ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0289-0732
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Astronomical and Space Sciences | General Relativity and Gravitational Waves | Cosmology and Extragalactic Astronomy | Astronomical and Space Instrumentation
Expanding Knowledge in the Physical Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Information and Computing Sciences |
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-02-2016
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STW395
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-06-2011
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-12-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-11-2020
Abstract: The fast radio burst (FRB) population is observationally ided into sources that have been observed to repeat and those that have not. There is tentative evidence that the bursts from repeating sources have different properties than the non-repeating ones. In order to determine the occurrence rate of repeating sources and characterize the nature of repeat emission, we have been conducting sensitive searches for repetitions from bursts detected with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope, using the recently commissioned Ultra-wideband Low (UWL) receiver system, over a band spanning 0.7–4.0 GHz. We report the detection of a repeat burst from the source of FRB 20190711A. The detected burst is 1 ms wide and has a bandwidth of just 65 MHz. We find no evidence of any emission in the remaining part of the 3.3 GHz UWL band. While the emission bandwidths of the ASKAP and UWL bursts show ν−4 scaling consistent with a propagation effect, the spectral occupancy is inconsistent with diffractive scintillation. This detection rules out models predicting broad-band emission from the FRB 20190711A source and puts stringent constraints on the emission mechanism. The low spectral occupancy highlights the importance of sub-banded search methods in detecting FRBs.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-06-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 30-08-2019
Abstract: The smooth spin-down of young pulsars is perturbed by two non-deterministic phenomenon, glitches, and timing noise. Although the timing noise provides insights into nuclear and plasma physics at extreme densities, it acts as a barrier to high-precision pulsar timing experiments. An improved methodology based on the Bayesian inference is developed to simultaneously model the stochastic and deterministic parameters for a s le of 85 high-$\dot{E}$ radio pulsars observed for ∼10 yr with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. Timing noise is known to be a red process and we develop a parametrization based on the red-noise litude (Ared) and spectral index (β). We measure the median Ared to be $-10.4^{+1.8}_{-1.7}$ yr3/2 and β to be $-5.2^{+3.0}_{-3.8}$ and show that the strength of timing noise scales proportionally to $\nu ^{1}|\dot{\nu }|^{-0.6\pm 0.1}$, where ν is the spin frequency of the pulsar and $\dot{\nu }$ is its spin-down rate. Finally, we measure significant braking indices for 19 pulsars and proper motions for 2 pulsars, and discuss the presence of periodic modulation in the arrival times of 5 pulsars.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-2011
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-11-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 15-02-2021
Abstract: We describe the ongoing Relativistic Binary programme (RelBin), a part of the MeerTime large survey project with the MeerKAT radio telescope. RelBin is primarily focused on observations of relativistic effects in binary pulsars to enable measurements of neutron star masses and tests of theories of gravity. We selected 25 pulsars as an initial high priority list of targets based on their characteristics and observational history with other telescopes. In this paper, we provide an outline of the programme, and present polarization calibrated pulse profiles for all selected pulsars as a reference catalogue along with updated dispersion measures. We report Faraday rotation measures for 24 pulsars, twelve of which have been measured for the first time. More than a third of our selected pulsars show a flat position angle swing confirming earlier observations. We demonstrate the ability of the Rotating Vector Model, fitted here to seven binary pulsars, including the Double Pulsar (PSR J0737–3039A), to obtain information about the orbital inclination angle. We present a high time resolution light curve of the eclipse of PSR J0737–3039A by the companion’s magnetosphere, a high-phase-resolution position angle swing for PSR J1141–6545, an improved detection of the Shapiro delay of PSR J1811–2405, and pulse scattering measurements for PSRs J1227–6208, J1757–1854, and J1811–1736. Finally, we demonstrate that timing observations with MeerKAT improve on existing data sets by a factor of, typically, 2–3, sometimes by an order of magnitude.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-09-2014
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 09-04-2020
Abstract: In Paper I of this series, we detected a significant value of the braking index (n) for 19 young, high-$\\dot{E}$ radio pulsars using ∼10 yr of timing observations from the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. Here, we investigate this result in more detail using a Bayesian pulsar timing framework to model timing noise and to perform selection to distinguish between models containing exponential glitch recovery and braking index signatures. We show that consistent values of n are maintained with the addition of substantial archival data, even in the presence of glitches. We provide strong arguments that our measurements are unlikely due to exponential recovery signals from unseen glitches even though glitches play a key role in the evolution of a pulsar’s spin frequency. We conclude that, at least over decadal time-scales, the value of n can be significantly larger than the canonical 3 and discuss the implications for the evolution of pulsars.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 29-08-2015
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STV508
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 17-12-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 09-02-2023
Abstract: Interstellar scattering (ISS) of radio pulsar emission can be used as a probe of the ionized interstellar medium (IISM) and causes corruptions in pulsar timing experiments. Two types of ISS phenomena (intensity scintillation and pulse broadening) are caused by electron density fluctuations on small scales (& 0.01 au). Theory predicts that these are related, and both have been widely employed to study the properties of the IISM. Larger scales (∼1 – 100 au) cause measurable changes in dispersion and these can be correlated with ISS observations to estimate the fluctuation spectrum over a very wide scale range. IISM measurements can often be modelled by a homogeneous power-law spatial spectrum of electron density with the Kolmogorov (−11/3) spectral exponent. Here, we aim to test the validity of using the Kolmogorov exponent with PSR J0826+2637. We do so using observations of intensity scintillation, pulse broadening and dispersion variations across a wide fractional bandwidth (20–180 MHz). We present that the frequency dependence of the intensity scintillation in the high-frequency band matches the expectations of a Kolmogorov spectral exponent, but the pulse broadening in the low-frequency band does not change as rapidly as predicted with this assumption. We show that this behaviour is due to an inhomogeneity in the scattering region, specifically that the scattering is dominated by a region of transverse size ∼40 au. The power spectrum of the electron density, however, maintains the Kolmogorov spectral exponent from spatial scales of 5 × 10−6 au to ∼100 au.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 25-09-2015
Abstract: Gravitational waves are expected to be generated by the interaction of the massive bodies in black-hole binary systems. As gravitational waves distort spacetime, it should be possible to verify their existence as they interfere with the pulses emitted by millisecond pulsars. However, after monitoring 24 pulsars with the Parkes radio telescope for 12 years, Shannon et al. found no detectable variation in pulsar records. This nondetection result indicates that a new detection strategy for gravitational waves is needed. Science , this issue p. 1522
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-09-2011
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-03-2016
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STW483
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-03-2019
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 22-05-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-09-2019
Abstract: In this paper we report on $\sim 10$ yr of observations of PSR J2051$-$0827, at radio frequencies in the range 110–4032 MHz. We investigate the eclipse phenomena of this black widow pulsar using model fits of increased dispersion and scattering of the pulsed radio emission as it traverses the eclipse medium. These model fits reveal variability in dispersion features on time-scales as short as the orbital period, and previously unknown trends on time-scales of months–years. No clear patterns are found between the low-frequency eclipse widths, orbital period variations, and trends in the intrabinary material density. Using polarization calibrated observations we present the first available limits on the strength of magnetic fields within the eclipse region of this system the average line of sight field is constrained to be $10^{-4}$ G $\lesssim B_{||} \lesssim 10^2$ G, while for the case of a field directed near-perpendicular to the line of sight we find $B_{\perp } \lesssim 0.3$ G. Depolarization of the linearly polarized pulses during the eclipse is detected and attributed to rapid rotation measure fluctuations of $\sigma _{\text{RM}} \gtrsim 100$ rad m$^{-2}$ along, or across, the line of sights averaged over during a subintegration. The results are considered in the context of eclipse mechanisms, and we find scattering and/or cyclotron absorption provide the most promising explanation, while dispersion smearing is conclusively ruled out. Finally, we estimate the mass-loss rate from the companion to be $\dot{M}_{\text{C}} \sim 10^{-12}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, suggesting that the companion will not be fully evaporated on any reasonable time-scale
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-05-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-10-2019
Abstract: In this paper, we describe the International Pulsar Timing Array second data release, which includes recent pulsar timing data obtained by three regional consortia: the European Pulsar Timing Array, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. We analyse and where possible combine high-precision timing data for 65 millisecond pulsars which are regularly observed by these groups. A basic noise analysis, including the processes which are both correlated and uncorrelated in time, provides noise models and timing ephemerides for the pulsars. We find that the timing precisions of pulsars are generally improved compared to the previous data release, mainly due to the addition of new data in the combination. The main purpose of this work is to create the most up-to-date IPTA data release. These data are publicly available for searches for low-frequency gravitational waves and other pulsar science.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-12-2017
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 17-12-2019
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202039517
Abstract: Context. Radio pulses from pulsars are affected by plasma dispersion, which results in a frequency-dependent propagation delay. Variations in the magnitude of this effect lead to an additional source of red noise in pulsar timing experiments, including pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) that aim to detect nanohertz gravitational waves. Aims. We aim to quantify the time-variable dispersion with much improved precision and characterise the spectrum of these variations. Methods. We use the pulsar timing technique to obtain highly precise dispersion measure (DM) time series. Our dataset consists of observations of 36 millisecond pulsars, which were observed for up to 7.1 yr with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) telescope at a centre frequency of ~150 MHz. Seventeen of these sources were observed with a weekly cadence, while the rest were observed at monthly cadence. Results. We achieve a median DM precision of the order of 10 −5 cm −3 pc for a significant fraction of our sources. We detect significant variations of the DM in all pulsars with a median DM uncertainty of less than 2 × 10 −4 cm −3 pc. The noise contribution to pulsar timing experiments at higher frequencies is calculated to be at a level of 0.1–10 μ s at 1.4 GHz over a timespan of a few years, which is in many cases larger than the typical timing precision of 1 μ s or better that PTAs aim for. We found no evidence for a dependence of DM on radio frequency for any of the sources in our s le. Conclusions. The DM time series we obtained using LOFAR could in principle be used to correct higher-frequency data for the variations of the dispersive delay. However, there is currently the practical restriction that pulsars tend to provide either highly precise times of arrival (ToAs) at 1.4 GHz or a high DM precision at low frequencies, but not both, due to spectral properties. Combining the higher-frequency ToAs with those from LOFAR to measure the infinite-frequency ToA and DM would improve the result.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 29-06-2023
Abstract: Pulsar timing arrays aim to detect nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves (GWs). A background of GWs modulates pulsar arrival times and manifests as a stochastic process, common to all pulsars, with a signature spatial correlation. Here we describe a search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) using observations of 30 millisecond pulsars from the third data release of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), which spans 18 yr. Using current Bayesian inference techniques we recover and characterize a common-spectrum noise process. Represented as a strain spectrum h c = A ( f / 1 yr − 1 ) α , we measure A = 3.1 − 0.9 + 1.3 × 10 − 15 and α = −0.45 ± 0.20, respectively (median and 68% credible interval). For a spectral index of α = −2/3, corresponding to an isotropic background of GWs radiated by inspiraling supermassive black hole binaries, we recover an litude of A = 2.04 − 0.22 + 0.25 × 10 − 15 . However, we demonstrate that the apparent signal strength is time-dependent, as the first half of our data set can be used to place an upper limit on A that is in tension with the inferred common-spectrum litude using the complete data set. We search for spatial correlations in the observations by hierarchically analyzing in idual pulsar pairs, which also allows for significance validation through randomizing pulsar positions on the sky. For a process with α = −2/3, we measure spatial correlations consistent with a GWB, with an estimated false-alarm probability of p ≲ 0.02 (approx. 2 σ ). The long timing baselines of the PPTA and the access to southern pulsars will continue to play an important role in the International Pulsar Timing Array.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 29-06-2023
Abstract: The noise in millisecond pulsar (MSP) timing data can include contributions from observing instruments, the interstellar medium, the solar wind, solar system ephemeris errors, and the pulsars themselves. The noise environment must be accurately characterized in order to form the null hypothesis from which signal models can be compared, including the signature induced by nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves (GWs). Here we describe the noise models developed for each of the MSPs in the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) third data release, which have been used as the basis of a search for the isotropic stochastic GW background. We model pulsar spin noise, dispersion measure variations, scattering variations, events in the pulsar magnetospheres, solar wind variability, and instrumental effects. We also search for new timing model parameters and detected Shapiro delays in PSR J0614−3329 and PSR J1902−5105. The noise and timing models are validated by testing the normalized and whitened timing residuals for Gaussianity and residual correlations with time. We demonstrate that the choice of noise models significantly affects the inferred properties of a common-spectrum process. Using our detailed models, the recovered common-spectrum noise in the PPTA is consistent with a power law with a spectral index of γ = 13/3, the value predicted for a stochastic GW background from a population of supermassive black hole binaries driven solely by GW emission.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-09-2019
Abstract: The rate of fast radio bursts (FRBs) in the direction of nearby galaxy clusters is expected to be higher than the mean cosmological rate if intrinsically faint FRBs are numerous. In this paper, we describe a targeted search for faint FRBs near the core of the Virgo Cluster using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. During 300 h of observations, we discovered one burst, FRB 180417, with dispersion measure (DM) = 474.8 cm−3 pc. The FRB was promptly followed up by several radio telescopes for 27 h, but no repeat bursts were detected. An optical follow-up of FRB 180417 using the PROMPT5 telescope revealed no new sources down to an R-band magnitude of 20.1. We argue that FRB 180417 is likely behind the Virgo Cluster as the Galactic and intracluster DM contribution are small compared to the DM of the FRB, and there are no galaxies in the line of sight. The non-detection of FRBs from Virgo constrains the faint-end slope, α & 1.52 (at 68 per cent confidence limit), and the minimum luminosity, Lmin ≳ 2 × 1040 erg s−1 (at 68 per cent confidence limit), of the FRB luminosity function assuming cosmic FRB rate of 104 FRBs per sky per day with flux above 1 Jy located out to redshift of 1. Further FRB surveys of galaxy clusters with high-sensitivity instruments will tighten the constraints on the faint end of the luminosity function and, thus, are strongly encouraged.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-07-2016
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 18-10-2013
Abstract: Gravitational waves, predicted by General Relativity, are expected to be produced when very massive bodies, such as black holes, merge together. Shannon et al. (p. 334 ) used data from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project to estimate the gravitational wave background produced by pairs of supermassive black holes (those with masses between 10 6 and 10 11 that of the Sun) in merging galaxies. The results can be used to test models of the supermassive black hole population.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-12-2012
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-11-2019
Abstract: We have constructed a new time-scale, TT(IPTA16), based on observations of radio pulsars presented in the first data release from the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). We used two analysis techniques with independent estimates of the noise models for the pulsar observations and different algorithms for obtaining the pulsar time-scale. The two analyses agree within the estimated uncertainties and both agree with TT(BIPM17), a post-corrected time-scale produced by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). We show that both methods could detect significant errors in TT(BIPM17) if they were present. We estimate the stability of the atomic clocks from which TT(BIPM17) is derived using observations of four rubidium fountain clocks at the US Naval Observatory. Comparing the power spectrum of TT(IPTA16) with that of these fountain clocks suggests that pulsar-based time-scales are unlikely to contribute to the stability of the best time-scales over the next decade, but they will remain a valuable independent check on atomic time-scales. We also find that the stability of the pulsar-based time-scale is likely to be limited by our knowledge of solar-system dynamics, and that errors in TT(BIPM17) will not be a limiting factor for the primary goal of the IPTA, which is to search for the signatures of nano-Hertz gravitational waves.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-07-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-12-2012
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STS486
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 29-01-2016
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 30-06-2016
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 31-01-2020
Abstract: Radio pulsars in short-period eccentric binary orbits can be used to study both gravitational dynamics and binary evolution. The binary system containing PSR J1141-6545 includes a massive white dwarf (WD) companion that formed before the gravitationally bound young radio pulsar. We observed a temporal evolution of the orbital inclination of this pulsar that we infer is caused by a combination of a Newtonian quadrupole moment and Lense-Thirring (LT) precession of the orbit resulting from rapid rotation of the WD. LT precession, an effect of relativistic frame dragging, is a prediction of general relativity. This detection is consistent with an evolutionary scenario in which the WD accreted matter from the pulsar progenitor, spinning up the WD to a period of <200 seconds.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 27-05-2021
Abstract: We report on the results of multiwavelength follow-up observations with Gemini, Very Large Array (VLA), and Australia Telescope Compact Array to search for a host galaxy and any persistent radio emission associated with FRB 180309. This FRB is among the most luminous FRB detections to date, with a luminosity of .7 × 10 32 erg Hz −1 at the dispersion-based redshift upper limit of 0.32. We used the high-significance detection of FRB 180309 with the Parkes Telescope and a beam model of the Parkes Multibeam Receiver to improve the localization of the FRB to a region spanning approximately ∼ 2 ′ × 2 ′ . We aimed to seek bright galaxies within this region to determine the strongest candidates as the originator of this highly luminous FRB. We identified optical sources within the localization region above our r -band magnitude limit of 24.27, 14 of which have photometric redshifts whose fitted mean is consistent with the redshift upper limit ( z 0.32) of our FRB. Two of these galaxies are coincident with marginally detected “persistent” radio sources of flux density 24.3 μ Jy beam −1 and 22.1 μ Jy beam −1 , respectively. Our redshift-dependent limit on the luminosity of any associated persistent radio source is comparable to the luminosity limits for other localized FRBs. We analyze several properties of the candidate hosts we identified, including chance association probability, redshift, and presence of radio emission however, it remains possible that any of these galaxies could be the host of this FRB. Follow-up spectroscopy on these objects to explore their H α emission and ionization contents, as well as to obtain more precisely measured redshifts, may be able to isolate a single host for this luminous FRB.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-05-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-06-2019
Abstract: The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project monitors two dozen millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in order to undertake a variety of fundamental physics experiments using the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. Since 2017 June, we have been undertaking commensal searches for fast radio bursts (FRBs) during the MSP observations. Here, we report the discovery of four FRBs (171209, 180309, 180311, and 180714). The detected events include an FRB with the highest signal-to-noise ratio ever detected at the Parkes Observatory, which exhibits unusual spectral properties. All four FRBs are highly polarized. We discuss the future of commensal searches for FRBs at Parkes.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-03-2017
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STX580
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 09-08-2019
Abstract: Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief radio emissions from distant astronomical sources. Some are known to repeat, but most are single bursts. Nonrepeating FRB observations have had insufficient positional accuracy to localize them to an in idual host galaxy. We report the interferometric localization of the single-pulse FRB 180924 to a position 4 kiloparsecs from the center of a luminous galaxy at redshift 0.3214. The burst has not been observed to repeat. The properties of the burst and its host are markedly different from those of the only other accurately localized FRB source. The integrated electron column density along the line of sight closely matches models of the intergalactic medium, indicating that some FRBs are clean probes of the baryonic component of the cosmic web.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-07-2014
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-11-2015
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 07-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202142980
Abstract: Context. Interstellar scintillation (ISS) of pulsar emission can be used both as a probe of the ionized interstellar medium (IISM) and cause corruptions in pulsar timing experiments. Of particular interest are so-called scintillation arcs which can be used to measure time-variable interstellar scattering delays directly, potentially allowing high-precision improvements to timing precision. Aims. The primary aim of this study is to carry out the first sizeable and self-consistent census of diffractive pulsar scintillation and scintillation-arc detectability at low frequencies, as a primer for larger-scale IISM studies and pulsar-timing related propagation studies with the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) High Band Antennae (HBA). Methods. We use observations from five international LOFAR stations and the LOFAR core in the Netherlands. We analyze the 2D auto-covariance function of the dynamic spectra of these observations to determine the characteristic bandwidth and timescale of the ISS toward the pulsars in our s le and investigate the 2D power spectra of the dynamic spectra to determine the presence of scintillation arcs. Results. In this initial set of 31 sources, 15 allow for the full determination of the scintillation properties nine of these show detectable scintillation arcs at 120–180 MHz. Eight of the observed sources show unresolved scintillation and the final eight do not display diffractive scintillation. Some correlation between scintillation detectability and pulsar brightness and a dispersion measure is apparent, although no clear cut-off values can be determined. Our measurements across a large fractional bandwidth allow a meaningful test of the frequency scaling of scintillation parameters, uncorrupted by influences from refractive scintillation variations. Conclusions. Our results indicate the powerful advantage and great potential of ISS studies at low frequencies and the complex dependence of scintillation detectability on parameters such as pulsar brightness and interstellar dispersion. This work provides the first installment of a larger-scale census and longer-term monitoring of ISS effects at low frequencies.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-01-2021
Abstract: Using the state-of-the-art SKA precursor, the MeerKAT radio telescope, we explore the limits to precision pulsar timing of millisecond pulsars achievable due to pulse stochasticity (jitter). We report new jitter measurements in 15 of the 29 pulsars in our s le and find that the levels of jitter can vary dramatically between them. For some, like the 2.2 ms pulsar PSR J2241−5236, we measure an implied jitter of just ∼4 ns h−1, while others, like the 3.9 ms PSR J0636−3044, are limited to ∼100 ns h−1. While it is well known that jitter plays a central role to limiting the precision measurements of arrival times for high signal-to-noise ratio observations, its role in the measurement of dispersion measure (DM) has not been reported, particularly in broad-band observations. Using the exceptional sensitivity of MeerKAT, we explored this on the bright millisecond pulsar PSR J0437−4715 by exploring the DM of literally every pulse. We found that the derived single-pulse DMs vary by typically 0.0085 cm−3 pc from the mean, and that the best DM estimate is limited by the differential pulse jitter across the band. We postulate that all millisecond pulsars will have their own limit on DM precision which can only be overcome with longer integrations. Using high-time resolution filterbank data of 9 μs, we also present a statistical analysis of single-pulse phenomenology. Finally, we discuss optimization strategies for the MeerKAT pulsar timing program and its role in the context of the International Pulsar Timing Array.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-11-2020
Abstract: Pulsar timing array projects measure the pulse arrival times of millisecond pulsars for the primary purpose of detecting nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves. The measurements include contributions from a number of astrophysical and instrumental processes, which can either be deterministic or stochastic. It is necessary to develop robust statistical and physical models for these noise processes because incorrect models diminish sensitivity and may cause a spurious gravitational wave detection. Here we characterize noise processes for the 26 pulsars in the second data release of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array using Bayesian inference. In addition to well-studied noise sources found previously in pulsar timing array data sets such as achromatic timing noise and dispersion measure variations, we identify new noise sources including time-correlated chromatic noise that we attribute to variations in pulse scattering. We also identify ‘exponential dip’ events in four pulsars, which we attribute to magnetospheric effects as evidenced by pulse profile shape changes observed for three of the pulsars. This includes an event in PSR J1713+0747, which had previously been attributed to interstellar propagation. We present noise models to be used in searches for gravitational waves. We outline a robust methodology to evaluate the performance of noise models and identify unknown signals in the data. The detection of variations in pulse profiles highlights the need to develop efficient profile domain timing methods.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 31-08-2015
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2023.36
Abstract: We present the third data release from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project. The release contains observations of 32 pulsars obtained using the 64-m Parkes “Murriyang” radio telescope. The data span is up to 18 years with a typical cadence of 3 weeks. This data release is formed by combining an updated version of our second data release with ∼ 3 years of more recent data primarily obtained using an ultra-wide-bandwidth receiver system that operates between 704 and 4032 MHz. We provide calibrated pulse profiles, flux-density dynamic spectra, pulse times of arrival, and initial pulsar timing models. We describe methods for processing such wide-bandwidth observations, and compare this data release with our previous release.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-12-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-03-2016
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STW179
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-11-2014
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 08-2012
DOI: 10.1017/S1743921312024404
Abstract: We present the results from nearly three years of monitoring of the variations in dispersion measure (DM) along the line-of-sight to 11 millisecond pulsars using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). These results demonstrate accuracies of single epoch DM estimates of the order of 5 × 10 −4 cm −3 pc. A preliminary comparison with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) data shows that the measured DM fluctuations are comparable. We show effects of DM variations due to the solar wind and solar corona and compare with the existing models.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 06-04-2010
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2017.39
Abstract: The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) is an 18000 m 2 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.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-07-2017
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 22-05-2020
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-05-2020
Abstract: A handful of fast radio bursts (FRBs) are now known to repeat. However, the question remains – do they all? We report on an extensive observational c aign with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), Parkes, and Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, searching for repeat bursts from FRBs detected by the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients survey. In 383.2 h of follow-up observations covering 27 FRBs initially detected as single bursts, only two repeat bursts from a single FRB, FRB 171019, were detected, which have been previously reported by Kumar et al. We use simulations of repeating FRBs that allow for clustering in burst arrival times to calculate new estimates for the repetition rate of FRB 171019, finding only slight evidence for incompatibility with the properties of FRB 121102. Our lack of repeat bursts from the remaining FRBs set limits on the model of all bursts being attributable to repeating FRBs. Assuming a reasonable range of repetition behaviour, at most 60 per cent (90 per cent confidence limit) of these FRBs have an intrinsic burst distribution similar to FRB 121102. This result is shown to be robust against different assumptions on the nature of repeating FRB behaviour, and indicates that if indeed all FRBs repeat, the majority must do so very rarely.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 06-04-2010
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 15-01-2020
Abstract: We describe the ongoing ‘survey for magnetars, intermittent pulsars, rotating radio transients, and fast radio bursts’ (SMIRF), performed using the newly refurbished UTMOST telescope. SMIRF repeatedly sweeps the southern Galactic plane performing real-time periodicity and single pulse searches, and is the first survey of its kind carried out with an interferometer. SMIRF is facilitated by a robotic scheduler which is capable of fully autonomous commensal operations. We report on the SMIRF observational parameters, the data analysis methods, the survey’s sensitivity to pulsars, techniques to mitigate radio frequency interference, and present some early survey results. UTMOST’s wide field of view permits a full sweep of the Galactic plane to be performed every fortnight, two orders of magnitude faster than previous surveys. In six months of operations from 2018 January to June, we have performed ∼10 sweeps of the Galactic plane with SMIRF. Notable blind redetections include the magnetar PSR J1622−4950, the RRAT PSR J0941−3942 and the eclipsing pulsar PSR J1748−2446A. We also report the discovery of a new pulsar, PSR J1659−54. Our follow-up of this pulsar at an average flux limit of ≤20 mJy, categorizes this as an intermittent pulsar with a high nulling fraction of & .002.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-05-2014
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STU804
Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
Date: 22-07-2015
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 27-07-2015
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2013
Abstract: A ‘pulsar timing array’ (PTA), in which observations of a large s le of pulsars spread across the celestial sphere are combined, allows investigation of ‘global’ phenomena such as a background of gravitational waves or instabilities in atomic timescales that produce correlated timing residuals in the pulsars of the array. The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) is an implementation of the PTA concept based on observations with the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. A s le of 20 ms pulsars is being observed at three radio-frequency bands, 50 cm (~700 MHz), 20 cm (~1400 MHz), and 10 cm (~3100 MHz), with observations at intervals of two to three weeks. Regular observations commenced in early 2005. This paper describes the systems used for the PPTA observations and data processing, including calibration and timing analysis. The strategy behind the choice of pulsars, observing parameters, and analysis methods is discussed. Results are presented for PPTA data in the three bands taken between 2005 March and 2011 March. For 10 of the 20 pulsars, rms timing residuals are less than 1 μs for the best band after fitting for pulse frequency and its first time derivative. Significant ‘red’ timing noise is detected in about half of the s le. We discuss the implications of these results on future projects including the International Pulsar Timing Array and a PTA based on the Square Kilometre Array. We also present an ‘extended PPTA’ data set that combines PPTA data with earlier Parkes timing data for these pulsars.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 11-03-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-04-2017
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STX837
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-2015
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 22-08-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-05-2020
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-01-2013
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STS662
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-07-2019
Abstract: We detail a new fast radio burst (FRB) survey with the Molonglo Radio Telescope, in which six FRBs were detected between 2017 June and 2018 December. By using a real-time FRB detection system, we captured raw voltages for five of the six events, which allowed for coherent dedispersion and very high time resolution (10.24 $\\mu$s) studies of the bursts. Five of the FRBs show temporal broadening consistent with interstellar and/or intergalactic scattering, with scattering time-scales ranging from 0.16 to 29.1 ms. One burst, FRB181017, shows remarkable temporal structure, with three peaks each separated by 1 ms. We searched for phase-coherence between the leading and trailing peaks and found none, ruling out lensing scenarios. Based on this survey, we calculate an all-sky rate at 843 MHz of $98^{+59}_{-39}$ events sky−1 d−1 to a fluence limit of 8 Jy ms: a factor of 7 below the rates estimated from the Parkes and ASKAP telescopes at 1.4 GHz assuming the ASKAP-derived spectral index α = −1.6 (Fν ∝ να). Our results suggest that FRB spectra may turn over below 1 GHz. Optical, radio, and X-ray follow-up has been made for most of the reported bursts, with no associated transients found. No repeat bursts were found in the survey.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1071/AS09021
Abstract: The PULSE@Parkes project has been designed to monitor the rotation of radio pulsars over time spans of days to years. The observations are obtained using the Parkes 64-m and 12-m radio telescopes by Australian and international high school students. These students learn the basis of radio astronomy and undertake small projects with their observations. The data are fully calibrated and obtained with the state-of-the-art pulsar hardware available at Parkes. The final data sets are archived and are currently being used to carry out studies of 1) pulsar glitches, 2) timing noise, 3) pulse profile stability over long time scales and 4) the extreme nulling phenomenon. The data are also included in other projects such as gamma-ray observatory support and for the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project. In this paper we describe the current status of the project and present the first scientific results from the Parkes 12-m radio telescope. We emphasise that this project offers a straightforward means to enthuse high school students and the general public about radio astronomy while obtaining scientifically valuable data sets.
Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
Date: 31-03-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 15-02-2016
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STW347
No related organisations have been discovered for Stefan Oslowski.
Start Date: 11-2015
End Date: 09-2021
Amount: $2,840,752.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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