The parameters of pulsar subpulse emission at decameter wavelengths

An original method for determining the main parameters of the radio emission of pulsar subpulses at decameter wavelengths is proposed. The method involves the combined use of spectral and correlation analyses for the recorded signals. The novelty of the method is connected with two conditions that must be fulfilled to determine all the characteristics of the subpulse decameter emission. First, the signal-to-noise ratio in the output data must be increased, which can be done only by accumulating more data. Second, the phase characteristics of the subpulse component in the main pulse window must be preserved during the accumulation process. The method proposed makes it possible to fulfill these conditions simultaneously. A reference transfer function obtained from a spectral analysis of data with a relatively high number of individual detected pulses is used in the correlation analysis. The method is used to determine the drift rate, subpulse component width, individual subpulse width, secondary periods P ₂ and P ₃, and the subpulse structure coherence timescale recorded for the pulsar PSR B0809+74 at the central frequency 23.7 MHz. Perspectives for future application of the method are discussed.