783 research outputs found
Resolving discrete pulsar spin-down states with current and future instrumentation
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
. Such transitions may be common but difficult to resolve using
current techniques. In this work, we use simulations of -variable
pulsars to investigate the likelihood of resolving individual
transitions. We inject step-changes in the value of with a wide
range of amplitudes and switching timescales. 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
detectability based on the effects such transitions have on the timing
residuals are derived. With the typical cadences and timing precision of
current timing programs, we find we are insensitive to a large region of
parameter space which encompasses small, short timescale
switches. We find, where the rotation and emission states are correlated, that
using changes to the pulse shape to estimate transition epochs, can
improve detectability in certain scenarios. The effects of cadence on detectability are discussed and we make comparisons with a known
population of intermittent and mode-switching pulsars. We conclude that for
short timescale, small switches, cadence should not be compromised when new
generations of ultra-sensitive radio telescopes are online.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
A deep search for pulsar wind nebulae using pulsar gating
Using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) we have imaged the fields
around five promising pulsar candidates to search for radio pulsar wind nebulae
(PWNe). We have used the ATCA in its pulsar gating mode; this enables an image
to be formed containing only off-pulse visibilities, thereby dramatically
improving the sensitivity to any underlying PWN. Data from the Molonglo
Observatory Synthesis Telescope were also used to provide sensitivity on larger
spatial scales. This survey found a faint new PWN around PSR B0906-49; here we
report on non-detections of PWNe towards PSRs B1046-58, B1055-52, B1610-50 and
J1105-6107. Our radio observations of the field around PSR B1055-52 argue
against previous claims of an extended X-ray and radio PWNe associated with the
pulsar. If these pulsars power unseen, compact radio PWN, upper limits on the
radio flux indicate that less than 1e-6 of their spin-down energy is used to
power this emission. Alternatively PSR B1046-58 and PSR B1610-50 may have
relativistic winds similar to other young pulsars and the unseen PWN is
resolved and fainter than our surface brightness sensitivity threshold. We can
then determine upper limits on the local ISM density of 2.2e-3 cm^-3 and 1e-2
cm^-3, respectively. Furthermore we constrain the spatial velocities of these
pulsars to be less than ~450 km/s and thus rule out the association of PSR
B1610-50 with SNR G332.4+00.1 (Kes 32). Strong limits on the ratio of unpulsed
to pulsed emission are also determined for three pulsars.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS in pres
Search for Discrete Refractive Scattering Events
We have searched for discrete refractive scattering events (including effects
due to possible non-multiple diffractive scattering) at meter wavelengths in
the direction of two close by pulsars B0950+08 and B1929+10, where we looked
for spectral signatures associated with the multiple imaging of pulsars due to
scattering in the interstellar medium. We do not find any signatures of such
events in the direction of either source over a spectral periodicity range of
50 KHz to 5 MHz. Our analysis puts strong upper limits on the column density
contrast associated with a range of spatial scales of the interstellar electron
density irregularities along these lines of sight.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
On the Apparent Nulls and Extreme Variability of PSR J1107-5907
We present an analysis of the emission behaviour of PSR J1107-5907, a source
known to exhibit separate modes of emission, using observations obtained over
approximately 10 yr. We find that the object exhibits two distinct modes of
emission; a strong mode with a broad profile and a weak mode with a narrow
profile. During the strong mode of emission, the pulsar typically radiates very
energetic emission over sequences of ~200-6000 pulses (~60 s-24 min), with
apparent nulls over time-scales of up to a few pulses at a time. Emission
during the weak mode is observed outside of these strong-mode sequences and
manifests as occasional bursts of up to a few clearly detectable pulses at a
time, as well as low-level underlying emission which is only detected through
profile integration. This implies that the previously described null mode may
in fact be representative of the bottom-end of the pulse intensity distribution
for the source. This is supported by the dramatic pulse-to-pulse intensity
modulation and rarity of exceptionally bright pulses observed during both modes
of emission. Coupled with the fact that the source could be interpreted as a
rotating radio transient (RRAT)-like object for the vast majority of the time,
if placed at a further distance, we advance that this object likely represents
a bridge between RRATs and extreme moding pulsars. Further to these emission
properties, we also show that the source is consistent with being a
near-aligned rotator and that it does not exhibit any measurable spin-down rate
variation. These results suggest that nulls observed in other intermittent
objects may in fact be representative of very weak emission without the need
for complete cessation. As such, we argue that longer (> 1 h) observations of
pulsars are required to discern their true modulation properties.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Neutron star glitches have a substantial minimum size
Glitches are sudden spin-up events that punctuate the steady spin down of
pulsars and are thought to be due to the presence of a superfluid component
within neutron stars. The precise glitch mechanism and its trigger, however,
remain unknown. The size of glitches is a key diagnostic for models of the
underlying physics. While the largest glitches have long been taken into
account by theoretical models, it has always been assumed that the minimum size
lay below the detectability limit of the measurements. In this paper we define
general glitch detectability limits and use them on 29 years of daily
observations of the Crab pulsar, carried out at Jodrell Bank Observatory. We
find that all glitches lie well above the detectability limits and by using an
automated method to search for small events we are able to uncover the full
glitch size distribution, with no biases. Contrary to the prediction of most
models, the distribution presents a rapid decrease of the number of glitches
below ~0.05 Hz. This substantial minimum size indicates that a glitch must
involve the motion of at least several billion superfluid vortices and provides
an extra observable which can greatly help the identification of the trigger
mechanism. Our study also shows that glitches are clearly separated from all
the other rotation irregularities. This supports the idea that the origin of
glitches is different to that of timing noise, which comprises the unmodelled
random fluctuations in the rotation rates of pulsars.Comment: 8 pages; 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
A search for radio pulsars and fast transients in M31 using the WSRT
We present the results of the most sensitive and comprehensive survey yet
undertaken for radio pulsars and fast transients in the Andromeda galaxy (M31)
and its satellites, using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at a
central frequency of 328 MHz. We used the WSRT in a special configuration
called 8gr8 (eight-grate) mode, which provides a large instantaneous
field-of-view, about 5 square degrees per pointing, with good sensitivity, long
dwell times (up to 8 hours per pointing), and good spatial resolution (a few
arc minutes) for locating sources. We have searched for both periodicities and
single pulses in our data, aiming to detect bright, persistent radio pulsars
and rotating radio transients (RRATs) of either Galactic or extragalactic
origin. Our searches did not reveal any confirmed periodic signals or bright
single bursts from (potentially) cosmological distances. However, we do report
the detection of several single pulse events, some repeating at the same
dispersion measure, which could potentially originate from neutron stars in
M31. One in particular was seen multiple times, including a burst of six pulses
in 2000 seconds, at a dispersion measure of 54.7 pc cm^-3, which potentially
places the origin of this source outside of our Galaxy. Our results are
compared to a range of hypothetical populations of pulsars and RRATs in M31 and
allow us to constrain the luminosity function of pulsars in M31. They also show
that, unless the pulsar population in M31 is much dimmer than in our Galaxy,
there is no need to invoke any violation of the inverse square law of the
distance for pulsar fluxes.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, 8 tables. Accepted for publication in the main
journal of MNRA
X-ray Observations of XSS J12270-4859 in a New Low State: A Transformation to a Disk-Free Rotation-Powered Pulsar Binary
We present XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the low-mass X-ray binary
XSS J12270--4859, which experienced a dramatic decline in optical/X-ray
brightness at the end of 2012, indicative of the disappearance of its accretion
disk. In this new state, the system exhibits previously absent
orbital-phase-dependent, large-amplitude X-ray modulations with a decline in
flux at superior conjunction. The X-ray emission remains predominantly
non-thermal but with an order of magnitude lower mean luminosity and
significantly harder spectrum relative to the previous high flux state. This
phenomenology is identical to the behavior of the radio millisecond pulsar
binary PSR J1023+0038 in the absence of an accretion disk, where the X-ray
emission is produced in an intra-binary shock driven by the pulsar wind. This
further demonstrates that XSS J12270-4859 no longer has an accretion disk and
has transformed to a full-fledged eclipsing "redback" system that hosts an
active rotation-powered millisecond pulsar. There is no evidence for diffuse
X-ray emission associated with the binary that may arise due to outflows or a
wind nebula. An extended source situated 1.5' from XSS J12270--4859 is unlikely
to be associated, and is probably a previously uncatalogued galaxy cluster.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
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