Precision timing measurements of PSR J1012+5307

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±1.9 Gyr . 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.     

High-precision timing of PSR J1600−3053

We present the results of a high-precision timing campaign directed at the binary millisecond pulsar J1600−3053. Submicrosecond pulsar timing has long been the domain of bright, low dispersion measure millisecond pulsars or large diameter telescopes. This experiment, conducted using the Parkes radio telescope in New South Wales, Australia, and utilizing the latest baseband recording hardware, has allowed this pulsar, although distant and faint, to present residuals to a model of its spin behaviour of 650 ns over a period of more than 2 yr. We have also constrained the orbital inclination via Shapiro delay to be between 59° and 70° to 95 per cent confidence and obtained a scintillation velocity measurement indicating a transverse velocity less than 84 km s⁻¹. This pulsar is demonstrating remarkable stability comparable to, and in most cases improving upon, the very best long-term pulsar timing experiments. If this stability is maintained, the current limits on the energy density of the stochastic gravitational wave background will be reached in four more years.     

PSR J1453+1902 and the radio luminosities of solitary versus binary millisecond pulsars

We present 3 yr of timing observations for PSR J1453+1902, a 5.79-ms pulsar discovered during a 430-MHz drift-scan survey with the Arecibo telescope. Our observations show that PSR J1453+1902 is solitary and has a proper motion of  8 ±  2  mas yr⁻¹. At the nominal distance of 1.2 kpc estimated from the pulsar's dispersion measure, this corresponds to a transverse speed of  46 ± 11   km s⁻¹  , typical of the millisecond pulsar population. We analyse the current sample of 55 millisecond pulsars in the Galactic disc and revisit the question of whether the luminosities of isolated millisecond pulsars are different from their binary counterparts. We demonstrate that the apparent differences in the luminosity distributions seen in samples selected from 430-MHz surveys can be explained by small-number statistics and observational selection biases. An examination of the sample from 1400-MHz surveys shows no differences in the distributions. The simplest conclusion from the current data is that the spin, kinematic, spatial and luminosity distributions of isolated and binary millisecond pulsars are consistent with a single homogeneous population.     

PSR J1740−3052: a pulsar with a massive companion

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 350 kyr, and is in a 231-d, highly eccentric orbit with a companion whose mass exceeds 11 M_⊙. 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.     

The inner scale of the plasma turbulence towards PSR J1644−4559

By measuring the decaying shape of the scatter-broadened pulse from the bright distant pulsar PSR J1644−4559, we probe waves scattered at relatively high angles by very small spatial scales in the interstellar plasma, which allows us to test for a wavenumber cutoff in the plasma density spectrum. Under the hypothesis that the density spectrum is due to plasma turbulence, we can thus investigate the (inner) scale at which the turbulence is dissipated. We report observations carried out with the Parkes radio telescope at 660 MHz from which we find strong evidence for an inner scale in the range 70–100 km, assuming an isotropic Kolmogorov spectrum. By identifying the inner scale with the ion inertial scale, we can also estimate the mean electron density of the scattering region to be 5–10 cm⁻³. This is comparable with the electron density of H  ii region G339.1−0.4, which lies in front of the pulsar, and so confirms that this region dominates the scattering. We conclude that the plasma inside the region is characterized by fully developed turbulence with an outer scale in the range 1–20 pc and an inner scale of 70–100 km. The shape of the rising edge of the pulse constrains the distribution of the strongly scattering plasma to be spread over about 20 per cent of the 4.6 kpc path from the pulsar, but with similarly high electron densities in two or more thin layers, their thicknesses can only be 10–20 pc.     

More Emission Cones: Multi-frequency Simulation of the Pulse Profiles of PSR J0437-4715

Pulsar radio emission beams have been studied observationally for a long time, and the suggestion is that they consist of the so-called core and conal components. To reproduce these components is a challenge for any emission model, and that the pulse profile of pulsars changes with frequency presents even a greater challenge. Assuming a local surface magnetic structure (to produce the core or central beam) and a global dipole magnetic field (to produce the conal beams), Gil & Krawczyk (1997) applied curvature radiation to the pulse profile simulation of PSR J0437-4715 (hereafter the GK model). Here we present an alternative multi-frequency simulation of the same profiles within the framework of the Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS) model. It is obtained from our simulation (1) that besides the core, the inner cone and the outer cone, there is an outer-outer cone; (2) that the emission components of the core and cones evolve strongly with frequency. Some important differences between the ICS model and the     

No evidence for coherent diffractive radiation patterns in the millisecond pulsar PSR J0437–4715

An independent analysis of the 326.5-MHz data obtained by the Ooty Radio Telescope reveals no evidence for coherent diffractive radiation patterns in the millisecond pulsar PSR J0437–4715 .     

PSR J1753−2240: a mildly recycled pulsar in an eccentric binary system

We report the discovery of PSR J1753−2240 in the Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey data base. This 95-ms pulsar is in an eccentric binary system with a 13.6-d orbital period. Period derivative measurements imply a characteristic age in excess of 1 Gyr, suggesting that the pulsar has undergone an episode of accretion-induced spin-up. The eccentricity and spin period are indicative of the companion being a second neutron star, so that the system is similar to that of PSR J1811−1736, although other companion types cannot be ruled out at this time. The companion mass is constrained by geometry to lie above 0.48 solar masses, although long-term timing observations will give additional constraints. If the companion is a white dwarf or a main-sequence star, optical observations may yield a direct detection of the companion. If the system is indeed one of the few known double neutron star systems, it would lie significantly far from the recently proposed spin-period/eccentricity relationship.     

The Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey: PSR J1811−1736, a pulsar in a highly eccentric binary system

We are undertaking a high-frequency survey of the Galactic plane for radio pulsars, using the 13-element multibeam receiver on the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. We describe briefly the survey system and some of the initial results. PSR J1811−1736, one of the first pulsars discovered with this system, has a rotation period of 104 ms. Subsequent timing observations using the 76-m radio telescope at Jodrell Bank show that it is in an 18.8-d, highly eccentric binary orbit. We have measured the rate of advance of periastron which indicates a total system mass of 2.6±0.9 M_⊙, and the minimum companion mass is about 0.7 M_⊙. This, the high orbital eccentricity and the recycled nature of the pulsar suggest that this system is composed of two neutron stars, only the fourth or fifth such system known in the disc of the Galaxy.     

Timing models for the long orbital period binary pulsar PSR B1259–63

The pulsar PSR B1259–63 is in a highly eccentric 3.4-yr orbit with 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 data cannot be fitted by the normal pulsar and Keplerian binary parameters. A timing solution including a (non-precessing) Keplerian orbit and timing noise (represented as a polynomial of fifth order in time) provides a satisfactory fit to the data. However, because the Be star probably has a significant quadrupole moment, we prefer to interpret the data by a combination of timing noise, dominated by a cubic phase term, and ω^. and x ^. terms. We show that the ω^. and x ^. terms are likely to be a result of a precessing orbit caused by the quadrupole moment of the tilted companion star. We further rule out a number of possible physical effects which could contribute to the timing data of PSR B1259–63 on a measurable level.     

Strong pulses from pulsar PSR J0034-0721

We present an analysis of strong single pulses from PSR J0034-0721. Our observations were made using the Urumqi 25-m radio telescope at a radio frequency of 1.54GHz. A total of 353 strong pulses were detected during eight hours of observing. The signal-to-noise ratios of the detected pulses range from 5 to 11.5. The peak fluxes of those pulses are 17 to 39 times that of the average pulse peak. The cumulative distribution of the signal-to-noise ratios of these strong pulses has a rough power-law distribution...     

Mapping the magnetosphere of PSR B1055−52

We present a geometric study of the radio and γ-ray pulsar B1055−52 based on recent observations at the Parkes radio telescope. We conclude that the pulsar's magnetic axis is inclined at an angle of 75° to its rotation axis and that both its radio main pulse and interpulse are emitted at the same height above their respective poles. This height is unlikely to be higher or much lower than 700 km, a typical value for radio pulsars.
It is argued that the radio interpulse arises from emission formed on open fieldlines close to the magnetic axis which do not pass through the magnetosphere's null (zero-charge) surface. However, the main pulse emission must originate from fieldlines lying well outside the polar cap boundary beyond the null surface, and farther away from the magnetic axis than those of the outer gap region where the single γ-ray peak is generated. This casts doubt on the common assumption that all pulsars have closed, quiescent, corotating regions stretching to the light cylinder.     

Toward an Understanding of the Periastron Puzzle of PSR B1259-63

Efforts are made to understand the timing behaviors (e.g., the jumps in the projected pulsar semimajor axis at the periastron passages) observed in the 13-year monitoring of PSR B1259-63. Planet-like objects are suggested to orbit around the Be star, which may gravitationally perturb the (probably low mass) pulsar when it passes through periastron. An accretion disk should exist outside the pulsar's light cylinder, which creates a spindown torque on the pulsar due to the propeller effect. The observed negative braking index and the discrepant timing residuals close to periastron could be related to the existence of a disk with a varying accretion rate. A speculation is presented that the accretion rate may increase on a long timescale in order to explain the negative braking index.     

PSR J0835-4510单脉冲的观测研究

利用中国科学院国家授时中心昊平观测站40m射电望远镜, 在L波段对Vela脉冲星(PSR J0835-4510)进行了单个脉冲观测研究. 在56min的观测数据中, 共观测到38040个单脉冲. 探测到观测时间内辐射的所有单脉冲信号, 其中单脉冲的半峰线宽(half-maximum line width, $W_{50