 2.65 to its current value for this pulsar). Our result indicates that the initial spindown time τ = tsd - t is of order t, the true age. For t < τ, simple models predict the PWN radius to grow as R6/5, so that the true age is 1.2 times the expansion age, or about 500 -- 600 yr. For the current braking index, the pulsar's initial luminosity was larger than the current value by a factor of 4 -- 6, while the initial period was within a factor of 2 of its current value. We confirm directly that Kes 75 contains the youngest known PWN in the Galaxy, independent of assumptions about the pulsar spindown. The PWN contains a jet whose structure and brightness have evolved significantly since 2000. The brighter northern part of the jet at the center of the PWN has faded by about 35%, while the southern part is roughly constant in brightness. Changes in morphology of the southern jet may be expansion; if so, a change in position of one feature indicates a velocity of ~0.03c, much faster than the PWN as a whole.

Quasispherical subsonic accretion in X-ray pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shakura, Nikolai I.; Postnov, Konstantin A.; Kochetkova, A. Yu; Hjalmarsdotter, L.

2013-04-01

A theoretical model is considered for quasispherical subsonic accretion onto slowly rotating magnetized neutron stars. In this regime, the accreting matter settles down subsonically onto the rotating magnetosphere, forming an extended quasistatic shell. Angular momentum transfer in the shell occurs via large-scale convective motions resulting, for observed pulsars, in an almost iso-angular-momentum \\omega \\sim 1/R^2 rotation law inside the shell. The accretion rate through the shell is determined by the ability of the plasma to enter the magnetosphere due to Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, with allowance for cooling. A settling accretion regime is possible for moderate accretion rates \\dot M \\lesssim \\dot M_* \\simeq 4\\times 10^{16} g s ^{-1}. At higher accretion rates, a free-fall gap above the neutron star magnetosphere appears due to rapid Compton cooling, and the accretion becomes highly nonstationary. Observations of spin-up/spin-down rates of quasispherically wind accreting equilibrium X-ray pulsars with known orbital periods (e.g., GX 301-2 and Vela X-1) enable us to determine the main dimensionless parameters of the model, as well as to estimate surface magnetic field of the neutron star. For equilibrium pulsars, the independent measurements of the neutron star magnetic field allow for an estimate of the stellar wind velocity of the optical companion without using complicated spectroscopic measurements. For nonequilibrium pulsars, a maximum value is shown to exist for the spin-down rate of the accreting neutron star. From observations of the spin-down rate and the X-ray luminosity in such pulsars (e.g., GX 1+4, SXP 1062, and 4U 2206+54), a lower limit can be put on the neutron star magnetic field, which in all cases turns out to be close to the standard value and which agrees with cyclotron line measurements. Furthermore, both explains the spin-up/spin-down of the pulsar frequency on large time-scales and also accounts for the irregular short-term frequency fluctuations, which may correlate or anticorrelate with the observed X-ray luminosity fluctuations.

Pulsar-black hole binaries as a window on quantum gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Estes, John; Kavic, Michael; Lippert, Matthew; Simonetti, John H.

Pulsars (PSRs) are some of the most accurate clocks found in nature, while black holes (BHs) offer a unique arena for the study of quantum gravity. As such, PSR-BH binaries provide ideal astrophysical systems for detecting effects of quantum gravity. With the success of aLIGO and the advent of instruments like the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) and Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA), the prospects for discovery of such PSR-BH binaries are very promising. We argue that PSR-BH binaries can serve as ready-made testing grounds for proposed resolutions to the BH information paradox. We propose using timing signals from a PSR beam passing through the region near a BH event horizon as a probe of quantum gravitational effects. In particular, we demonstrate that fluctuations of the geometry outside a BH lead to an increase in the measured root-mean-square deviation of arrival times of PSR pulsar traveling near the horizon.

Discovery of powerful gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula.

PubMed

Tavani, M; Bulgarelli, A; Vittorini, V; Pellizzoni, A; Striani, E; Caraveo, P; Weisskopf, M C; Tennant, A; Pucella, G; Trois, A; Costa, E; Evangelista, Y; Pittori, C; Verrecchia, F; Del Monte, E; Campana, R; Pilia, M; De Luca, A; Donnarumma, I; Horns, D; Ferrigno, C; Heinke, C O; Trifoglio, M; Gianotti, F; Vercellone, S; Argan, A; Barbiellini, G; Cattaneo, P W; Chen, A W; Contessi, T; D'Ammando, F; DePris, G; Di Cocco, G; Di Persio, G; Feroci, M; Ferrari, A; Galli, M; Giuliani, A; Giusti, M; Labanti, C; Lapshov, I; Lazzarotto, F; Lipari, P; Longo, F; Fuschino, F; Marisaldi, M; Mereghetti, S; Morelli, E; Moretti, E; Morselli, A; Pacciani, L; Perotti, F; Piano, G; Picozza, P; Prest, M; Rapisarda, M; Rappoldi, A; Rubini, A; Sabatini, S; Soffitta, P; Vallazza, E; Zambra, A; Zanello, D; Lucarelli, F; Santolamazza, P; Giommi, P; Salotti, L; Bignami, G F

2011-02-11

The well-known Crab Nebula is at the center of the SN1054 supernova remnant. It consists of a rotationally powered pulsar interacting with a surrounding nebula through a relativistic particle wind. The emissions originating from the pulsar and nebula have been considered to be essentially stable. Here, we report the detection of strong gamma-ray (100 mega-electron volts to 10 giga-electron volts) flares observed by the AGILE satellite in September 2010 and October 2007. In both cases, the total gamma-ray flux increased by a factor of three compared with the non-flaring flux. The flare luminosity and short time scale favor an origin near the pulsar, and we discuss Chandra Observatory x-ray and Hubble Space Telescope optical follow-up observations of the nebula. Our observations challenge standard models of nebular emission and require power-law acceleration by shock-driven plasma wave turbulence within an approximately 1-day time scale.

Millisecond Pulsar Companions in SDSS and Pan-Starrs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMann, Natasha; Holley-Bockelmann, Kelly; McLaughlin, Maura; Kaplan, David; NANOGrav

2018-01-01

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are being timed precisely in hopes of detecting gravitational waves (GWs). In order to detect GWs, pulsars must be studied in great detail. The perturbations in timing caused by binaries must be determined so as not to confuse them with a GW perturbation. This study used a list of published MSPs to determine if any known MSP’s white dwarf companions are located and visible in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-Starrs) Footprints. No new possible companions were discovered but five objects were found in the SDSS and 18, including the same five from SDSS, were found in Pan-Starrs that could be the companion to an MSP. All objects are less than 1.5 arcseconds away from the MSP’s position. In order to verify the object as the companion, the color magnitudes must be compared to those previously published.

NRAO Astronomer Honored by American Astronomical Society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-01-01

Dr. Scott Ransom, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), received the American Astronomical Society's (AAS) Helen B. Warner Prize on January 11, at the society's meeting in Seattle, Washington. The prize is awarded annually for "a significant contribution to observational or theoretical astronomy during the five years preceding the award." Presented by AAS President Debra Elmegreen, the prize recognized Ransom "for his astrophysical insight and innovative technical leadership enabling the discovery of exotic, millisecond and young pulsars and their application for tests of fundamental physics." "Scott has made landmark contributions to our understanding of pulsars and to using them as elegant tools for investigating important areas of fundamental physics. We are very proud that his scientific colleagues have recognized his efforts with this prize," said NRAO Director Fred K.Y. Lo. A staff astronomer at the NRAO since 2004, Ransom has led efforts using the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope and other facilities to study pulsars and use them to make advances in areas of frontier astrophysics such as gravitational waves and particle physics. In 2010, he was on a team that discovered the most massive pulsar yet known, a finding that had implications for the composition of pulsars and details of nuclear physics, gravitational waves, and gamma-ray bursts. Ransom also is a leader in efforts to find and analyze rapidly-rotating millisecond pulsars to make the first direct detection of the gravitational waves predicted by Albert Einstein. In other work, he has advanced observational capabilities for finding millisecond pulsars in globular clusters of stars and investigated how millisecond pulsars are formed. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, Ransom served as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army. After leaving the Army, he earned a Ph.D. at Harvard University in 2001, and was a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University before joining the NRAO in 2004. Ransom will deliver his Warner Prize Lecture, entitled "Millisecond Pulsars: The Gifts that Keep on Giving," at the AAS meeting on Tuesday, January 11, 2011, at 3:40 p.m., Pacific Time.

Recognizing Axionic Dark Matter by Compton and de Broglie Scale Modulation of Pulsar Timing.

PubMed

De Martino, Ivan; Broadhurst, Tom; Tye, S-H Henry; Chiueh, Tzihong; Schive, Hsi-Yu; Lazkoz, Ruth

2017-12-01

Light axionic dark matter, motivated by string theory, is increasingly favored for the "no weakly interacting massive particle era". Galaxy formation is suppressed below a Jeans scale of ≃10^{8}  M_{⊙} by setting the axion mass to m_{B}∼10^{-22}  eV, and the large dark cores of dwarf galaxies are explained as solitons on the de Broglie scale. This is persuasive, but detection of the inherent scalar field oscillation at the Compton frequency ω_{B}=(2.5  months)^{-1}(m_{B}/10^{-22}  eV) would be definitive. By evolving the coupled Schrödinger-Poisson equation for a Bose-Einstein condensate, we predict the dark matter is fully modulated by de Broglie interference, with a dense soliton core of size ≃150  pc, at the Galactic center. The oscillating field pressure induces general relativistic time dilation in proportion to the local dark matter density and pulsars within this dense core have detectably large timing residuals of ≃400  nsec/(m_{B}/10^{-22}  eV). This is encouraging as many new pulsars should be discovered near the Galactic center with planned radio surveys. More generally, over the whole Galaxy, differences in dark matter density between pairs of pulsars imprints a pairwise Galactocentric signature that can be distinguished from an isotropic gravitational wave background.

RELATIVISTIC MEASUREMENTS FROM TIMING THE BINARY PULSAR PSR B1913+16

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weisberg, J. M.; Huang, Y., E-mail: jweisber@carleton.edu

2016-09-20

We present relativistic analyses of 9257 measurements of times-of-arrival from the first binary pulsar, PSR B1913+16, acquired over the last 35 years. The determination of the “Keplerian” orbital elements plus two relativistic terms completely characterizes the binary system, aside from an unknown rotation about the line of sight, leading to a determination of the masses of the pulsar and its companion: 1.438 ± 0.001 M {sub ☉} and 1.390 ± 0.001 M {sub ☉}, respectively. In addition, the complete system characterization allows for the creation of relativistic gravitation test by comparing measured and predicted sizes of various relativistic phenomena. Wemore » find that the ratio of the observed orbital period decrease caused by gravitational wave damping (corrected by a kinematic term) to the general relativistic prediction is 0.9983 ± 0.0016, thereby confirms the existence and strength of gravitational radiation as predicted by general relativity. For the first time in this system, we have also successfully measured the two parameters characterizing the Shapiro gravitational propagation delay, and found that their values are consistent with general relativistic predictions. For the first time in any system, we have also measured the relativistic shape correction to the elliptical orbit, δ {sub θ} , although its intrinsic value is obscured by currently unquantified pulsar emission beam aberration. We have also marginally measured the time derivative of the projected semimajor axis, which, when improved in combination with beam aberration modeling from geodetic precession observations, should ultimately constrain the pulsar’s moment of inertia.« less

Observation of pulsed hard X-rays/gamma-rays from PSR 1509-58

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunji, S.; Hirayama, M.; Kamae, T.; Miyazaki, S.; Sekimoto, Y.; Takahashi, T.; Tamura, T.; Tanaka, M.; Yamasaki, N.; Yamagami, T.; Nomachi, M.; Murakami, H.; Braga, J.; Neri, J. A.

1994-06-01

We observed a young rotation-powered pulsar, PSR 1509-58, in the hard X-ray/gamma-ray or the soft gamma-ray band with a balloon-borne detector in Brazil on 1991 November 19 (UT). With a timing analysis we detected pulsations in the energy band 94-240 keV at the 150.687 ms period determined from radio observations. The pulsating flux is (7.1 +/- 1.7) x 10-4 per sq cm per sec in this band, and the energy spectrum follows a power law with photon index alpha = 1.64 +/- 0.4. The averaged pulse profile shows a broad single peak with a sharp rise and has a duty cycle around 50% or higher: these features are similar to what have been observed in the X-ray band by the Ginga satellite. Based on the data available now, the fraction of energy transformed from rotational energy loss to pulsed/nonpulsed soft gamma-ray radiation is estimated. If the solid angle swept by the pulsed beam is about the same as for the Crab pulsar (PSR 0531+21) and the Vela pulsar (PSR 0833-45), PSR 1509-58 turn out to be an extremely efficient pulsar, converting a large fraction of its rotational energy loss to radiation, as the outer gap model predicts. The observed pulsed spectrum, however, is strong in the soft gamma-ray band, in a sharp contrast to what has been observed in the Vela pulsar, a pulsar expected to be similar PSR 1509-58 in the outer gap model. The fact that the pulse profile remains broad and single-peaked in the soft gamma-ray band is also new for Crab-like pulsars. In these regards, PSR 1509-58 may require some alteration to the standard outer gap model or even a new model for gamma-ray emission in pulsars.

The Glitches and Rotational History of the Highly Energetic Young Pulsar PSR J0537–6910

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferdman, R. D.; Archibald, R. F.; Gourgouliatos, K. N.; Kaspi, V. M.

2018-01-01

We present a timing and glitch analysis of the young X-ray pulsar PSR J0537‑6910, located within the Large Magellanic Cloud, using 13 yr of data from the now-decommissioned Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Rotating with a spin period of 16 ms, PSR J0537‑6910 is the fastest-spinning and most energetic young pulsar known. It also displays the highest glitch activity of any known pulsar. We have found 42 glitches over the data span, corresponding to a glitch rate of 3.2 yr‑1, with an overall glitch activity rate of 8.8× {10}-7 {{yr}}-1. The high glitch frequency has allowed us to study the glitch behavior in ways that are inaccessible in other pulsars. We observe a strong linear correlation between spin frequency glitch magnitude and wait time to the following glitch. We also find that the post-glitch spin-down recovery is well described by a single two-component model fit to all glitches for which we have adequate input data. This consists of an exponential amplitude A=(7.6+/- 1.0)× {10}-14 {{{s}}}-2, decay timescale τ ={27}-6+7 {day}s, and linear slope m=(4.1+/- 0.4)× {10}-16 {{{s}}}-2 {{day}}-1. The latter slope corresponds to a second frequency derivative \\ddot{ν }=(4.7+/- 0.5)× {10}-22 {{{s}}}-3, from which we find an implied braking index n=7.4+/- 0.8. We also present a maximum likelihood technique for searching for periods in event-time data, which we used to both confirm previously published values and determine rotation frequencies in later observations. We discuss the implied constraints on glitch models from the observed behavior of this system, which we argue cannot be fully explained in the context of existing theories.

Accretion torques in X-ray pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rappaport, S.; Joss, P. C.

1977-01-01

An analysis of the accretion process in an X-ray pulsar, whereby angular momentum is transferred to the star and its rotation period is changed, is presented, and an expression for the fractional rate of change of the pulse period in terms of X-ray luminosity and other star parameters is derived. It is shown that observed characteristic spin-up time scales for seven X-ray pulsars strongly support the view that in every source (1) the pulse period reflects the rotation period of a compact object, (2) the accretion is mediated by a disk surrounding the compact object and rotating in the same sense, and (3) the compact object is a neutron star rather than a white dwarf.

Observational signatures of spherically-symmetric black hole spacetimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Laurentis, Mariafelicia; Younsi, Ziri; Porth, Oliver; Mizuno, Yosuke; Fromm, Christian; Rezzolla, Luciano; Olivares, Hector

2017-12-01

A binary system composed of a supermassive black hole and a pulsar orbiting around it is studied. The motivation for this study arises from the fact that pulsar timing observations have proven to be a powerful tool in identifying physical features of the orbiting companion. In this study, taking into account a general spherically-symmetric metric, we present analytic calculations of the geodesic motion, and the possible deviations with respect to the standard Schwarzschild case of General Relativity. In particular, the advance at periastron is studied with the aim of identifying corrections to General Relativity. A discussion of the motion of a pulsar very close the supermassive central black hole in our Galaxy (Sgr A*) is reported.

The Extended Pulsar Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Constantinos, Kalapotharakos; Demosthenes, Kazanas; Ioannis, Contopoulos

2012-01-01

We present the structure of the 3D ideal MHD pulsar magnetosphere to a radius ten times that of the light cylinder, a distance about an order of magnitude larger than any previous such numerical treatment. Its overall structure exhibits a stable, smooth, well-defined undulating current sheet which approaches the kinematic split monopole solution of Bogovalov 1999 only after a careful introduction of diffusivity even in the highest resolution simulations. It also exhibits an intriguing spiral region at the crossing of two zero charge surfaces on the current sheet, which shows a destabilizing behavior more prominent in higher resolution simulations. We discuss the possibility that this region is physically (and not numerically) unstable. Finally, we present the spiral pulsar antenna radiation pattern.

Pulsar Emission: Is It All Relative?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K.

2004-01-01

Thirty-five years after the discovery of pulsars, we still do not understand the fundamentals of their pulsed emission at any wavelength. The fact that even detailed pulse profiles cannot identlfy the origin of the emission in a magnetosphere that extends fiom the neutron star surface to plasma moving at relativistic speeds near the light cylinder compounds the problem. I will discuss the role of special and general relativistic effects on pulsar emission, fiom inertial frame-dragging near the stellar surface to aberration, time-of-flight and retardation of the magnetic field near the light cylinder. Understanding how these effects determine what we observe at different wavelengths is critical to unraveling the emission physics.

Experimental Constraints on γ-Ray Pulsar Gap Models and the Pulsar GeV to Pulsar Wind Nebula TeV Connection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abeysekara, A. U.; Linnemann, J. T.

2015-05-01

The pulsar emission mechanism in the gamma ray energy band is poorly understood. Currently, there are several models under discussion in the pulsar community. These models can be constrained by studying the collective properties of a sample of pulsars, which became possible with the large sample of gamma ray pulsars discovered by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. In this paper we develop a new experimental multi-wavelength technique to determine the beaming factor ≤ft( {{f}{Ω }} \\right) dependance on spin-down luminosity of a set of GeV pulsars. This technique requires three input parameters: pulsar spin-down luminosity, pulsar phase-averaged GeV flux, and TeV or X-ray flux from the associated pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The analysis presented in this paper uses the PWN TeV flux measurements to study the correlation between {{f}{Ω }} and \\dot{E}. The measured correlation has some features that favor the Outer Gap model over the Polar Cap, Slot Gap, and One Pole Caustic models for pulsar emission in the energy range of 0.1-100 GeV, but one must keep in mind that these simulated models failed to explain many of the most important pulsar population characteristics. A tight correlation between the pulsar GeV emission and PWN TeV emission was also observed, which suggests the possibility of a linear relationship between the two emission mechanisms. In this paper we also discuss a possible mechanism to explain this correlation.

Probing Neutron Star Evolution with Gamma Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijers, Ralph A. M. J.

1996-02-01

The research sponsored by this grant was conducted in two fields of high-energy astrophysics: gamma-ray bursts and evolution of neutron stars. It is unknown at this time whether they are related. The work performed in each area is discussed followed by a full list of publications supported by the grant. My research (with E. Fenimore, L. Lubin, B. Paczyiiski, and A. Ulmer) has focussed on devising tests that could distinguish between BATSE and galactic-halo distance scales using the available data. In the first instance, the issue was whether the early BATSE peak flux distribution could be used to extract more than just a slope of the log N(greater than P) distribution, and whether it joined smoothly to the steeper peak flux distribution of bright bursts. To this end, we analysed the peak flux distribution for the presence of a change in slope. This was done both by fitting models with a core radius to see whether a significant value for it could be found, and by developing a completely model-independent test to search for slope changes in arbitrary distributions that are nearly power laws. A slope change was marginally detected in the first-year BATSE data. Good progress has been made in understanding the evolution of neutron stars and their magnetic fields. Having shown in earlier work that magnetic fields in some neutron stars, particularly Her X-1, do not decay spontaneously on million-year time scales, we set out to check whether such spontaneous decay was needed in isolated radio pulsars, as claimed by many. We found that it is not; rather long decay times or no decay are preferred. Since there are neutron stars with low magnetic fields, one must conclude that there is something in their past that distinguishes them from most pulsars. These so-called recycled pulsars are in binaries much more often than normal pulsars. My research concentrates on the class of scenarios in which the recycled pulsars are initially the same as ordinary high-field radio pulsars, and have acquired their properties due to mass transfer processes in binary stars. This links their evolution to that of X-ray binaries.

Pulsar emission amplified and resolved by plasma lensing in an eclipsing binary.

PubMed

Main, Robert; Yang, I-Sheng; Chan, Victor; Li, Dongzi; Lin, Fang Xi; Mahajan, Nikhil; Pen, Ue-Li; Vanderlinde, Keith; van Kerkwijk, Marten H

2018-05-01

Radio pulsars scintillate because their emission travels through the ionized interstellar medium along multiple paths, which interfere with each other. It has long been realized that, independent of their nature, the regions responsible for the scintillation could be used as 'interstellar lenses' to localize pulsar emission regions 1,2 . Most such lenses, however, resolve emission components only marginally, limiting results to statistical inferences and detections of small positional shifts 3-5 . As lenses situated close to their source offer better resolution, it should be easier to resolve emission regions of pulsars located in high-density environments such as supernova remnants 6 or binaries in which the pulsar's companion has an ionized outflow. Here we report observations of extreme plasma lensing in the 'black widow' pulsar, B1957+20, near the phase in its 9.2-hour orbit at which its emission is eclipsed by its companion's outflow 7-9 . During the lensing events, the observed radio flux is enhanced by factors of up to 70-80 at specific frequencies. The strongest events clearly resolve the emission regions: they affect the narrow main pulse and parts of the wider interpulse differently. We show that the events arise naturally from density fluctuations in the outer regions of the outflow, and we infer a resolution of our lenses that is comparable to the pulsar's radius, about 10 kilometres. Furthermore, the distinct frequency structures imparted by the lensing are reminiscent of what is observed for the repeating fast radio burst FRB 121102, providing observational support for the idea that this source is observed through, and thus at times strongly magnified by, plasma lenses 10 .

Pulsar emission amplified and resolved by plasma lensing in an eclipsing binary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Main, Robert; Yang, I.-Sheng; Chan, Victor; Li, Dongzi; Lin, Fang Xi; Mahajan, Nikhil; Pen, Ue-Li; Vanderlinde, Keith; van Kerkwijk, Marten H.

2018-05-01

Radio pulsars scintillate because their emission travels through the ionized interstellar medium along multiple paths, which interfere with each other. It has long been realized that, independent of their nature, the regions responsible for the scintillation could be used as `interstellar lenses' to localize pulsar emission regions1,2. Most such lenses, however, resolve emission components only marginally, limiting results to statistical inferences and detections of small positional shifts3-5. As lenses situated close to their source offer better resolution, it should be easier to resolve emission regions of pulsars located in high-density environments such as supernova remnants6 or binaries in which the pulsar's companion has an ionized outflow. Here we report observations of extreme plasma lensing in the `black widow' pulsar, B1957+20, near the phase in its 9.2-hour orbit at which its emission is eclipsed by its companion's outflow7-9. During the lensing events, the observed radio flux is enhanced by factors of up to 70-80 at specific frequencies. The strongest events clearly resolve the emission regions: they affect the narrow main pulse and parts of the wider interpulse differently. We show that the events arise naturally from density fluctuations in the outer regions of the outflow, and we infer a resolution of our lenses that is comparable to the pulsar's radius, about 10 kilometres. Furthermore, the distinct frequency structures imparted by the lensing are reminiscent of what is observed for the repeating fast radio burst FRB 121102, providing observational support for the idea that this source is observed through, and thus at times strongly magnified by, plasma lenses10.

Understanding the Pulsar High Energy Emission: Macroscopic and Kinetic Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalapotharakos, Constantinos; Brambilla, Gabriele; Timokhin, Andrey; Kust Harding, Alice; Kazanas, Demos

2017-08-01

Pulsars are extraordinary objects powered by the rotation of magnetic fields of order 10^8, 10^12G anchored onto neutron stars and rotating with periods 10^(-3)-10s. These fields mediate the conversion of their rotational energy into MHD winds and at the same time accelerate particles to energies sufficiently high to produce GeV photons. Fermi, since its launch in 2008, has established several trends among the observed gamma-ray pulsar properties playing a catalytic role in the current modeling of the high energy emission in pulsar magnetospheres. We judiciously use the guidance provided by the Fermi data to yield meaningful constraints on the macroscopic parameters of our global dissipative pulsar magnetosphere models. Our FIDO (Force-Free Inside, Dissipative Outside) models indicate that the dissipative regions lie outside the light cylinder near the equatorial current sheet. Our models reproduce the light-curve phenomenology while a detailed comparison of the model spectral properties with those observed by Fermi reveals the dependence of the macroscopic conductivity parameter on the spin-down rate providing a unique insight into the understanding of the physical mechanisms behind the high-energy emission in pulsar magnetospheres. Finally, we further exploit these important results by building self-consistent 3D global kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) models which, eventually, provide the dependence of the macroscopic parameter behavior (e.g. conductivity) on the microphysical properties (e.g. particle multiplicities, particle injection rates). Our PIC models provide field structures and particle distributions that are not only consistent with each other but also able to reproduce a broad range of the observed gamma-ray phenomenology (light curves and spectral properties) of both young and millisecond pulsars.

[Comparing the ranges of defect measured with standard white on white and Pulsar perimetries].

PubMed

González de la Rosa, M; González-Hernández, M; García-Feijoo, J; Sánchez Méndez, M; García-Sánchez, J

2011-04-01

Normal thresholds on Pulsar perimetry fall faster than those of standard perimetry in the peripheral visual field. Two related studies were performed. Firstly, the frequency distributions of glaucoma defects on standard automated perimetry (SAP) and the relationship of the centre and periphery (Study A) were studied first, followed by an attempt to establish the limits of pulsar perimetry (Study B). A: frequency of defects was calculated in 78.663 SAP perimetries (G1-TOP, Octopus 1-2-3, Haag-Streit). Study B: 204 eyes with mean defect (MD-SAP) lower than 9 dB were examined 8.92 ± 4.19 times with SAP (TOP-32, Octopus 311) and temporal modulation perimetry (T30W, Pulsar Perimeter, Haag-Streit). Study A: 50.7% of the SAP examinations showed MD values lower than 9 dB and 32.7% bellow 6 dB. The MD correlation of the central 20° with the MD of the most peripheral points was r=0.933. Study B: in cases with MD-TOP-32 lower than 6 dB, SAP had the maximum possibility of detecting defect in 0.02% of points and Pulsar in 0.29%. In subjects with MD-TOP-32 between 6 and 9 dB frequencies were 0.38% in SAP and 3.5% in Pulsar (5.1% for eccentricities higher than 20°). Pulsar allows detecting defects, without range limitations, in the initial half of SAP frequencies expected on glaucoma patients. In order to study the progression of deeper defects the examination should focus on the central points, where the dynamic range of both systems is more equivalent. Copyright © 2010 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Observation of the black widow B1957+20 millisecond pulsar binary system with the MAGIC telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Arcaro, C.; Babić, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Berti, A.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Borracci, F.; Bretz, T.; Carosi, R.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Cumani, P.; da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; de Angelis, A.; de Lotto, B.; De Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Di Pierro, F.; Doert, M.; Domínguez, A.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Elsaesser, D.; Engelkemeier, M.; Fallah Ramazani, V.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Godinović, N.; Gora, D.; Gozzini, S. R.; Griffiths, S.; Guberman, D.; Hadasch, D.; Hahn, A.; Hassan, T.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Ishio, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; Kuveždić, D.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López, M.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Moreno, V.; Moretti, E.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Nogués, L.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Pedaletti, G.; Peresano, M.; Perri, L.; Persic, M.; Poutanen, J.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Garcia, J. R.; Reichardt, I.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Schroeder, S.; Schweizer, T.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Šnidarić, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Strzys, M.; Surić, T.; Takalo, L.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Torres, D. F.; Torres-Albà, N.; Treves, A.; Vanzo, G.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Wu, M. H.; Zarić, D.; MAGIC Collaboration; Cognard, I.; Guillemot, L.

2017-10-01

B1957+20 is a millisecond pulsar located in a black-widow-type compact binary system with a low-mass stellar companion. The interaction of the pulsar wind with the companion star wind and/or the interstellar plasma is expected to create plausible conditions for acceleration of electrons to TeV energies and subsequent production of very high-energy γ-rays in the inverse Compton process. We performed extensive observations with the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes (MAGIC) telescopes of B1957+20. We interpret results in the framework of a few different models, namely emission from the vicinity of the millisecond pulsar, the interaction of the pulsar and stellar companion wind region or bow shock nebula. No significant steady very high-energy γ-ray emission was found. We derived a 95 per cent confidence level upper limit of 3.0 × 10-12 cm-2 s-1 on the average γ-ray emission from the binary system above 200 GeV. The upper limits obtained with the MAGIC constrain, for the first time, different models of the high-energy emission in B1957+20. In particular, in the inner mixed wind nebula model with mono-energetic injection of electrons, the acceleration efficiency of electrons is constrained to be below ˜2-10 per cent of the pulsar spin-down power. For the pulsar emission, the obtained upper limits for each emission peak are well above the exponential cut-off fits to the Fermi-LAT data, extrapolated to energies above 50 GeV. The MAGIC upper limits can rule out a simple power-law tail extension through the sub-TeV energy range for the main peak seen at radio frequencies.

Giant Pulse Studies of Ordinary and Recycled Pulsars with NICER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewandowska, Natalia; Arzoumanian, Zaven; Gendreau, Keith C.; Enoto, Teruaki; Harding, Alice; Lommen, Andrea; Ray, Paul S.; Deneva, Julia; Kerr, Matthew; Ransom, Scott M.; NICER Team

2018-01-01

Radio Giant Pulses are one of the earliest discovered form of anomalous single pulse emission from pulsars. Known for their non-periodical occurrence, restriction to certain phase ranges, power-law intensity distributions, pulse widths ranging from microseconds to nanoseconds and very high brightness temperatures, they stand out as an individual form of pulsar radio emission.Discovered originally in the case of the Crab pulsar, several other pulsars have been observed to emit radio giant pulses, the most promising being the recycled pulsar PSR B1937+21 and also the Vela pulsar.Although radio giant pulses are apparently the result of a coherent emission mechanism, recent studies of the Crab pulsar led to the discovery of an additional incoherent component at optical wavelengths. No such component has been identified for recycled pulsars, or Vela yet.To provide constraints on possible emission regions in their magnetospheres and to search for differences between giant pulses from ordinary and recycled pulsars, we present the progress of the correlation study of PSR B1937+21 and the Vela pulsar carried out with NICER and several radio observatories.

SEXTANT - Station Explorer for X-Ray Timing and Navigation Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Jason; Hasouneh, Monther; Winternitz, Luke; Valdez, Jennifer; Price, Sam; Semper, Sean; Yu, Wayne; Gaebler, John; Ray, Paul; Wood, Kent;

Using HAWC to discover invisible pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Linden, Tim; Auchettl, Katie; Bramante, Joseph

2017-11-01

Observations by HAWC and Milagro have detected bright and spatially extended TeV gamma-ray sources surrounding the Geminga and Monogem pulsars. We argue that these observations, along with a substantial population of other extended TeV sources coincident with pulsar wind nebulae, constitute a new morphological class of spatially extended TeV halos. We show that HAWCs wide field-of-view unlocks an expansive parameter space of TeV halos not observable by atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Under the assumption that Geminga and Monogem are typical middle-aged pulsars, we show that ten-year HAWC observations should eventually observe 37more » $$^{+17}_{-13}$$ middle-aged TeV halos that correspond to pulsars whose radio emission is not beamed towards Earth. Depending on the extrapolation of the TeV halo efficiency to young pulsars, HAWC could detect more than 100 TeV halos from mis-aligned pulsars. These pulsars have historically been difficult to detect with existing multiwavelength observations. TeV halos will constitute a significant fraction of all HAWC sources, allowing follow-up observations to efficiently find pulsar wind nebulae and thermal pulsar emission. The observation and subsequent multi-wavelength follow-up of TeV halos will have significant implications for our understanding of pulsar beam geometries, the evolution of PWN, the diffusion of cosmic-rays near energetic pulsars, and the contribution of pulsars to the cosmic-ray positron excess.« less

Exposing Drifting Subpulses from the Slowest to the Fastest Pulsars.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Leeuwen, Joeri

2006-06-01

Pulsar emission is surprisingly similar over a vast range of periods and magnetic fields: all the way from the 2-millisecond 108-G recycled pulsars to the 6-second 1014-G magnetar-like regular pulsars. We think the stability and speed of the subpulse drift seen over this whole range can discern between different mechanisms for pulsar emission. Using two new techniques to discern and interpret subpulse drift patterns in both dim and bright pulsars, we investigate the relation between subpulse-drift speed and the pulsar period and magnetic field.

Noise and drift analysis of non-equally spaced timing data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vernotte, F.; Zalamansky, G.; Lantz, E.

1994-01-01

Generally, it is possible to obtain equally spaced timing data from oscillators. The measurement of the drifts and noises affecting oscillators is then performed by using a variance (Allan variance, modified Allan variance, or time variance) or a system of several variances (multivariance method). However, in some cases, several samples, or even several sets of samples, are missing. In the case of millisecond pulsar timing data, for instance, observations are quite irregularly spaced in time. Nevertheless, since some observations are very close together (one minute) and since the timing data sequence is very long (more than ten years), information on both short-term and long-term stability is available. Unfortunately, a direct variance analysis is not possible without interpolating missing data. Different interpolation algorithms (linear interpolation, cubic spline) are used to calculate variances in order to verify that they neither lose information nor add erroneous information. A comparison of the results of the different algorithms is given. Finally, the multivariance method was adapted to the measurement sequence of the millisecond pulsar timing data: the responses of each variance of the system are calculated for each type of noise and drift, with the same missing samples as in the pulsar timing sequence. An estimation of precision, dynamics, and separability of this method is given.

Consolidated RXTE Observing Grants on Observation of Neutron Stars and Black Holes in Binaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prince, Thomas A.; Vaughan, Brian A.

1998-01-01

This final report is a study of neutron stars and black holes in binaries. The activities focused on observation made with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. The following areas were covered: long term observations of accreting binary pulsars with the All-Sky Monitor (ASM); observations of Centaurus X-3 with the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) and the High-Energy X-ray Timing Experiment (HEXTE); observations of accreting pulsars with the PCA and HEXTE; studies of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO); and investigations of accreting black-hole candidates.

Constraints on the Dynamical Environments of Supermassive Black-Hole Binaries Using Pulsar-Timing Arrays.

PubMed

Taylor, Stephen R; Simon, Joseph; Sampson, Laura

2017-05-05

We introduce a technique for gravitational-wave analysis, where Gaussian process regression is used to emulate the strain spectrum of a stochastic background by training on population-synthesis simulations. This leads to direct Bayesian inference on astrophysical parameters. For pulsar timing arrays specifically, we interpolate over the parameter space of supermassive black-hole binary environments, including three-body stellar scattering, and evolving orbital eccentricity. We illustrate our approach on mock data, and assess the prospects for inference with data similar to the NANOGrav 9-yr data release.

Erratum: "Discovery of a Second Millisecond Accreting Pulsar: XTE J1751-305"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markwardt, Craig; Swank, J. H.; Strohmayer, T. E.; in 'tZand, J. J. M.; Marshall, F. E.

2007-01-01

The original Table 1 ("Timing Parameters of XTE J1751-305") contains one error. The epoch of pulsar mean longitude 90deg is incorrect due to a numerical conversion error in the preparation of the original table text. A corrected version of Table 1 is shown. For reference, the epoch of the ascending node is also included. The correct value was used in all of the analysis leading up to the paper. As T(sub 90) is a purely fiducial reference time, the scientific conclusions of the paper are unchanged.

Binary and Millisecond Pulsars.

PubMed

Lorimer, Duncan R

2008-01-01

We review the main properties, demographics and applications of binary and millisecond radio pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1800. There are now 83 binary and millisecond pulsars associated with the disk of our Galaxy, and a further 140 pulsars in 26 of the Galactic globular clusters. Recent highlights include the discovery of the young relativistic binary system PSR J1906+0746, a rejuvination in globular cluster pulsar research including growing numbers of pulsars with masses in excess of 1.5 M ⊙ , a precise measurement of relativistic spin precession in the double pulsar system and a Galactic millisecond pulsar in an eccentric ( e = 0.44) orbit around an unevolved companion. Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.12942/lrr-2008-8.

A Gaussian Mixture Model for Nulling Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaplan, D. L.; Swiggum, J. K.; Fichtenbauer, T. D. J.; Vallisneri, M.

2018-03-01

The phenomenon of pulsar nulling—where pulsars occasionally turn off for one or more pulses—provides insight into pulsar-emission mechanisms and the processes by which pulsars turn off when they cross the “death line.” However, while ever more pulsars are found that exhibit nulling behavior, the statistical techniques used to measure nulling are biased, with limited utility and precision. In this paper, we introduce an improved algorithm, based on Gaussian mixture models, for measuring pulsar nulling behavior. We demonstrate this algorithm on a number of pulsars observed as part of a larger sample of nulling pulsars, and show that it performs considerably better than existing techniques, yielding better precision and no bias. We further validate our algorithm on simulated data. Our algorithm is widely applicable to a large number of pulsars even if they do not show obvious nulls. Moreover, it can be used to derive nulling probabilities of nulling for individual pulses, which can be used for in-depth studies.

THE EFFECT OF TRANSIENT ACCRETION ON THE SPIN-UP OF MILLISECOND PULSARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhattacharyya, Sudip; Chakrabarty, Deepto, E-mail: sudip@tifr.res.in

A millisecond pulsar is a neutron star that has been substantially spun up by accretion from a binary companion. A previously unrecognized factor governing the spin evolution of such pulsars is the crucial effect of nonsteady or transient accretion. We numerically compute the evolution of accreting neutron stars through a series of outburst and quiescent phases, considering the drastic variation of the accretion rate and the standard disk–magnetosphere interaction. We find that, for the same long-term average accretion rate, X-ray transients can spin up pulsars to rates several times higher than can persistent accretors, even when the spin-down due tomore » electromagnetic radiation during quiescence is included. We also compute an analytical expression for the equilibrium spin frequency in transients, by taking spin equilibrium to mean that no net angular momentum is transferred to the neutron star in each outburst cycle. We find that the equilibrium spin rate for transients, which depends on the peak accretion rate during outbursts, can be much higher than that for persistent sources. This explains our numerical finding. This finding implies that any meaningful study of neutron star spin and magnetic field distributions requires the inclusion of the transient accretion effect, since most accreting neutron star sources are transients. Our finding also implies the existence of a submillisecond pulsar population, which is not observed. This may point to the need for a competing spin-down mechanism for the fastest-rotating accreting pulsars, such as gravitational radiation.« less

A search for TeV gamma-ray emission from SNRs, pulsars and unidentified GeV sources in the Galactic plane in the longitude range between -2 deg and 85 deg.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aharonian, F. A.; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Beilicke, M.; Bernloehr, K.; Bojahr, H.; Bolz, O.; Boerst, H.; Coarasa, T.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Denninghoff, S.; Fonseca, V.; Girma, M.; Goetting, N.; Heinzelmann, G.; Hermann, G.; Heusler, A.; Hofmann, W.; Horns, D.; Jung, I.; Kankanyan, R.; Kestel, M.; Kettler, J.; Kohnle, A.; Konopelko, A.; Kornmeyer, H.; Kranich, D.; Krawczynski, H.; Lampeitl, H.; Lopez, M.; Lorenz, E.; Lucarelli, F.; Mang, O.; Meyer, H.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Ona, E.; Panter, M.; Plyasheshnikov, A.; Puehlhofer, G.; Rauterberg, G.; Reyes, R.; Rhode, W.; Ripken, J.; Roehring, A.; Rowell, G. P.; Sahakian, V.; Samorski, M.; Schilling, M.; Siems, M.; Sobzynska, D.; Stamm, W.; Tluczykont, M.; Voelk, H. J.; Wiedner, C. A.; Wittek, W.

2002-12-01

Using the HEGRA system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, one quarter of the Galactic plane (-2o < l < 85o) was surveyed for TeV gamma-ray emission from point sources and moderately extended sources (φ <= 0.8o). The region covered includes 86 known pulsars (PSR), 63 known supernova remnants (SNR) and nine GeV sources, representing a significant fraction of the known populations. No evidence for emission of TeV gamma radiation was detected, and upper limits range from 0.15 Crab units up to several Crab units, depending on the observation time and zenith angles covered. The ensemble sums over selected SNR and pulsar subsamples and over the GeV-sources yield no indication of emission from these potential sources. The upper limit for the SNR population is 6.7% of the Crab flux and for the pulsar ensemble is 3.6% of the Crab flux.

Long-term observations of the pulsars in 47 Tucanae - II. Proper motions, accelerations and jerks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freire, P. C. C.; Ridolfi, A.; Kramer, M.; Jordan, C.; Manchester, R. N.; Torne, P.; Sarkissian, J.; Heinke, C. O.; D'Amico, N.; Camilo, F.; Lorimer, D. R.; Lyne, A. G.

2017-10-01

This paper is the second in a series where we report the results of the long-term timing of the millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in 47 Tucanae with the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. We obtain improved timing parameters that provide additional information for studies of the cluster dynamics: (a) the pulsar proper motions yield an estimate of the proper motion of the cluster as a whole (μα = 5.00 ± 0.14 mas yr - 1, μδ = - 2.84 ± 0.12 mas yr - 1) and the motion of the pulsars relative to each other. (b) We measure the second spin-period derivatives caused by the change of the pulsar line-of-sight accelerations; 47 Tuc H, U and possibly J are being affected by nearby objects. (c) For 10 binary systems, we now measure changes in the orbital period caused by their acceleration in the gravitational field of the cluster. From all these measurements, we derive a cluster distance no smaller than ˜4.69 kpc and show that the characteristics of these MSPs are very similar to their counterparts in the Galactic disc. We find no evidence in favour of an intermediate mass black hole at the centre of the cluster. Finally, we describe the orbital behaviour of four 'black widow' systems. Two of them, 47 Tuc J and O, exhibit orbital variability similar to that observed in other such systems, while for 47 Tuc I and R the orbits seem to be remarkably stable. It appears therefore that not all 'black widows' have unpredictable orbital behaviour.

Students Excited by Stellar Discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-02-01

In the constellation of Ophiuchus, above the disk of our Milky Way Galaxy, there lurks a stellar corpse spinning 30 times per second -- an exotic star known as a radio pulsar. This object was unknown until it was discovered last week by three high school students. These students are part of the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC) project, run by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV, and West Virginia University (WVU). The pulsar, which may be a rare kind of neutron star called a recycled pulsar, was discovered independently by Virginia students Alexander Snider and Casey Thompson, on January 20, and a day later by Kentucky student Hannah Mabry. "Every day, I told myself, 'I have to find a pulsar. I better find a pulsar before this class ends,'" said Mabry. When she actually made the discovery, she could barely contain her excitement. "I started screaming and jumping up and down." Thompson was similarly expressive. "After three years of searching, I hadn't found a single thing," he said, "but when I did, I threw my hands up in the air and said, 'Yes!'." Snider said, "It actually feels really neat to be the first person to ever see something like that. It's an uplifting feeling." As part of the PSC, the students analyze real data from NRAO's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to find pulsars. The students' teachers -- Debra Edwards of Sherando High School, Leah Lorton of James River High School, and Jennifer Carter of Rowan County Senior High School -- all introduced the PSC in their classes, and interested students formed teams to continue the work. Even before the discovery, Mabry simply enjoyed the search. "It just feels like you're actually doing something," she said. "It's a good feeling." Once the pulsar candidate was reported to NRAO, Project Director Rachel Rosen took a look and agreed with the young scientists. A followup observing session was scheduled on the GBT. Snider and Mabry traveled to West Virginia to assist in the follow-up observations, and Thompson joined online. "Observing with the students is very exciting. It gives the students a chance to learn about radio telescopes and pulsar observing in a very hands-on way, and it is extra fun when we find a pulsar," said Rosen. Snider, on the other hand, said, "I got very, very nervous. I expected when I went there that I would just be watching other people do things, and then I actually go to sit down at the controls. I definitely didn't want to mess something up." Everything went well, and the observations confirmed that the students had found an exotic pulsar. "I learned more in the two hours in the control room than I would have in school the whole day," Mabry said. Pulsars are spinning neutron stars that sling lighthouse beams of radio waves or light around as they spin. A neutron star is what is left after a massive star explodes at the end of its normal life. With no nuclear fuel left to produce energy to offset the stellar remnant's weight, its material is compressed to extreme densities. The pressure squeezes together most of its protons and electrons to form neutrons; hence, the name neutron star. One tablespoon of material from a pulsar would weigh 10 million tons -- as much as a supertanker. The object that the students discovered is in a special class of pulsar that spins very fast - in this case, about 30 times per second, comparable to the speed of a kitchen blender. "The big question we need to answer first is whether this is a young pulsar or a recycled pulsar," said Maura McLaughlin, an astronomer at WVU. "A pulsar spinning that fast is very interesting as it could be newly born or it could be a very old, recycled pulsar." A recycled pulsar is one that was once in a binary system. Material from the companion star is deposited onto the pulsar, causing it to speed up, or be recycled. Mystery remains, however, about whether this pulsar has ever had a companion star. If it did, "it may be that this pulsar had a massive companion that exploded in a supernova, disrupting its orbit," McLaughlin said. Astronomers and students will work together in the coming months to find answers to these questions. The PSC is a joint project of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and West Virginia University, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The PSC, led by NRAO Education Officer Sue Ann Heatherly and Project Director Rachel Rosen, includes training for teachers and student leaders, and provides parcels of data from the GBT to student teams. The project involves teachers and students in helping astronomers analyze data from the GBT, a giant, 17-million-pound telescope. Some 300 hours of observing data were reserved for analysis by student teams. Thompson, Snider, and Mabry have been working with about 170 other students across the country. The responsibility for the work, and for the discoveries, is theirs. They are trained by astronomers and by their teachers to distinguish between pulsars and noise. The students' collective judgment sifts the pulsars from the noise. All three students had analyzed thousands of data plots before coming upon this one. Casey Thompson, who has been with the PSC for three years, has analyzed more than 30,000 plots. "Sometimes I just stop and think about the fact that I'm looking at data from space," Thompson said. "It's really special to me." In addition to this discovery, two other astronomical objects have been discovered by students. In 2009, Shay Bloxton of Summersville, WV, discovered a pulsar that spins once every four seconds, and Lucas Bolyard of Clarksburg, WV, discovered a rapidly rotating radio transient, which astronomers believe is a pulsar that emits radio waves in bursts. Those involved in the PSC hope that being a part of astronomy will give students an appreciation for science. Maybe the project will even produce some of the next generation of astronomers. Snider, surely, has been inspired. "The PSC changed my career path," confessed Thompson. "I'm going to study astrophysics." Snider is pleased with the idea of contributing to scientific knowledge. "I hope that astronomers at Green Bank and around the world can learn something from the discovery," he said. Mabry is simply awed. "We've actually been able to experience something," she said. The PSC will continue through 2011. Teachers interested in participating in the program can learn more at this link, http://www.gb.nrao.edu/epo/psc.shtml.

Cosmic Ray Positrons from Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K.

2010-01-01

Pulsars are potential Galactic sources of positrons through pair cascades in their magnetospheres. There are, however, many uncertainties in establishing their contribution to the local primary positron flux. Among these are the local density of pulsars, the cascade pair multiplicities that determine the injection rate of positrons from the pulsar, the acceleration of the injected particles by the pulsar wind termination shock, their rate of escape from the pulsar wind nebula, and their propagation through the interstellar medium. I will discuss these issues in the context of what we are learning from the new Fermi pulsar detections and discoveries.

Pulsar-irradiated stars in dense globular clusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tavani, Marco

1992-01-01

We discuss the properties of stars irradiated by millisecond pulsars in 'hard' binaries of dense globular clusters. Irradiation by a relativistic pulsar wind as in the case of the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR 1957+20 alter both the magnitude and color of the companion star. Some of the blue stragglers (BSs) recently discovered in dense globular clusters can be irradiated stars in binaries containing powerful millisecond pulsars. The discovery of pulsar-driven orbital modulations of BS brightness and color with periods of a few hours together with evidence for radio and/or gamma-ray emission from BS binaries would valuably contribute to the understanding of the evolution of collapsed stars in globular clusters. Pulsar-driven optical modulation of cluster stars might be the only observable effect of a new class of binary pulsars, i.e., hidden millisecond pulsars enshrouded in the evaporated material lifted off from the irradiated companion star.

The Bursting Pulsar GRO J1744-28: the slowest transitional pulsar?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Court, J. M. C.; Altamirano, D.; Sanna, A.

2018-06-01

GRO J1744-28 (the Bursting Pulsar) is a neutron star low-mass X-ray binary which shows highly structured X-ray variability near the end of its X-ray outbursts. In this letter we show that this variability is analogous to that seen in Transitional Millisecond Pulsars such as PSR J1023+0038: `missing link' systems consisting of a pulsar nearing the end of its recycling phase. As such, we show that the Bursting Pulsar may also be associated with this class of objects. We discuss the implications of this scenario; in particular, we discuss the fact that the Bursting Pulsar has a significantly higher spin period and magnetic field than any other known transitional pulsar. If the Bursting Pulsar is indeed transitional, then this source opens a new window of opportunity to test our understanding of these systems in an entirely unexplored physical regime.

The Bursting Pulsar GRO J1744-28: the Slowest Transitional Pulsar?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Court, J. M. C.; Altamirano, D.; Sanna, A.

2018-04-01

GRO J1744-28 (the Bursting Pulsar) is a neutron star LMXB which shows highly structured X-ray variability near the end of its X-ray outbursts. In this letter we show that this variability is analogous to that seen in Transitional Millisecond Pulsars such as PSR J1023+0038: `missing link' systems consisting of a pulsar nearing the end of its recycling phase. As such, we show that the Bursting Pulsar may also be associated with this class of objects. We discuss the implications of this scenario; in particular, we discuss the fact that the Bursting Pulsar has a significantly higher spin period and magnetic field than any other known Transitional Pulsar. If the Bursting Pulsar is indeed transitional, then this source opens a new window of oppurtunity to test our understanding of these systems in an entirely unexplored physical regime.

Station Explorer for X-Ray Timing and Navigation Technology Architecture Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hasouneh, Monther Abdel Hamid

2014-01-01

The Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT) is a technology demonstration enhancement to the Neutron-star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission. NICER is a NASA astrophysics Explorer Mission of Opportunity, scheduled for launch in mid-2016, that will be hosted on the International Space Station (ISS) via the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier (ELC). By exploiting the regular pulsations emit-ted by the ultra dense remnants of dead stars, which rotate many hundreds of times per second, SEXTANT will, for the first-time, demonstrate real-time, on-board X-ray pulsar-based navigation is a significant milestone in the quest to establish a GPS-like navigation capability available throughout our Solar System and beyond and include the worlds first completely functional system architecture for navigation using X-ray pulsars. In addition, NICER SEXTANT will investigate the suit-ability of these millisecond X-ray pulsars (MSPs) as a Solar System-wide timing infrastructure to rival terrestrial atomic clocks on long timescales. This paper provides a brief overview of the SEXTANT demonstration and the design of the system architecture that consists of the NICER X-ray timing instrument, the SEXTANT flight software and algorithms, supporting ground system, and the GSFC X-ray Navigation Laboratory Testbed (GXLT).

Spectral and Temporal Properties of the Ultraluminous X-Ray Pulsar in M82 from 15 years of Chandra Observations and Analysis of the Pulsed Emission Using NuSTAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brightman, Murray; Harrison, Fiona; Walton, Dominic J.; Fuerst, Felix; Hornschemeier, Ann; Zezas, Andreas; Bachetti, Matteo; Grefenstette, Brian; Ptak, Andrew; Tendulkar, Shriharsh; Yukita, Mihoko

2016-01-01

The recent discovery by Bachetti et al. of a pulsar in M82 that can reach luminosities of up to 1040 erg s-1, a factor of ˜100 times the Eddington luminosity for a 1.4 M⊙ compact object, poses a challenge for accretion physics. In order to better understand the nature of this source and its duty cycle, and in light of several physical models that have been subsequently published, we conduct a spectral and temporal analysis of the 0.5-8 keV X-ray emission from this source from 15 years of Chandra observations. We analyze 19 ACIS observations where the point-spread function (PSF) of the pulsar is not contaminated by nearby sources. We fit the Chandra spectra of the pulsar with a power-law model and a disk blackbody model, subjected to interstellar absorption in M82. We carefully assess for the effect of pile-up in our observations, where four observations have a pile-up fraction of >10%, which we account for during spectral modeling with a convolution model. When fitted with a power-law model, the average photon index when the source is at high luminosity (LX > 1039 erg s-1) is Γ = 1.33 ± 0.15. For the disk blackbody model, the average temperature is Tin = 3.24 ± 0.65 keV, the spectral shape being consistent with other luminous X-ray pulsars. We also investigated the inclusion of a soft excess component and spectral break, finding that the spectra are also consistent with these features common to luminous X-ray pulsars. In addition, we present spectral analysis from NuSTAR over the 3-50 keV range where we have isolated the pulsed component. We find that the pulsed emission in this band is best fit by a power-law with a high-energy cutoff, where Γ = 0.6 ± 0.3 and {E}{{C}}={14}-3+5 keV. While the pulsar has previously been identified as a transient, we find from our longer-baseline study that it has been remarkably active over the 15-year period, where for 9/19 (47%) observations that we analyzed, the pulsar appears to be emitting at a luminosity in excess of 1039 erg s-1, greater than 10 times its Eddington limit.

Spectral and Temporal Properties of the Ultra-Luminous X-Ray Pulsar in M82 from 15 Years of Chandra Observations and Analysis of the Pulsed Emission Using NuSTAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brightman, Murray; Harrison, Fiona; Walton, Dominic J.; Fuerst, Felis; Zezas, Andreas; Bachetti, Matteo; Grefenstette, Brian; Ptak, Andrew; Tendulkar, Shriharsh; Yukita, Mihoko

2016-01-01

The recent discovery by Bachetti et al. of a pulsar in M82 that can reach luminosities of up to 10(exp 40) erg s(exp -1), a factor of approximately 100 times the Eddington luminosity for a 1.4 solar mass compact object, poses a challenge for accretion physics. In order to better understand the nature of this source and its duty cycle, and in light of several physical models that have been subsequently published, we conduct a spectral and temporal analysis of the 0.58 keV X-ray emission from this source from 15 years of Chandra observations. We analyze 19 ACIS observations where the point-spread function (PSF) of the pulsar is not contaminated by nearby sources. We fit the Chandra spectra of the pulsar with a power-law model and a disk blackbody model, subjected to interstellar absorption in M82. We carefully assess for the effect of pile-up in our observations, where four observations have a pile-up fraction of 10, which we account for during spectral modeling with a convolution model. When fitted with a power-law model, the average photon index when the source is at high luminosity (LX greater than 10(exp 39) erg s(exp -1) is equal to gamma 1.33 +/-.0.15. For the disk blackbody model, the average temperature is T(sub in) 3.24 +/- 0.65 keV, the spectral shape being consistent with other luminous X-ray pulsars. We also investigated the inclusion of a soft excess component and spectral break, finding that the spectra are also consistent with these features common to luminous X-ray pulsars. In addition, we present spectral analysis from NuSTAR over the 3-50 keV range where we have isolated the pulsed component. We find that the pulsed emission in this band is best fit by a power-law with a high-energy cutoff, where gamma is equal to 0.6 +/- 0.3 and E(sub C) is equal to 14(exp +5) (sub -3)) keV. While the pulsar has previously been identified as a transient, we find from our longer-baseline study that it has been remarkably active over the 15-year period, where for 9/19 (47%) observations that we analyzed, the pulsar appears to be emitting at a luminosity in excess of 10( exp (39) erg s (exp -1), greater than 10 times its Eddington limit.

Discovery of a 105-ms X-ray Pulsar in Kesteven-79: On the Nature of Compact Central Objects in Supernova Remnants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gotthelf, E. V.; Halpern, J. P.; Seward, F. D.

2005-01-01

We report the discovery of 105-ms X-ray pulsations from the compact central object (CCO) in the supernova remnant \\snr\\ using data acquired with the {\\it Newton X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission). Using two observations of the pulsar taken 6-days apart we derive an upper limit on its spin-down rate of $\\dot P < 9 \\times 10"{-14}$-s-${-l)$,a nd find no evidence for binary orbital motion. The implied energy loss rate is $\\dot E < 3 \\times 10A{36)$-ergs-s$A{-1)$, polar magnetic field strength is $B-{\\rm p) < 3 \\times 10A{12)$-G, and spin-down age is $\\tau > 18.5$-kyr. The latter exceeds the remnant's estimated age, suggesting that the pulsar was born spinning near its current period. The X-ray spectrum of \\psr\\ is best characterized as a blackbody of temperature $kT {BB) =, 0.43\\pm0.02$ keV, radius $R-{BB) \\approx 1.3$-km, and $I{\\rm bol) = 5.2 \\times 10A{33)$ ergs-sSA{-1)$ at $d = 7.1$-kpc. The sinusoidal light curve is modulated with a pulsed fraction of $>45\\%$, suggestive of a small hot spot on the surface of the rotating neutron star. The lack of a discernible pulsar wind nebula is consistent with an interpretation of \\psr\\ as a rotation-powered pulsar whose spin-down luminosity falls below the empirical threshold for generating bright wind nebulae, $\\dot E-{\\rm c) = 4 \\times 10A{36)$-ergs-sSA{-I)$. The age discrepancy suggests that its $\\dot E$ has always been below $\\dot E c$, perhaps a distinguishing property of the CCOs. Alternatively, the X-ray spectrum of \\psr\\ suggests a low-luminosity AXP, but the weak inferred $B-{\\rm p)$ field is incompatible with a magnetar theory of its X-ray luminosity. The ordinary spin parameters discovered from \\psr\\ highlight the inability of existing theories to explain the high luminosities and temperatures of CCO thermal X-ray spectra.

Nuclear physics of reverse electron flow at pulsar polar caps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, P. B.

2010-01-01

Protons produced in electromagnetic showers formed by the reverse electron flux are usually the largest component of the time-averaged polar cap open magnetic flux line current in neutron stars with positive corotational charge density. Although the electric field boundary conditions in the corotating frame are time independent, instabilities on both medium and short time-scales cause the current to alternate between states in which either protons or positrons and ions form the major component. These properties are briefly discussed in relation to nulling and microstructure in radio pulsars, pair production in an outer gap and neutron stars with high surface temperatures.

Division A Commission 31: Time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosokawa, Mizuhiko; Arias, Elisa Felicitas; Manchester, Richard; Tuckey, Philip; Matsakis, Demetrios; Zhang, Shougang; Zharov, Vladimir

2016-04-01

Time is an essential element of fundamental astronomy. In recent years there have been many time-related issues, in scientific and technological aspects as well as in conventions and definitions. At the Commission 31 (Time) business meeting at the XXIX General Assembly, recent progress and many topics, including Pulsar Time Scales WG and Future UTC WG activities, were reviewed and discussed. In this report, we will review the progress of these topics in the past three years. There are many remarkable topics, such as Time scales, Atomic clock development, Time transfer, Future UTC and future redefinition of the second. Among them, scientific highlights are the progress of pulsar time scales and the optical frequency standards. On the other hand, as the social convention, change in the definition of UTC and the second is important.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, M. L.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Lam, M. T.

We analyze dispersion measure (DM) variations of 37 millisecond pulsars in the nine-year North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) data release and constrain the sources of these variations. DM variations can result from a changing distance between Earth and the pulsar, inhomogeneities in the interstellar medium, and solar effects. Variations are significant for nearly all pulsars, with characteristic timescales comparable to or even shorter than the average spacing between observations. Five pulsars have periodic annual variations, 14 pulsars have monotonically increasing or decreasing trends, and 14 pulsars show both effects. Of the four pulsars with linear trends thatmore » have line-of-sight velocity measurements, three are consistent with a changing distance and require an overdensity of free electrons local to the pulsar. Several pulsars show correlations between DM excesses and lines of sight that pass close to the Sun. Mapping of the DM variations as a function of the pulsar trajectory can identify localized interstellar medium features and, in one case, an upper limit to the size of the dispersing region of 4 au. Four pulsars show roughly Kolmogorov structure functions (SFs), and another four show SFs less steep than Kolmogorov. One pulsar has too large an uncertainty to allow comparisons. We discuss explanations for apparent departures from a Kolmogorov-like spectrum, and we show that the presence of other trends and localized features or gradients in the interstellar medium is the most likely cause.« less

The magnetic fields, ages, and original spin periods of millisecond pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camilo, F.; Thorsett, S. E.; Kulkarni, S. R.

1994-01-01

Accurate determination of the spin-down rates of millisecond pulsars requires consideration of the apparent acceleration of the pulsars due to their high transverse velocities. We show that for several nearby pulsars the neglect of this effect leads to substantial errors in inferred pulsar ages and magnetic fields. Two important ramifications follow. (1) The intrinsic magnetic field strengths of all millisecond pulsars lie below 5 x 10(exp 8) G, strengthening an earlier suggestion of a 'gap' between the magnetic field strengths of millisecond pulsars and of high-mass binary pulsars such as PSR B1913+16, which are thought to have been formed by mass transfer in low-mass and high-mass X-ray binaries, respectively. This result suggests that the magnetic field strengths of recycled pulsars are related to their formation and evolution in binary systems. (2) The corrected characteristic ages of several millisecond pulsars appear to be greater than the age of the Galactic disk. We reconcile this apparent paradox by suggesting that some millisecond pulsars were born with periods close to their current periods. This conclusion has important implications for the interpretation of the cooling ages of white dwarf companions, the birthrate discrepancy between millisecond pulsars and their X-ray binary progenitors, and the possible existence of a class of weakly magnetized (B much less than 10(exp 8)G), rapidly rotating neutron stars.

Braking Index of Isolated Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamil, Oliver; Stone, Jirina; Urbanec, Martin; Urbancova, Gabriela

2015-04-01

Isolated pulsars are rotating neutron stars with accurately measured angular velocities Ω, and their time derivatives which show unambiguously that the pulsars are slowing down. The exact mechanism of the spin-down is a question of debate in detail, but the commonly accepted view is that it arises through emission of magnetic dipole radiation (MDR). The energy loss by a rotating pulsar is proportional to a model dependent power of Ω. This relation leads to the power law Ω˙ = -K Ωn where n is called the braking index, equal to the ratio (ΩΩ̈)/ Ω˙2 . The simple MDR model predicts the value of n = 3, but observations of isolated pulsars provide rather precise values of n, individually accurate to a few percent or better, in the range 1 < n < 2.8, which is consistently less than the predictions of the MDR model. In this work, we study the dynamical limits of the MDR model as a function of angular velocity. The effects of variation in the rest mass, the moment of inertia, and the dependence on a realistic Equation of State of the rotating star are considered. Furthermore, we introduce a simulated superfluid effect by which the angular momentum of the core is eliminated from the calculation.

ARECIBO PULSAR SURVEY USING ALFA: PROBING RADIO PULSAR INTERMITTENCY AND TRANSIENTS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deneva, J. S.; Cordes, J. M.; McLaughlin, M. A.

We present radio transient search algorithms, results, and statistics from the ongoing Arecibo Pulsar ALFA (PALFA) survey of the Galactic plane. We have discovered seven objects through a search for isolated dispersed pulses. All of these objects are Galactic and have measured periods between 0.4 and 4.7 s. One of the new discoveries has a duty cycle of 0.01%, smaller than that of any other radio pulsar. We discuss the impact of selection effects on the detectability and classification of intermittent sources, and compare the efficiencies of periodicity and single-pulse (SP) searches for various pulsar classes. For some cases wemore » find that the apparent intermittency is likely to be caused by off-axis detection or a short time window that selects only a few bright pulses and favors detection with our SP algorithm. In other cases, the intermittency appears to be intrinsic to the source. No transients were found with DMs large enough to require that they originate from sources outside our Galaxy. Accounting for the on-axis gain of the ALFA system, as well as the low gain but large solid-angle coverage of far-out sidelobes, we use the results of the survey so far to place limits on the amplitudes and event rates of transients of arbitrary origin.« less

High-Energy Emission From the Polar Cap and Slot Gap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K.

2006-01-01

Thirty-five years after the discovery of rotation-powered pulsars, we still do not understand the fundamentals of their pulsed emission at any wavelength. I will review the latest developments in understanding the high-energy emission of rotation-powered pulsars, with particular emphasis on the polar cap and slot gap models. Special and general relativistic effects play important roles in pulsar emission, from inertial frame-dragging near the stellar surface to aberration, time-of-flight and retardation of the magnetic field near the light cylinder. Understanding how these effects determine what we observe at different wavelengths is critical to unraveling the emission physics. I will discuss how the next generation of gamma-ray detectors, AGILE and GLAST, will test prediction of these models.

Confirmation of Earth-Mass Planets Orbiting the Millisecond Pulsar PSR B1257 + 12.

PubMed

Wolszczan, A

1994-04-22

The discovery of two Earth-mass planets orbiting an old ( approximately 10(9) years), rapidly spinning neutron star, the 6.2-millisecond radio pulsar PSR B1257+12, was announced in early 1992. It was soon pointed out that the approximately 3:2 ratio of the planets' orbital periods should lead to accurately predictable and possibly measurable gravitational perturbations of their orbits. The unambiguous detection of this effect, after 3 years of systematic timing observations of PSR B1257+12 with the 305-meter Arecibo radiotelescope, as well as the discovery of another, moon-mass object in orbit around the pulsar, constitutes irrefutable evidence that the first planetary system around a star other than the sun has been identified.

Search for a Correlation Between Very-High-Energy Gamma Rays and Giant Radio Pulses in the Crab Pulsar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aliu, E.; Archambault, S.; Arlen, T.; Aune, T.; Beilicke, M.; Benbow, W.; Bouvier, A.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V.; Byrum, K.;

The X-ray-emitting trail of the nearby pulsar PSR1929 + 10

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Q. D.; Li, Zhi-Yun; Begelman, Mitchell C.

1993-01-01

The paper reports the detection by the Rosat satellite of a nebula associated with the nearby pulsar PSR1929 + 10, which is of a type different from the pulsar-wind nebulae produced by direct interaction of the relativistic wind from older pulsars with the interstellar medium (ISM) (Blandorf et al., 1973). The PSR1929 + 10 nebula appears as a linear diffuse X-ray feature in the direction opposite to the pulsar's proper motion, with the pulsar wind confined by the ram-pressure arising from the high velocity of the pulsar through the ISM. This results in a trail of relativistic electrons with enhanced emissions of synchrotron radiation.

An x-ray nebula associated with the millisecond pulsar B1957+20.

PubMed

Stappers, B W; Gaensler, B M; Kaspi, V M; van der Klis, M; Lewin, W H G

2003-02-28

We have detected an x-ray nebula around the binary millisecond pulsar B1957+20. A narrow tail, corresponding to the shocked pulsar wind, is seen interior to the known Halpha bow shock and proves the long-held assumption that the rotational energy of millisecond pulsars is dissipated through relativistic winds. Unresolved x-ray emission likely represents the shock where the winds of the pulsar and its companion collide. This emission indicates that the efficiency with which relativistic particles are accelerated in the postshock flow is similar to that for young pulsars, despite the shock proximity and much weaker surface magnetic field of this millisecond pulsar.

Pulsar statistics and their interpretations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnett, W. D.; Lerche, I.

1981-01-01

It is shown that a lack of knowledge concerning interstellar electron density, the true spatial distribution of pulsars, the radio luminosity source distribution of pulsars, the real ages and real aging rates of pulsars, the beaming factor (and other unknown factors causing the known sample of about 350 pulsars to be incomplete to an unknown degree) is sufficient to cause a minimum uncertainty of a factor of 20 in any attempt to determine pulsar birth or death rates in the Galaxy. It is suggested that this uncertainty must impact on suggestions that the pulsar rates can be used to constrain possible scenarios for neutron star formation and stellar evolution in general.

Millisecond radio pulsars in globular clusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verbunt, Frank; Lewin, Walter H. G.; Vanparadijs, Jan

1989-01-01

It is shown that the number of millisecond radio pulsars, in globular clusters, should be larger than 100, applying the standard scenario that all the pulsars descend from low-mass X-ray binaries. Moreover, most of the pulsars are located in a small number of clusters. The prediction that Teran 5 and Liller 1 contain at least about a dozen millisecond radio pulsars each is made. The observations of millisecond radio pulsars in globular clusters to date, in particular the discovery of two millisecond radio pulsars in 47 Tuc, are in agreement with the standard scenario, in which the neutron star is spun up during the mass transfer phase.

CORRELATION OF CHANDRA PHOTONS WITH THE RADIO GIANT PULSES FROM THE CRAB PULSAR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bilous, A. V.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Kondratiev, V. I.

2012-04-10

No apparent correlation was found between giant pulses (GPs) and X-ray photons from the Crab pulsar during 5.4 hr of simultaneous observations with the Green Bank Telescope at 1.5 GHz and Chandra X-Ray Observatory primarily in the energy range of 1.5-4.5 keV. During the Crab pulsar periods with GPs, the X-ray flux in radio emission phase windows does not change more than by {+-}10% for main pulse (MP) GPs and {+-}30% for interpulse (IP) GPs. During GPs themselves, the X-ray flux does not change by more than two times for MP GPs and five times for IP GPs. All limitsmore » quoted are compatible with 2{sigma} fluctuations of the X-ray flux around the sets of false GPs with random arrival times. The results speak in favor of changes in plasma coherence as the origin of GPs. However, the results do not rule out variations in the rate of particle creation if the particles that emit coherent radio emission are mostly at the lowest Landau level.« less

Interstellar scintillation of the double pulsar J0737–3039

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rickett, B. J.; Coles, W. A.; Nava, C. F.

2014-06-01

We report a series of observations of the interstellar scintillation (ISS) of the double pulsar J0737–3039 over the course of 18 months. As in earlier work, the basic phenomenon is the variation in the ISS caused by the changing transverse velocities of each pulsar, the ionized interstellar medium (IISM), and the Earth. The transverse velocity of the binary system can be determined both by very long baseline interferometry and timing observations. The orbital velocity and inclination is almost completely determined from timing observations, but the direction of the orbital angular momentum is not known. Since the Earth's velocity is known,more » and can be compared with the orbital velocity by its effect on the timescale of the ISS, we can determine the orientation Ω of the pulsar orbit with respect to equatorial coordinates (Ω = 65 ± 2°). We also resolve the ambiguity (i = 88.°7 or 91.°3) in the inclination of the orbit deduced from the measured Shapiro delay by our estimate i = 88.°1 ± 0.°5. This relies on the analysis of the ISS over both frequency and time, and provides a model for the location, anisotropy, turbulence level, and transverse phase gradient of the IISM. We find that the IISM can be well-modeled during each observation, typically of a few orbital periods, but its turbulence level and mean velocity vary significantly over the 18 months.« less

Discovery of a glitch in the accretion-powered pulsar SXP 1062

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serim, M. M.; Şahiner, Ş.; ćerri-Serim, D.; Inam, S. ć.; Baykal, A.

2017-11-01

We present timing analysis of the accretion-powered pulsar SXP 1062, based on the observations of Swift, XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites covering a time span of about 2 yr. We obtain a phase coherent timing solution that shows that SXP 1062 has been steadily spinning down with a rate -4.29(7) × 10-14 Hz s-1 leading to a surface magnetic field estimate of about 1.5 × 1014 G. We also resolve the binary orbital motion of the system from X-ray data that confirms an orbital period of 656(2) d. On MJD 56834.5, a sudden change in pulse frequency occurs with Δν = 1.28(5) × 10-6 Hz, which indicates a glitch event. The fractional size of the glitch is Δν/ν ˜ 1.37(6) × 10-3 and SXP 1062 continues to spin-down with a steady rate after the glitch. A short X-ray outburst 25 d prior to the glitch does not alter the spin-down of the source; therefore, the glitch should be associated with the internal structure of the neutron star. While glitch events are common for isolated pulsars, the glitch of SXP 1062 is the first confirmation of the observability of this type of events among accretion-powered pulsars. Furthermore, the value of the fractional change of pulse frequency ensures that we discover the largest glitch reported up to now.

Timing the Geminga Pulsar with High-Energy Gamma-Rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, Jules P.

1997-01-01

This is a continuing program to extend and refine the ephemeris of the Geminga pulsar with annual observations for the remaining lifetime of EGRET. The data show that every revolution of Geminga is accounted for during the EGRET epoch, and that a coherent timing solution linking the phase between EGRET, COS-B, amd SAS-2, observations has now been achieved. The accuracy of the gamma-ray timing is such that the proper motion of the pulsar can now be detected, consistent with the optical determination. The measured braking index over the 24.2 yr baseline is 17 +/- 1. Further observation is required to ascertain whether this very large braking index truly represents the energy loss mechanism, perhaps related to the theory in which Geminga is near its gamma-ray death line, or whether it is a manifestation of timing noise. Statistically significant timing residuals are detected in the EGRET data; they depart from the cubic ephemeris at a level of 23 milliperiods. The residuals appear to have a sinusoidal modulation with a period of about 5.1 yr. This could simply be a manifestation of timing noise, or it could be consistent with a planet of mass 1.7/sin i solar mass orbiting Geminga at a radius of 3.3/sin i AU.

Exposing Drifting Subpulses From The Slowest To The Fastest Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Leeuwen, Joeri

2006-08-01

Pulsar emission is surprisingly similar over a vast range of periods and magnetic fields: all the way from the 2-millisecond 10^8 G recycled pulsars to the 6-second 10^14 G magnetar-like regular pulsars. We investigate how the curious instabilities called 'drifting subpulses' we observe can discern between different mechanisms for pulsar emission.

Turn-over in pulsar spectra: From young pulsars to millisecond ones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kijak, J.; Lewandowski, W.; Serylak, M.

2008-02-01

The evidence for turn-over in young pulsar radio spectra at high frequencies is presented. The frequency at which a spectrum shows the maximum flux density is called the peak frequency. This peak frequency appears to depend on pulsar age and dispersion measure. A possible relation with pulsar age is interesting. Millisecond pulsars, which are very old objects, may show no evidence for spectral turn-over down to 100 MHz. Some studied pulsars with turn-over at high frequencies have been shown to have very interesting interstellar environments. This could suggest that the turn-over phenomenon is associated with the enviromental conditions around the neutron stars, rahter than being related intrinsically with the radio emission mechanism. Although there are no earlier reports of such a connection, a more detailed study on larger sample of pulsars is needed to address this idea more quantitatively. In this context, future observations below 200 MHz using LOFAR will allow us to investigate turn-over in radio pulsar spectra.

From FERMI-LAT observations to the blind pulsar survey SPAN512 with the Nançay Radio Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Octau, F.; Desvignes, G.; Cognard, I.; Champion, D.; Lazarus, P.; Smith, D.; Theureau, G.

2016-12-01

Since the discovery of the first pulsar in 1967, we know over 2500 pulsars today. Pulsars offer a broad range of studies: from the study of the properties of interstellar medium and of pulsar magnetospheres up to test of gravity in the strong-field regime and the characterisation of the cosmological Gravitation Wave Background. This explains why we keep searching for pulsars nowadays. Such focus was initiated at the Nançay Radio Telescope (NRT) with the observation of unidentified Fermi-LAT sources, which led to the quick discovery of three new millisecond pulsars. In 2012, a blind pulsar survey called SPAN512 (in reference to the large bandwidth of 512 MHz) was initiated and the NRT began to observe the low galactic latitude sky at 1.4 GHz. This survey is still in progress (≈90% of the observations have been made) and, up to now, it has led to the discovery of three pulsars, two of them with millisecond spin periods.

Discovery of an Energetic Pulsar Associated with SNR G76.9+1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arzoumanian, Zaven; Gotthelf, E. V.; Ransom, S. M.; Safi-Harb, S.; Kothes, R.; Landecker, T. L.

2012-01-01

We report the discovery of PSR J2022-<-3842, a 24 ms radio and X-ray pulsar in the supernova remnant G76.9+i.0, in observations with the Chandra X-ray telescope, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Radio Telescope, and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The pulsar's spin-down rate implies a rotation-powered luminosity E = 1.2 X 10(exp 38) erg/s, a surface dipole magnetic field strength B(sub S), = 1.0 X 10(exp 12) G, and a characteristic age of 8.9 kyr. PSR J2022+3842 is thus the second-most energetic Galactic pulsar known, after the Crab, as well as the most rapidly-rotating young, radio-bright pulsar known. The radio pulsations are highly dispersed and broadened by interstellar scattering, and we find that a large (delta f/f approximates 1.9 x 10(exp -6)) spin glitch must have occurred between our discovery and confirmation observations. The X-ray pulses are narrow (0.06 cycles FWHM) and visible up to 20 keV, consistent with magnetospheric emission from a rotation-powered pulsar. The Chandra X-ray image identifies the pulsar with a hard, unresolved source at the midpoint of the double-lobed radio morphology of G76.9+ 1.0 and embedded within faint, compact X-ray nebulosity. The spatial relationship of the X-ray and radio emissions is remarkably similar to extended structure seen around the Vela pulsar. The combined Chandra and RXTE pulsar spectrum is well-fitted by an absorbed power-law model with column density N(sub H) = (1.7 +/- 0.3) x 10(exp 22) / sq cm and photon index Gamma = 1.0 +/- 0.2; it implies that the Chandra point-source flux is virtually 100% pulsed. For a distance of 10 kpc, the X-ray luminosity of PSR J2022+3842 is L(sub x){2-1O keV) = 7.0 x 10(exp 33) erg/s. Despite being extraordinarily energetic, PSR J2022+3842 lacks a bright X-ray wind nebula and has an unusually low conversion efficiency of spin-down power to X-ray luminosity, Lx/E = 5.9 X 10(exp-5).

PSR J2022 plus 3842: An Energetic Radio and X-Ray Pulsar Associated with SNR G76.9 plus 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arzoumanian, Z.; Gotthelf, E. V.; Ransom, S. M.; Kothes, R.; Landecker, T. L.

2010-01-01

We present Chandra X-ray Observatory, Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Radio Telescope (GBT), and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations directed toward the radio supernova remnant (SNR) G76.9+1.0. The Chandra investigation reveals a hard, unresolved X-ray source coincident with the midpoint of the double-lobed radio morphology and surrounded by faint, compact X-ray nebulosity. These features suggest that an energetic neutron star is powering a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) seen in synchrotron emission. Indeed, the spatial relationship of the X-ray and radio emissions is remarkably similar to the extended emission around the Vela pulsar. A follow-up pulsation search with the GBT uncovered a highly-dispersed (DM = 427 +/- 1 pc/cu cm) and highly-scattered pulsar with a period of 24 ms. Its subsequently measured spin-down rate implies a characteristic age T(sub c) = 8.9 kyr, making PSR J2022+3842 the most rapidly rotating young radio pulsar known. With a spin-down luminosity E = 1.2 x 10(exp 38) erg/s, it is the second-most energetic Galactic pulsar known, after the Crab pulsar. The 24-ms pulsations have also been detected in the RXTE observation; the combined Chandra and RXTE spectral fit suggests that the Chandra point-source emission is virtually 100% pulsed. The 2-16 keV spectrum of the narrow (0.06 cycles FWHM) pulse is well-fitted by an absorbed power-law model with column density N(sub H) = (1.7 +/- 0.5) x 10(exp 22)/sq cm and photon index Gamma = 1.0 +/- 0.2, strongly suggestive of magnetospheric emission. For an assumed distance of 10 kpc, the 2-10 keV luminosity of L(sub X) = 6.9 x 10(exp 33) erg/s suggests one of the lowest known X-ray conversion efficiencies L(sub X)/ E = 5.8 x 10(exp -5), similar to that of the Vela pulsar. Finally, the PWN around PSR J2022+3842 revealed by Chandra is also underluminous, with F(sub PWN)/ F(sub PSR) < or approx.1 in the 2-10 keV band, a further surprise given the pulsar's high spin-down luminosity.

The Nanograv Nine-Year Data Set: Measurement and Analysis of Variations in Dispersion Measures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, M. L.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Lam, M. T.; Cordes, J. M.; Levin, L.; Chatterjee, S.; Arzoumanian, Z.; Crowter, K.; Demorest, P. B.; Dolch, T.;

The Fermi-LAT detection of magnetar-like pulsar PSR J1846-0258 at high-energy gamma-rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuiper, L.; Hermsen, W.; Dekker, A.

2018-03-01

We report the detection of the pulsed signal of the radio-quiet magnetar-like pulsar PSR J1846-0258 in the high-energy γ-ray data of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi LAT). We produced phase-coherent timing models exploiting RXTE PCA and Swift XRT monitoring data for the post- (magnetar-like) outburst period from 2007 August 28 to 2016 September 4, with independent verification using INTEGRAL ISGRI and Fermi GBM data. Phase-folding barycentric arrival times of selected Fermi LAT events from PSR J1846-0258 resulted in a 4.2σ detection (30-100 MeV) of a broad pulse consistent in shape and aligned in phase with the profiles that we measured with Swift XRT (2.5-10 keV), INTEGRAL ISGRI (20-150 keV), and Fermi GBM (20-300 keV). The pulsed flux (30-100 MeV) is (3.91 ± 0.97) × 10-9 photons cm-2 s-1 MeV-1. Declining significances of the INTEGRAL ISGRI 20-150 keV pulse profiles suggest fading of the pulsed hard X-ray emission during the post-outburst epochs. We revisited with greatly improved statistics the timing and spectral characteristics of PSR B1509-58 as measured with the Fermi LAT. The broad-band pulsed emission spectra (from 2 keV up to GeV energies) of PSR J1846-0258 and PSR B1509-58 can be accurately described with similarly curved shapes, with maximum luminosities at 3.5 ± 1.1 MeV (PSR J1846-0258) and 2.23 ± 0.11 MeV (PSR B1509-58). We discuss possible explanations for observational differences between Fermi LAT detected pulsars that reach maximum luminosities at GeV energies, like the second magnetar-like pulsar PSR J1119-6127, and pulsars with maximum luminosities at MeV energies, which might be due to geometric differences rather than exotic physics in high-B fields.

Probing the Masses of the PSR JO621+1002 Binary System Through Relativistic Apsidal Motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spaver, Eric M.; Nice, David J.; Arzoumanian, Zaven; Camilo, Fernando; Lyne, Andrew G.; Stairs, Ingrid H.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Orbital, spin and astrometric parameters of the millisecond pulsar PSR J0621+1002 have been determined through six years of timing observations at three radio telescopes. The chief result is a measurement of the rate of periastron advance, omega=0 deg.0116 +/-0 deg.0008/yr. Interpreted as a general relativistic effect, this implies the sum of the pulsar mass, m(1), and the companion mass, m(2), to be M=m(1)+m(2)= 2.81 +/-0.30 solar mass. The Keplerian parameters rule out certain combinations of m(1) and m(2), as does the non-detection of Shapiro delay in the pulse arrival times. These constraints, together with the assumption that the companion is a white dwarf, lead to the maximum likelihood values m(1)=1.69((sup +0.30)(sub -0.30)) solar mass and m(2)=0.98((sup +0.32)(sub -0.12) solar mass (68% confidence). The other major finding is that the pulsar experiences dramatic variability in its dispersion measure (DM), with gradients as steep as 0.013 pc/cu cm/yr. A structure function analysis of the DM variations uncovers spatial fluctuations in the interstellar electron density that cannot be fit to a single power law, unlike the Kolmogorov turbulent spectrum that has been seen in the direction of other pulsars. Other results from the timing analysis include the first measurements of the pulsar's proper motion, mu=3.5+/-0.3 mas/yr, and of its spin-down rate, dP/dt=4.7 x 10(exp -20), which, when corrected for kinematic biases and combined with the pulse period, P=28.8 ms, gives a characteristic age of 1.1 x 10(exp 10) yr and a surface magnetic field strength of 1.2 x 10 (exp 9) G.

Search for the Identification of 3EG J1835+5918: Evidence for a New Type of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Source?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mirabal, N.; Halpern, Jules P.; Eracleous, M.; Becker, R. H.; Oliversen, Ronald (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Most of the EGRET high-energy gamma-ray sources remain unidentified. It is highly likely that many of these are fainter blazars or pulsars, but there may also be new types of sources to be discovered. We have focussed our search for novel gamma-ray sources on 3EG 1835+5918, which is the brightest and most accurately positioned of the unidentified EGRET sources at high Galactic latitude (l, b = 89 deg, 25 deg). In this talk, we will summarize the results of X-ray, radio, and optical surveys of this location. In particular, we have made complete optical identifications of all of the ROSAT and ASCA sources in this region to a flux limit of approximately 1 x 10(exp -13) ergs/sq cm s. All of the X-ray sources within the EGRET error circle are radio-quiet quasars or coronally emitting stars. Previous radio pulsar searches have been unsuccessful. We set an upper limit of 3.8 mJy (at 1.4 GHz) on any possible radio counterpart to 3EG 1835+5918. We also find several quasars and white dwarfs using optical color selection, and we have monitored the entire field for variable optical objects on short and long time scales. Since no blazar-like or pulsar-like candidate has been found as a result of these searches, we assert that 3EG 1835+5918 must be lacking in one or more of the physically essential attributes of those classes of gamma-ray emitters. In particular, its radio flux is at least two orders of magnitude fainter than any of the securely identified EGRET blazars, and its soft X-ray flux is at least 30 times fainter than that of Geminga and other EGRET pulsars. If it is an AGN it lacks the beamed radio emission of blazars. If it is an isolated neutron star, it lacks both the thermal X-rays from a cooling surface and the magnetospheric non-thermal X-ray emission that is characteristic of all EGRET pulsars. As such, it is more problematic physically than Geminga, which is an ordinary pulsar that only lacks radio emission. As a pulsar, 3EG 1835+5918 would have to be either older or more distant than Geminga, and probably an even more efficient gamma-ray engine.

Transitional millisecond pulsars in the low-level accretion state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaodard, Amruta D.; Hessels, Jason W. T.; Archibald, Anne; Bogdanov, Slavko; Deller, Adam; Hernandez Santisteban, Juan; Patruno, Alessandro; D'Angelo, Caroline; Bassa, Cees; Amruta Jaodand

2018-01-01

In the canonical pulsar recycling scenario, a slowly spinning neutron star can be rejuvenated to rapid spin rates by the transfer of angular momentum and mass from a binary companion star. Over the last decade, the discovery of three transitional millisecond pulsars (tMSPs) has allowed us to study recycling in detail. These systems transition between accretion-powered (X-ray) and rotation-powered (radio) pulsar states within just a few days, raising questions such as: what triggers the state transition, when does the recycling process truly end, and what will the radio pulsar’s final spin rate be? Systematic multi-wavelength campaigns over the last decade have provided critical insights: multi-year-long, low-level accretion states showing coherent X-ray pulsations; extremely stable, bi-modal X-ray light curves; outflows probed by radio continuum emission; a surprising gamma-ray brightening during accretion, etc. In my thesis I am trying to bring these clues together to understand the low-level accretion process that recycles a pulsar. For example, recently we timed PSR J1023+0038 in the accretion state and found it to be spinning down ~26% faster compared to the non-accreting radio pulsar state. We are currently conducting simultaneous multi-wavelength campaigns (XMM, HST, Kepler and VLA) to understand the global variability of the accretion flow, as well as high-energy Fermi-LAT observations to probe the gamma-ray emission mechanism. I will highlight these recent developments, while also presenting a broad overview of tMSPs as exciting new laboratories to test low-level accretion onto magnetized neutron stars.