Pulsars in the Galactic centre promise to enable unparalleled tests of gravity theories and black hole physics and to serve as probes of the stellar formation history and evolution and the ...interstellar medium in the complex central region of the Milky Way. The community has surveyed the innermost region of the galaxy for decades without detecting a population of pulsars, which is puzzling. A strong scattering of the pulsed signals in this particular direction has been argued to be a potential reason for the non-detections. Scattering has a strong inverse dependence on observing frequency, therefore an effective way to alleviate its effect is to use higher frequencies in a survey for pulsars in the Galactic centre, in particular, close to the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. We present the first pulsar survey at short millimetre wavelengths, using several frequency bands between 84 and 156 GHz (λ = 3.5–1.92 mm), targeted to the Galactic centre. The observations were made with the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique 30m Telescope in 28 epochs between 2016 December and 2018 May. This survey is the first that is essentially unaffected by scattering and therefore unbiased in population coverage, including fast-spinning pulsars that might be out of reach of lower-frequency Galactic centre surveys. We discovered no new pulsars and relate this result mainly to the decreased flux density of pulsars at high frequencies, combined with our current sensitivity. However, we demonstrate that surveys at these extremely high radio frequencies are capable of discovering new pulsars, analyse their sensitivity limits with respect to a simulated Galactic centre pulsar population, and discuss the main challenges and possible improvements for similar surveys in the future.
LEAP: the Large European Array for Pulsars Bassa, C. G; Janssen, G. H; Karuppusamy, R ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
02/2016, Letnik:
456, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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The Large European Array for Pulsars (LEAP) is an experiment that harvests the collective power of Europe's largest radio telescopes in order to increase the sensitivity of high-precision pulsar ...timing. As part of the ongoing effort of the European Pulsar Timing Array, LEAP aims to go beyond the sensitivity threshold needed to deliver the first direct detection of gravitational waves. The five telescopes presently included in LEAP are the Effelsberg Telescope, the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, the Nançay Radio Telescope, the Sardinia Radio Telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. Dual polarization, Nyquist-sampled time series of the incoming radio waves are recorded and processed offline to form the coherent sum, resulting in a tied-array telescope with an effective aperture equivalent to a 195-m diameter circular dish. All observations are performed using a bandwidth of 128 MHz centred at a frequency of 1396 MHz. In this paper, we present the design of the LEAP experiment, the instrumentation, the storage and transfer of data and the processing hardware and software. In particular, we present the software pipeline that was designed to process the Nyquist-sampled time series, measure the phase and time delays between each individual telescope and a reference telescope and apply these delays to form the tied-array coherent addition. The pipeline includes polarization calibration and interference mitigation. We also present the first results from LEAP and demonstrate the resulting increase in sensitivity, which leads to an improvement in the pulse arrival times.
A glitch in the millisecond pulsar J0613−0200 McKee, J. W; Janssen, G. H; Stappers, B. W ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
09/2016, Letnik:
461, Številka:
3
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We present evidence for a small glitch in the spin evolution of the millisecond pulsar J0613−0200, using the EPTA Data Release 1.0, combined with Jodrell Bank analogue filterbank times of arrival ...(TOAs) recorded with the Lovell telescope and Effelsberg Pulsar Observing System TOAs. A spin frequency step of 0.82(3) nHz and frequency derivative step of −1.6(39) × 10−19 Hz s−1 are measured at the epoch of MJD 50888(30). After PSR B1821−24A, this is only the second glitch ever observed in a millisecond pulsar, with a fractional size in frequency of Δν/ν = 2.5(1) × 10−12, which is several times smaller than the previous smallest glitch. PSR J0613−0200 is used in gravitational wave searches with pulsar timing arrays, and is to date only the second such pulsar to have experienced a glitch in a combined 886 pulsar-years of observations. We find that accurately modelling the glitch does not impact the timing precision for pulsar timing array applications. We estimate that for the current set of millisecond pulsars included in the International Pulsar Timing Array, there is a probability of ∼50 per cent that another glitch will be observed in a timing array pulsar within 10 years.
Abstract
Very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) localizations of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) have demonstrated a diversity of local environments: from nearby star-forming regions to ...globular clusters. Here we report the VLBI localization of FRB 20201124A using an ad hoc array of dishes that also participate in the European VLBI Network (EVN). In our campaign, we detected 18 bursts from FRB 20201124A at two separate epochs. By combining the visibilities from both epochs, we were able to localize FRB 20201124A with a 1
σ
uncertainty of 2.7 mas. We use the relatively large burst sample to investigate astrometric accuracy and find that for ≳20 baselines (≳7 dishes) we can robustly reach milliarcsecond precision even using single-burst data sets. Subarcsecond precision is still possible for single bursts, even when only ∼6 baselines (four dishes) are available. In such cases, the limited
uv
coverage for individual bursts results in very high side-lobe levels. Thus, in addition to the peak position from the dirty map, we also explore smoothing the structure in the dirty map by fitting Gaussian functions to the fringe pattern in order to constrain individual burst positions, which we find to be more reliable. Our VLBI work places FRB 20201124A 710 ± 30 mas (1
σ
uncertainty) from the optical center of the host galaxy, consistent with originating from within the recently discovered extended radio structure associated with star formation in the host galaxy. Future high-resolution optical observations, e.g., with Hubble Space Telescope, can determine the proximity of FRB 20201124A’s position to nearby knots of star formation.
ABSTRACT
We report the results of an observational campaign using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope of the pulsars J1746−2849, J1746−2850, J1746−2856, and J1745−2912 located in the central molecular ...zone (CMZ) close to the Galactic Centre in order to study rotation measure (RM) variations. We report for the first time the RM value of PSR J1746−2850 to be −12234 ± 181 rad m−2. This pulsar shows significant variations of RM of 300–400 rad m−2 over the course of months to years that suggest a strongly magnetized environment. The structure function analysis of the RM of PSR J1746−2850 revealed a steep power-law index of $1.87_{-0.3}^{+0.4}$ comparable to the value expected for isotropic turbulence. This pulsar also showed large dispersion measure (DM) variation of ∼50 pc cm−3 in an event lasting a few months where the RM increased by ∼200 rad m−2. The large difference in RM between PSR J1746−2849 and PSR J1746−2850 despite the small angular separation reveals the presence of a magnetic field of at least 70 μG in the CMZ and can explain the lack of polarization in the radio images of the region. These results contribute to our understanding of the magnetic field in the CMZ and show similarities between the RM behaviours of these pulsars and some fast radio bursts.
In order to reach the sensitivity required to detect gravitational waves, pulsar timing array experiments need to mitigate as much noise as possible in timing data. A dominant amount of noise is ...likely due to variations in the dispersion measure. To correct for such variations, we develop a statistical method inspired by the maximum likelihood estimator and optimal filtering. Our method consists of two major steps. First, the spectral index and amplitude of dispersion measure variations are measured via a time-domain spectral analysis. Second, the linear optimal filter is constructed based on the model parameters found in the first step, and is used to extract the dispersion measure variation waveforms. Compared to current existing methods, this method has better time resolution for the study of short time-scale dispersion variations, and generally produces smaller errors in waveform estimations. This method can process irregularly sampled data without any interpolation because of its time-domain nature. Furthermore, it offers the possibility to interpolate or extrapolate the waveform estimation to regions where no data are available. Examples using simulated data sets are included for demonstration.
ABSTRACT
The high stellar density in the central parsecs around the Galactic Centre makes it a seemingly favourable environment for finding relativistic binary pulsars. These include pulsars orbiting ...other neutron stars, stellar-mass black holes, or the central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. Here, we present multi-epoch pulsar searches of the Galactic Centre at four observing frequencies, $4.85,\, 8.35,\, 14.6,\, 18.95\, {\rm GHz}$, using the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope. Observations were conducted 1 yr prior to the discovery of, and during monitoring observations of, the Galactic Centre magnetar PSR J1745−2900. Our data analysis features acceleration searches on progressively shorter time series to maintain sensitivity to relativistic binary pulsars. The multi-epoch observations increase the likelihood of discovering transient or nulling pulsars, or ensure orbital phases are observed at which acceleration search methods work optimally. In ${\sim}147\, {\rm h}$ of separate observations, no previously undiscovered pulsars have been detected. Through calibration observations, we conclude this might be due to insufficient instantaneous sensitivity, caused by the intense continuum emission from the Galactic Centre, its large distance, and, at higher frequencies, the aggregate effect of steep pulsar spectral indices and atmospheric contributions to the system temperature. Additionally, we find that for millisecond pulsars in wide circular orbits $({\lesssim}800\, {\rm d})$ around Sagittarius A*, linear acceleration effects cannot be fully corrected in deep observations $(9\, {\rm h})$ with existing software tools. Pulsar searches of the Galactic Centre with the next generation of radio telescopes – such as MeerKat, ngVLA, and SKA1-mid – will have improved chances of uncovering this elusive population.
We have studied 4265 giant pulses (GPs) from the millisecond pulsar B1937+21; the largest-ever sample gathered for this pulsar, in observations made with the Large European Array for Pulsars. The ...pulse energy distribution of GPs associated with the interpulse are well-described by a power law, with index α = −3.99 ± 0.04, while those associated with the main pulse are best-described by a broken power law, with the break occurring at ∼7 Jy |$\mu$|s, with power-law indices α_low = −3.48 ± 0.04 and α_high = −2.10 ± 0.09. The modulation indices of the GP emission are measured, which are found to vary by ∼0.5 at pulse phases close to the centre of the GP phase distributions. We find the frequency-resolved structure of GPs to vary significantly, and in a manner that cannot be attributed to the interstellar medium influence on the observed pulses. We examine the distribution of polarization fractions of the GPs and find no correlation between GP emission phase and fractional polarization. We use the GPs to time PSR B1937+21 and although the achievable time of arrival precision of the GPs is approximately a factor of two greater than that of the average pulse profile, there is a negligible difference in the precision of the overall timing solution when using the GPs.
Ofek identified FIRST J141918.9+394036 (hereafter FIRST J1419+3940) as a radio source sharing similar properties and host galaxy type to the compact, persistent radio source associated with the first ...known repeating fast radio burst, FRB 121102. Law et al. showed that FIRST J1419+3940 is a transient source decaying in brightness over the last few decades. One possible interpretation is that FIRST J1419+3940 is a nearby analog to FRB 121102 and that the radio emission represents a young magnetar nebula (as several scenarios assume for FRB 121102). Another interpretation is that FIRST J1419+3940 is the afterglow of an "orphan" long gamma-ray burst (GRB). The environment is similar to where most such events are produced. To distinguish between these hypotheses, we conducted very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) radio observations using the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 1.6 GHz to spatially resolve the emission and to search for millisecond-duration radio bursts. We detect FIRST J1419+3940 as a compact radio source with a flux density of 620 20 Jy (on 2018 September 18) and a source size of 3.9 0.7 mas (i.e., 1.6 0.3 pc given the angular diameter distance of 83 Mpc). These results confirm that the radio emission is nonthermal and imply an average expansion velocity of (0.10 0.02)c. Contemporaneous high-time-resolution observations using the 100 m Effelsberg telescope detected no millisecond-duration bursts of astrophysical origin. The source properties and lack of short-duration bursts are consistent with a GRB jet expansion, whereas they disfavor a magnetar birth nebula.
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