ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1434-9786
Current Organisation
University of Oxford
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Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-01-2023
Abstract: The radio polarization properties of the pulsar population are only superficially captured by the conventional picture of pulsar radio emission. We study the broadband polarization of 271 young radio pulsars, focusing particularly on circular polarization, using high-quality observations made with the Ultra-Wideband Low receiver on Murriyang, the Parkes radio telescope. We seek to encapsulate polarization behaviour on a population scale by defining broad categories for frequency- and phase-dependent polarization evolution, studying the co-occurrences of these categorizations and comparing them with average polarization measurements and spin-down energy ($\\dot{E}$). This work shows that deviations of the linear polarization position angle from the rotating vector model are linked to the presence of circular polarization features and to frequency evolution of the polarization. Polarization fraction, circular polarization contribution, and profile complexity all evolve with $\\dot{E}$ across the population, with the profiles of high-$\\dot{E}$ pulsars being simple and highly linearly polarized. The relationship between polarization fraction and circular contribution is also seen to evolve such that highly polarized profiles show less variation in circular contribution with frequency than less strongly polarized profiles. This evolution is seen both across the population and across frequency for in idual sources. Understanding pulsar radio polarization requires detailed study of in idual sources and collective understanding of population-level trends. For the former, we provide visualizations of their phase- and frequency-resolved polarization parameters. For the latter, we have highlighted the importance of including the impact of circular polarization and of $\\dot{E}$.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-2004
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-09-2007
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 03-2015
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: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-11-2011
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-06-2006
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-12-2022
Abstract: We present the first 2.5 yr of data from the MeerKAT Pulsar Timing Array (MPTA), part of MeerTime, a MeerKAT Large Survey Project. The MPTA aims to precisely measure pulse arrival times from an ensemble of 88 pulsars visible from the Southern hemisphere, with the goal of contributing to the search, detection, and study of nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves as part of the International Pulsar Timing Array. This project makes use of the MeerKAT telescope and operates with a typical observing cadence of 2 weeks using the L-band receiver that records data from 856 to 1712 MHz. We provide a comprehensive description of the observing system, software, and pipelines used and developed for the MeerTime project. The data products made available as part of this data release are from the 78 pulsars that had at least 30 observations between the start of the MeerTime programme in February 2019 and October 2021. These include both sub-banded and band-averaged arrival times and the initial timing ephemerides, noise models, and the frequency-dependent standard templates (portraits) used to derive pulse arrival times. After accounting for detected noise processes in the data, the frequency-averaged residuals of 67 of the pulsars achieved a root-mean-square residual precision of $\\lt 1 \\, \\mu \\rm {s}$. We also present a novel recovery of the clock correction waveform solely from pulsar timing residuals and an exploration into preliminary findings of interest to the international pulsar timing community. The arrival times, standards, and full Stokes parameter-calibrated pulsar timing archives are publicly available.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 03-2018
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201629017
Abstract: The Sun’s activity leads to bursts of radio emission, among other phenomena. An ex le is type-III radio bursts. They occur frequently and appear as short-lived structures rapidly drifting from high to low frequencies in dynamic radio spectra. They are usually interpreted as signatures of beams of energetic electrons propagating along coronal magnetic field lines. Here we present novel interferometric LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray) observations of three solar type-III radio bursts and their reverse bursts with high spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution. They are consistent with a propagation of the radio sources along the coronal magnetic field lines with nonuniform speed. Hence, the type-III radio bursts cannot be generated by a monoenergetic electron beam, but by an ensemble of energetic electrons with a spread distribution in velocity and energy. Additionally, the density profile along the propagation path is derived in the corona. It agrees well with three-fold coronal density model by (1961, ApJ, 133, 983).
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-04-2011
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 07-2018
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201732308
Abstract: Context. Type II radio bursts are evidence of shocks in the solar atmosphere and inner heliosphere that emit radio waves ranging from sub-meter to kilometer lengths. These shocks may be associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and reach speeds higher than the local magnetosonic speed. Radio imaging of decameter wavelengths (20–90 MHz) is now possible with the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), opening a new radio window in which to study coronal shocks that leave the inner solar corona and enter the interplanetary medium and to understand their association with CMEs. Aims. To this end, we study a coronal shock associated with a CME and type II radio burst to determine the locations at which the radio emission is generated, and we investigate the origin of the band-splitting phenomenon. Methods. Thetype II shock source-positions and spectra were obtained using 91 simultaneous tied-array beams of LOFAR, and the CME was observed by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and by the COR2A coronagraph of the SECCHI instruments on board the Solar Terrestrial Relation Observatory(STEREO). The 3D structure was inferred using triangulation of the coronographic observations. Coronal magnetic fields were obtained from a 3D magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) polytropic model using the photospheric fields measured by the Heliospheric Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) as lower boundary. Results. The type II radio source of the coronal shock observed between 50 and 70 MHz was found to be located at the expanding flank of the CME, where the shock geometry is quasi-perpendicular with θ Bn ~ 70°. The type II radio burst showed first and second harmonic emission the second harmonic source was cospatial with the first harmonic source to within the observational uncertainty. This suggests that radio wave propagation does not alter the apparent location of the harmonic source. The sources of the two split bands were also found to be cospatial within the observational uncertainty, in agreement with the interpretation that split bands are simultaneous radio emission from upstream and downstream of the shock front. The fast magnetosonic Mach number derived from this interpretation was found to lie in the range 1.3–1.5. The fast magnetosonic Mach numbers derived from modelling the CME and the coronal magnetic field around the type II source were found to lie in the range 1.4–1.6.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 08-2015
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 11-10-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2015
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 29-07-2002
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 28-01-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-02-2017
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STX377
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2003
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-03-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE16976
Abstract: Cosmic rays are the highest-energy particles found in nature. Measurements of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies of 10(17)-10(18) electronvolts are essential to understanding whether they have galactic or extragalactic sources. It has also been proposed that the astrophysical neutrino signal comes from accelerators capable of producing cosmic rays of these energies. Cosmic rays initiate air showers--cascades of secondary particles in the atmosphere-and their masses can be inferred from measurements of the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum (Xmax the depth of the air shower when it contains the most particles) or of the composition of shower particles reaching the ground. Current measurements have either high uncertainty, or a low duty cycle and a high energy threshold. Radio detection of cosmic rays is a rapidly developing technique for determining Xmax (refs 10, 11) with a duty cycle of, in principle, nearly 100 per cent. The radiation is generated by the separation of relativistic electrons and positrons in the geomagnetic field and a negative charge excess in the shower front. Here we report radio measurements of Xmax with a mean uncertainty of 16 grams per square centimetre for air showers initiated by cosmic rays with energies of 10(17)-10(17.5) electronvolts. This high resolution in Xmax enables us to determine the mass spectrum of the cosmic rays: we find a mixed composition, with a light-mass fraction (protons and helium nuclei) of about 80 per cent. Unless, contrary to current expectations, the extragalactic component of cosmic rays contributes substantially to the total flux below 10(17.5) electronvolts, our measurements indicate the existence of an additional galactic component, to account for the light composition that we measured in the 10(17)-10(17.5) electronvolt range.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-01-2006
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-07-2020
Abstract: The population of young, non-recycled pulsars with spin-down energies $\\dot{E} \\gt 10^{35}$ erg s−1 is s led predominantly at γ-ray and radio wavelengths. A total of 137 such pulsars are known, with partial overlap between the sources detectable in radio and γ-rays. We use a very small set of assumptions in an attempt to test whether the observed pulsar s le can be explained by a single underlying population of neutron stars. For radio emission we assume a canonical conal beam with a fixed emission height of 300 km across all spin periods and a luminosity law which depends on $\\dot{E}^{0.25}$. For γ-ray emission we assume the outer-gap model and a luminosity law which depends on $\\dot{E}^{0.5}$. We synthesize a population of fast-spinning pulsars with a birth rate of one per 100 yr. We find that this simple model can reproduce most characteristics of the observed population with two caveats. The first is a deficit of γ-ray pulsars at the highest $\\dot{E}$ which we surmise to be an observational selection effect due to the difficulties of finding γ-ray pulsars in the presence of glitches without prior knowledge from radio frequencies. The second is a deficit of radio pulsars with interpulse emission, which may be related to radio emission physics. We discuss the implications of these findings.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 19-12-2013
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-06-2015
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 26-05-2003
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 31-12-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-07-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 23-12-2015
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 29-01-2016
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 30-06-2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1017/PASA.2022.19
Abstract: MeerTime is a five-year Large Survey Project to time pulsars with MeerKAT, the 64-dish South African precursor to the Square Kilometre Array. The science goals for the programme include timing millisecond pulsar (MSPs) to high precision ( ${ } 1 \\unicode{x03BC} \\mathrm{s}$ ) to study the Galactic MSP population and to contribute to global efforts to detect nanohertz gravitational waves with the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). In order to plan for the remainder of the programme and to use the allocated time most efficiently, we have conducted an initial census with the MeerKAT ‘ L -band’ receiver of 189 MSPs visible to MeerKAT and here present their dispersion measures, polarisation profiles, polarisation fractions, rotation measures, flux density measurements, spectral indices, and timing potential. As all of these observations are taken with the same instrument (which uses coherent dedispersion, interferometric polarisation calibration techniques, and a uniform flux scale), they present an excellent resource for population studies. We used wideband pulse portraits as timing standards for each MSP and demonstrated that the MeerTime Pulsar Timing Array (MPTA) can already contribute significantly to the IPTA as it currently achieves better than $1\\,\\unicode{x03BC}\\mathrm{s}$ timing accuracy on 89 MSPs (observed with fortnightly cadence). By the conclusion of the initial five-year MeerTime programme in 2024 July, the MPTA will be extremely significant in global efforts to detect the gravitational wave background with a contribution to the detection statistic comparable to other long-standing timing programmes.
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Date: 14-12-2010
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2015
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 22-06-2015
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 05-04-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 09-06-2020
Abstract: Pulsar radio emission and its polarization are observed to evolve with frequency. This frequency dependence is key to the emission mechanism and the structure of the radio beam. With the new ultra-wideband receiver (UWL) on the Parkes radio telescope we are able, for the first time, to observe how pulsar profiles evolve over a broad continuous bandwidth of 700–4000 MHz. We describe here a technique for processing broad-band polarimetric observations to establish a meaningful alignment and visualize the data across the band. We apply this to observations of PSRs J1056–6258 and J1359–6038, chosen due to previously unresolved questions about the frequency evolution of their emission. Application of our technique reveals that it is possible to align the polarization position angle (PA) across a broad frequency range when constrained to applying only corrections for dispersion and Faraday rotation to do so. However, this does not correspond to aligned intensity profiles for these two sources. We find that it is possible to convert these misalignments into emission height range estimates that are consistent with published and simulated values, suggesting that they can be attributed to relativistic effects in the magnetosphere. We discuss this work in the context of the radio beam structure and prepare the ground for a wider study of pulsar emission using broad-band polarimetric data.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-11-2022
Abstract: We present the detection of 107 pulsars with interstellar scintillation arcs at 856–1712 MHz, observed with the MeerKAT Thousand Pulsar Array Programme. Scintillation arcs appear to be ubiquitous in clean, high S/N observations, their detection mainly limited by short observing durations and coarse frequency channel resolution. This led the survey to be sensitive to nearby, lightly scattered pulsars with high effective velocity – from a large proper motion, a screen nearby the pulsar, or a screen near the Earth. We measure the arc curvatures in all of our sources, which can be used to give an estimate of screen distances in pulsars with known proper motion, or an estimate of the proper motion. The short scintillation time-scale in J1731−4744 implies a scattering screen within 12 pc of the source, strongly suggesting the association between this pulsar and the supernova remnant RCW 114. We measure multiple parabolic arcs of five pulsars, all of which are weakly scintillating with high proper motion. Additionally, several sources show hints of inverted arclets suggesting scattering from anisotropic screens. Building on this work, further targeted MeerKAT observations of many of these pulsars will improve understanding of our local scattering environment and the origins of scintillation annual scintillation curves would lead to robust screen distance measurements, and the evolution of arclets in time and frequency can constrain models of scintillation.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 08-2003
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 25-01-2019
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STZ214
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 05-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202142636
Abstract: Discovering radio pulsars, particularly millisecond pulsars (MSPs), is important for a range of astrophysical applications, such as testing theories of gravity or probing the magneto-ionic interstellar medium. We aim to discover pulsars that may have been missed in previous pulsar searches by leveraging known pulsar observables (primarily polarisation) in the sensitive, low-frequency radio images from the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS), and have commenced the Targeted search, using LoTSS images, for polarised pulsars (TULIPP) survey. For this survey, we identified linearly and circularly polarised point sources with flux densities brighter than 2 mJy in LoTSS images at a centre frequency of 144 MHz with a 48 MHz bandwidth. Over 40 known pulsars, half of which are MSPs, were detected as polarised sources in the LoTSS images and excluded from the survey. We have obtained beam-formed LOFAR observations of 30 candidates, which were searched for pulsations using coherent de-dispersion. Here, we present the results of the first year of the TULIPP survey. We discovered two pulsars, PSRs J1049+5822 and J1602+3901, with rotational periods of P = 0.73 s and 3.7 ms, respectively. We also detected a further five known pulsars (two slowly-rotating pulsars and three MSPs) for which accurate sky positions were not available to allow a unique cross-match with LoTSS sources. This targeted survey presents a relatively efficient method by which pulsars, particularly MSPs, may be discovered using the flexible observing modes of sensitive radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array and its pathfinders recursors, particularly since wide-area all-sky surveys using coherent de-dispersion are currently computationally infeasible.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-2009
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-07-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE18936
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 09-2022
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202142670
Abstract: Context. PSR J0955−6150 is a member of an enigmatic class of eccentric millisecond pulsar (MSP) and helium white dwarf (He WD) systems (eMSPs), whose binary evolution is poorly understood and believed to be strikingly different to that of traditional MSP+He WD systems in circular orbits. Aims. Measuring the masses of the stars in this system is important for testing the different hypotheses for the formation of eMSPs. Methods. We carried out timing observations of this pulsar with the Parkes radio telescope using the 20 cm multibeam and ultra-wide bandwidth low-frequency (UWL) receivers, and the L -band receiver of the MeerKAT radio telescope. The pulse profiles were flux and polarisation calibrated, and a rotating-vector model (RVM) was fitted to the position angle of the linear polarisation of the combined MeerKAT data. Pulse times of arrival (ToAs) were obtained from these using standard pulsar analysis techniques and analysed using the TEMPO 2 timing software. Results. Our observations reveal a strong frequency evolution of this MSP’s intensity, with a flux density spectral index ( α ) of −3.13(2). The improved sensitivity of MeerKAT resulted in a greater than tenfold improvement in the timing precision obtained compared to our older Parkes observations. This, combined with the eight-year timing baseline, has allowed precise measurements of a very small proper motion and three orbital post-Keplerian parameters, namely the rate of advance of periastron, ω̇ = 0.00152(1) deg yr −1 , and the orthometric Shapiro delay parameters, h 3 = 0.89(7) μs and ς = 0.88(2). Assuming general relativity, we obtain M p = 1.71(2) M ⊙ for the mass of the pulsar and M c = 0.254(2) M ⊙ for the mass of the companion the orbital inclination is 83.2(4) degrees. Crucially, assuming that the position angle of the linear polarisation follows the RVM, we find that the spin axis has a misalignment relative to the orbital angular momentum of 4.8deg at 99% confidence level. Conclusions. While the value of M p falls well within the wide range observed in eMSPs, M c is significantly smaller than expected from several formation hypotheses proposed, which are therefore unlikely to be correct and can be ruled out M c is also significantly different from the expected value for an ideal low mass X-ray binary evolution scenario. If the misalignment between the spin axis of the pulsar and the orbital angular momentum is to be believed, it suggests that the unknown process that created the orbital eccentricity of the binary was also capable of changing its orbital orientation, an important evidence for understanding the origin of eMSPs.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-07-2008
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-2008
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-05-2017
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 02-11-2006
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 30-11-2018
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 10-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-08-2013
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-08-2013
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-05-2005
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 25-08-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-02-2018
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STY368
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Aris Karastergiou.