General-relativistic pulsar magnetospheric emission

Science.gov (United States)

Pétri, J.

2018-06-01

Most current pulsar emission models assume photon production and emission within the magnetosphere. Low-frequency radiation is preferentially produced in the vicinity of the polar caps, whereas the high-energy tail is shifted to regions closer but still inside the light cylinder. We conducted a systematic study of the merit of several popular radiation sites like the polar cap, the outer gap, and the slot gap. We computed sky maps emanating from each emission site according to a prescribed distribution function for the emitting particles made of an electron/positron mixture. Calculations are performed using a three-dimensional integration of the plasma emissivity in the vacuum electromagnetic field of a rotating and centred general-relativistic dipole. We compare Newtonian electromagnetic fields to their general-relativistic counterpart. In the latter case, light bending is also taken into account. As a typical example, light curves and sky maps are plotted for several power-law indices of the particle distribution function. The detailed pulse profiles strongly depend on the underlying assumption about the fluid motion subject to strong electromagnetic fields. This electromagnetic topology enforces the photon propagation direction directly, or indirectly, from aberration effects. We also discuss the implication of a net stellar electric charge on to sky maps. Taking into account, the electric field strongly affects the light curves originating close to the light cylinder, where the electric field strength becomes comparable to the magnetic field strength.

Theoretical Study of Gamma-ray Pulsars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwong Sang Cheng

2016-06-01

Full Text Available We use the non-stationary three dimensional two-layer outer gap model to explain gamma-ray emissions from a pulsar magnetosphere. We found out that for some pulsars like the Geminga pulsar, it was hard to explain emissions above a level of around 1 GeV. We then developed the model into a non-stationary model. In this model we assigned a power-law distribution to one or more of the spectral parameters proposed in the previous model and calculated the weighted phaseaveraged spectrum. Though this model is suitable for some pulsars, it still cannot explain the high energy emission of the Geminga pulsar. An Inverse-Compton Scattering component between the primary particles and the radio photons in the outer magnetosphere was introduced into the model, and this component produced a sufficient number of GeV photons in the spectrum of the Geminga pulsar.

ON THE GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF PULSAR FORCE-FREE MAGNETOSPHERE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrova, S. A.

2013-01-01

The dipolar magnetic field structure of a neutron star is modified by the plasma originating in the pulsar magnetosphere. In the simplest case of a stationary axisymmetric force-free magnetosphere, a self-consistent description of the fields and currents is given by the well-known pulsar equation. Here we revise the commonly used boundary conditions of the problem in order to incorporate the plasma-producing gaps and to provide a framework for a truly self-consistent treatment of the pulsar magnetosphere. A generalized multipolar solution of the pulsar equation is found, which, as compared to the customary split monopole solution, is suggested to better represent the character of the dipolar force-free field at large distances. In particular, the outer gap location entirely inside the light cylinder implies that beyond the light cylinder the null and critical lines should be aligned and become parallel to the equator at a certain altitude. Our scheme of the pulsar force-free magnetosphere, which will hopefully be followed by extensive analytic and numerical studies, may have numerous implications for different fields of pulsar research.

Polarization and emission geometry of the Crab pulsar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiyou Chen; Cheng Ho

1993-01-01

Optical emission of the Crab pulsar can best be understood as synchrotron radiation of relativistic particles from the outer magnetosphere of the neutron star. The outer gap model was developed specifically to address energy balance and double-pulsed emission (from optical to high-energy gamma-ray) of young pulsars like the Crab. In this paper, we present the polarization properties of the optical pulses calculated from the outer gap model. We found that the theoretical light curves exhibit the same qualitative behavior as observations

Band structures in two-dimensional phononic crystals with periodic Jerusalem cross slot

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yinggang; Chen, Tianning; Wang, Xiaopeng; Yu, Kunpeng; Song, Ruifang

2015-01-01

In this paper, a novel two-dimensional phononic crystal composed of periodic Jerusalem cross slot in air matrix with a square lattice is presented. The dispersion relations and the transmission coefficient spectra are calculated by using the finite element method based on the Bloch theorem. The formation mechanisms of the band gaps are analyzed based on the acoustic mode analysis. Numerical results show that the proposed phononic crystal structure can yield large band gaps in the low-frequency range. The formation mechanism of opening the acoustic band gaps is mainly attributed to the resonance modes of the cavities inside the Jerusalem cross slot structure. Furthermore, the effects of the geometrical parameters on the band gaps are further explored numerically. Results show that the band gaps can be modulated in an extremely large frequency range by the geometry parameters such as the slot length and width. These properties of acoustic waves in the proposed phononic crystals can potentially be applied to optimize band gaps and generate low-frequency filters and waveguides.

High-Energy Pulsar Models: Developments and New Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Venter, C.; Harding, A. K.

2014-01-01

The past few years have seen a major advance in observational knowledge of high-energy (HE) pulsars. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and AGILE have increased the number of known gamma-ray pulsars by an order of magnitude, its members being divided roughly equally among millisecond pulsars (MSPs), young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. Many new and diverse emission characteristics are being measured, while radio and X-ray follow-up observations increase the pulsar detection rate and enrich our multiwavelength picture of these extreme sources. The wealth of new data has provided impetus for further development and improvement of existing theoretical pulsar models. Geometric light curve (LC) modelling has uncovered three broad classes into which HE pulsars fall: those where the radio profile leads, is aligned with, or lags the gamma-ray profile. For example, the original MSP and original black widow system are members of the second class, requiring co-located emission regions and thereby breaking with traditional notions of radio emission origin. These models imply narrow accelerator gaps in the outer magnetosphere, indicating copious pair production even in MSP magnetospheres that were previously thought to be pair-starved. The increased quality and variety of the LCs necessitate construction of ever more sophisticated models. We will review progress in global magnetosphere solutions which specify a finite conductivity on field lines above the stellar surface, filling the gap between the standard vacuum and force-free (FF; plasma-filled) models. The possibility of deriving phase-resolved spectra for the brightest pulsars, coupled with the fact that the HE pulsar population is sizable enough to allow sampling of various pulsar geometries, will enable much more stringent testing of future radiation models. Reproduction of the observed phase-resolved behavior of this disparate group will be one of the next frontiers in pulsar science, impacting on

Gamma-Ray Pulsars: Beaming Evolution, Statistics, and Unidentified EGRET Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Yadigaroglu, I.-A.; Romani, Roger W.

1995-08-01

We compute the variation of the beaming fraction with the efficiency of high-energy γ-ray production in the outer gap pulsar model of Romani and Yadigaroglu. This allows us to correct the fluxes observed for pulsars in the EGRET band and to derive a simple estimate of the variation of efficiency with age. Integration of this model over the population of young neutron stars gives the expected number of γ-ray pulsars along with their distributions in age and distance. This model also shows that many of the unidentified EGRET plane sources should be pulsars and predicts the γ-ray fluxes of known radio pulsars. The contribution of unresolved pulsars to the background flux in the EGRET band is found to be ˜5%.

Slot opening optimization of surface mounted permanent magnet motor for cogging torque reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbaszadeh, K.; Rezaee Alam, F.; Teshnehlab, M.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The slot opening shift method is an efficient method for cogging torque reduction. ► Using slot opening skew method, the trapezoidal waveform of back-emf is maintained. ► Using the conventional slot skewing, the wave shape of back-emf is sinusoidal. ► The novelty of paper is using of air–gap permeance harmonics as objective function. ► Other novelty of this paper is using the different optimization algorithms. - Abstract: In this paper, slot opening skew method is used for cogging torque reduction. A three layer stator model is considered for a six-pole PM-BLDC motor (a PM-BLDC motor with 18-slots, six-poles and length of 5 cm) and then a 2D dual model is extracted for this 3D slot opening skew model. The angular shifts of slot opening position in the first and third layers than middle layer are considered as optimization parameters. Slot opening shape is optimized by using different optimization algorithms, such as, the response surface methodology (RSM), the genetic algorithm (GA) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO). In order to using of GA and PSO, the analytical relationship is derived for the air–gap permeance function. The optimization results of these algorithms are being consistent with each other and are verified with FEA results. The results show the significant reduction of cogging torque about 77%.

Gamma-ray pulsars: Emission zones and viewing geometries

Science.gov (United States)

Romani, Roger W.; Yadigaroglu, I.-A.

1995-01-01

There are now a half-dozen young pulsars detected in high-energy photons by the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), showing a variety of emission efficiencies and pulse profiles. We present here a calculation of the pattern of high-energy emission on the sky in a model which posits gamma-ray production by charge-depleted gaps in the outer magnetosphere. This model accounts for the radio to gamma-ray pulse offsets of the known pulsars, as well as the shape of the high-energy pulse profiles. We also show that about one-third of emitting young radio pulsars will not be detected due to beaming effects, while approximately 2.5 times the number of radio-selected gamma-ray pulsars will be viewed only high energies. Finally we compute the polarization angle variation and find that the previously misunderstood optical polarization sweep of the Crab pulsar arises naturally in this picture. These results strongly support an outer magnetosphere location for the gamma-ray emission.

Gamma-Ray Pulsars: Beaming Evolution, Stats and Unident. EGRET Sources

OpenAIRE

Yadigaroglu, I. -A.; Romani, Roger W.

1994-01-01

We compute the variation of the beaming fraction with the efficiency of high energy gamma-ray production in the outer gap pulsar model of Romani and Yadigaroglu. This allows us to correct the fluxes observed for pulsars in the EGRET band and to derive a simple estimate of the variation of efficiency with age. Integration of this model over the population of young neutron stars gives the expected number of gamma-ray pulsars along with their distributions in age and distance. This model also sh...

Detailed Study of Closed Stator Slots for a Direct-Driven Synchronous Permanent Magnet Linear Wave Energy Converter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Lejerskog

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyze how a permanent magnet linear generator for wave power behaves when the stator slots are closed. The usual design of stator geometry is to use open slots to maintain a low magnetic leakage flux between the stator teeth. By doing this, harmonics are induced in the magnetic flux density in the air-gap due to slotting. The closed slots are designed to cause saturation, to keep the permeability low. This reduces the slot harmonics in the magnetic flux density, but will also increase the flux leakage between the stator teeth. An analytical model has been created to study the flux through the closed slots and the result compared with finite element simulations. The outcome shows a reduction of the cogging force and a reduction of the harmonics of the magnetic flux density in the air-gap. It also shows a small increase of the total magnetic flux entering the stator and an increased magnetic flux leakage through the closed slots.

Pulsars

CERN Document Server

Smith, Francis Graham

1977-01-01

The discovery of the pulsars ; techniques for search and for observation ; the identification with rotating neutron stars ; the X-ray pulsars ; the internal structure of neutron stars ; the magnetosphere of neutron stars ; pulse timing ; properties of the integrated radio pulses ; individual radio pulses ; the Crab nebula ; the Crab pulsar ; the interstellar medium as an indicator of pulsar distances ; the interstellar magnetic field ; interstellar scintillation ; radiation processes ; the emission mechanism I : analysis of observed particles ; the emission mechanism II : geometrical considerations ; the emission mechanism : discussion ; supernovae : the origin of the pulsars ; the distribution and the ages of pulsars ; high energies and condensed stars.

Pulsar Wind Nebulae Created by Fast-Moving Pulsars

OpenAIRE

Kargaltsev, Oleg; Pavlov, George G.; Klingler, Noel; Rangelov, Blagoy

2017-01-01

We review multiwavelength properties of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) created by supersonically moving pulsars and the effects of pulsar motion on the PWN morphologies and the ambient medium. Supersonic pulsar wind nebulae (SPWNe) are characterized by bow-shaped shocks around the pulsar and/or cometary tails filled with the shocked pulsar wind. In the past several years significant advances in SPWN studies have been made in deep observations with the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray Observatories as...

Studies on diversion cross-flow between two parallel channels communicating by a lateral slot. II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tapucu, A.; Merilo, M.

1977-01-01

The axial pressure variations of two parallel channels with single phase flows communicating by a long lateral slot have been studied experimentally. Using mass and momentum conservation principles, the axial pressure variations have been derived in terms of two parameters ksub(d) and ksub(r), for donor and recipient channels, respectively. These parameters include the combined effect of fluid transferred from donor to recipient channel, and drag force brought on by the connection gap, and are functions of the velocities and slot geometry parameters. A pressure difference oscillation between channels along the slot has been detected which is sinusoidal with wave lengths which seem to be a function of the gap clearance. (Auth.)

Pulsar Magnetospheres and Pulsar Winds

OpenAIRE

Beskin, Vasily S.

2016-01-01

Surprisingly, the chronology of nearly 50 years of the pulsar magnetosphere and pulsar wind research is quite similar to the history of our civilization. Using this analogy, I have tried to outline the main results obtained in this field. In addition to my talk, the possibility of particle acceleration due to different processes in the pulsar magnetosphere is discussed in more detail.

$\\gamma$-Ray Pulsars: Emission Zones and Viewing Geometries

OpenAIRE

Romani, Roger W.; Yadigaroglu, I. -A.

1994-01-01

There are now a half dozen young pulsars detected in high energy photons by the Compton GRO, showing a variety of emission efficiencies and pulse profiles. We present here a calculation of the pattern of high energy emission on the sky in a model which posits $\\gamma$-ray production by charge depleted gaps in the outer magnetosphere. This model accounts for the radio to $\\gamma$-ray pulse offsets of the known pulsars, as well as the shape of the high energy pulse profiles. We also show that $...

Electromagnetic processes in pulsars under strong electric and magnetic field conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayasli, S.; Hacinliyan, A.; Oegelman, H.B.; Daugherty, I.K.

1977-01-01

It is believed that pulsars possess huge electric and magnetic fields. However, the electric field is commonly neglected in calculations of the rate of pair production, a process which is thought to be greatly important in the radiation mechanisms of pulsars. To see the effect of the electric field, the pair production is calculated for arbitrary electric and magnetic field configurations. The formulae thus obtained are then applied to pulsars. It is shown that the correction to the ''polar gap'' height calculated in the Ruderman and Sutherland model is negligible, although it might be important for the spectrum of emerging photons. (author)

Gigahertz-peaked spectra pulsars in Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, R.; RoŻko, K.; Kijak, J.; Lewandowski, W.

2018-04-01

We have carried out a detailed study of the spectral nature of six pulsars surrounded by pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). The pulsar flux density was estimated using the interferometric imaging technique of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at three frequencies 325, 610, and 1280 MHz. The spectra showed a turnover around gigahertz frequency in four out of six pulsars. It has been suggested that the gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) in pulsars arises due to thermal absorption of the pulsar emission in surrounding medium like PWNe, H II regions, supernova remnants, etc. The relatively high incidence of GPS behaviour in pulsars surrounded by PWNe imparts further credence to this view. The pulsar J1747-2958 associated with the well-known Mouse nebula was also observed in our sample and exhibited GPS behaviour. The pulsar was detected as a point source in the high-resolution images. However, the pulsed emission was not seen in the phased-array mode. It is possible that the pulsed emission was affected by extreme scattering causing considerable smearing of the emission at low radio frequencies. The GPS spectra were modelled using the thermal free-free absorption and the estimated absorber properties were largely consistent with PWNe. The spatial resolution of the images made it unlikely that the point source associated with J1747-2958 was the compact head of the PWNe, but the synchrotron self-absorption seen in such sources was a better fit to the estimated spectral shape.

Vision-Based Parking-Slot Detection: A Benchmark and A Learning-Based Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Zhang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in developing automatic parking systems in the field of intelligent vehicles. However, how to effectively and efficiently locating parking-slots using a vision-based system is still an unresolved issue. Even more seriously, there is no publicly available labeled benchmark dataset for tuning and testing parking-slot detection algorithms. In this paper, we attempt to fill the above-mentioned research gaps to some extent and our contributions are twofold. Firstly, to facilitate the study of vision-based parking-slot detection, a large-scale parking-slot image database is established. This database comprises 8600 surround-view images collected from typical indoor and outdoor parking sites. For each image in this database, the marking-points and parking-slots are carefully labeled. Such a database can serve as a benchmark to design and validate parking-slot detection algorithms. Secondly, a learning-based parking-slot detection approach, namely P S D L , is proposed. Using P S D L , given a surround-view image, the marking-points will be detected first and then the valid parking-slots can be inferred. The efficacy and efficiency of P S D L have been corroborated on our database. It is expected that P S D L can serve as a baseline when the other researchers develop more sophisticated methods.

Pulsar astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyne, A.G.; Graham-Smith, F.

1990-01-01

This account of the properties of pulsars tells an exciting story of discovery in modern astronomy. Pulsars, discovered in 1967, now take their place in a very wide range of astrophysics. They are one of the endpoints of stellar evolution, in which the core of a star collapses to a rapidly spinning neutron star a few kilometres in size. This book is an introductory account for those entering the field. It introduces the circumstances of the discovery and gives an overview of pulsar astrophysics. There are chapters on search techniques, distances, pulse timing, the galactic population of pulsars, binary and millisecond pulsars, geometry and physics of the emission regions, and applications to the interstellar medium. An important feature of this book is the inclusion of an up-to-date catalogue of all known pulsars. (author)

Rotation and Accretion Powered Pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaspi, V M [Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 University St, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada)

2008-03-07

the past decade, magnetars, receives only a passing mention, though admittedly, they are neither rotation- nor accretion-powered. Also, some sections are slightly out of date: the fastest known pulsar has frequency 716 Hz, not 642 Hz; there are more braking indexes measured as well as a second braking index; nulling has been tied to spin-down. Still, this book stands alone in its bold attempt at a unifying, advanced picture of the two main areas of neutron-star science: rotation and accretion powered pulsars. It is thus a valuable and unique asset for anyone interested in the topic; I am delighted to own a copy. I personally very much hope author Ghosh will consider filling in some of the gaps in his book in a second edition, as his text is accessible and a pleasure to read, and his vision and ambition are admirable. (book review)

Rotation and Accretion Powered Pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaspi, V M

2008-01-01

, receives only a passing mention, though admittedly, they are neither rotation- nor accretion-powered. Also, some sections are slightly out of date: the fastest known pulsar has frequency 716 Hz, not 642 Hz; there are more braking indexes measured as well as a second braking index; nulling has been tied to spin-down. Still, this book stands alone in its bold attempt at a unifying, advanced picture of the two main areas of neutron-star science: rotation and accretion powered pulsars. It is thus a valuable and unique asset for anyone interested in the topic; I am delighted to own a copy. I personally very much hope author Ghosh will consider filling in some of the gaps in his book in a second edition, as his text is accessible and a pleasure to read, and his vision and ambition are admirable. (book review)

Transport Infrastructure Slot Allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koolstra, K.

2005-01-01

In this thesis, transport infrastructure slot allocation has been studied, focusing on selection slot allocation, i.e. on longer-term slot allocation decisions determining the traffic patterns served by infrastructure bottlenecks, rather than timetable-related slot allocation problems. The

Numerical exploration of non-axisymmetric divertor closure in the small angle slot (SAS) divertor at DIII-D

Science.gov (United States)

Frerichs, Heinke; Schmitz, Oliver; Covele, Brent; Guo, Houyang; Hill, David; Feng, Yuhe

2017-10-01

In the Small Angle Slot (SAS) divertor in DIII-D, the combination of misaligned slot structure and non-axisymmetric perturbations to the magnetic field causes the strike point to vary radially along the divertor slot and even leave it at some toroidal locations. This effect essentially introduces an opening in the divertor slot from where recycling neutrals can easily escape, and thereby degrade performance of the slot divertor. This effect has been approximated by a finite gap in the divertor baffle. Simulations with EMC3-EIRENE show that a toroidally localized loss of divertor closure can result in non-axisymmetric divertor densities and temperatures. This introduces a density window of 10-15% on top of the nominal threshold separatrix density during which a non-axisymmetric onset of local detachment occurs, initially leaving the gap and up to 60 deg beyond that still attached. Conversely, the impact of such toroidally localized divertor perturbations on the toroidal symmetry of midplane separatrix conditions is small. This work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy under Early Career Award Grant DE-SC0013911, and Grant DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Pulsar magnetospheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennel, C.F.; Fujimura, F.S.; Pellat, R.

1979-01-01

The structure of both the interior and exterior pulsar magnetospehere depends upon the strength of its plasma source near the surface of the star. We review magnetospheric models in the light of a vacuum pair-production source model proposed by Sturrock, and Ruderman and Sutherland. This model predicts the existence of a cutoff, determined by the neutron star's spin rate and magnetic field strength, beyond which coherent radio emission is no longer possible. The observed distribution of pulsar spin periods and period derivates, and the distribution of pulsars with missing radio pulses, is quantitatively consistent with the pair production threshold, when its variation of neutron star radius and moment of interia with mass is taken into account. All neutron stars observed as pulsars can have relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic wind exterior magnetospheres. The properties of the wind can be directly related to those of the pair production source. Radio pulsars cannot have relativistic plasma wave exterior magnetospheres. On the other hand, most erstwhile pulsars in the galaxy are probably halo objects that emit weak fluxes of energetic photons that can have relativistic wave exterior magnetospheres. Extinct pulsars have not been yet observed. (orig.)

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RADIO-LOUD AND RADIO-QUIET γ -RAY PULSARS AS REVEALED BY FERMI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hui, C. Y.; Lee, Jongsu [Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Takata, J. [Institute of Particle physics and Astronomy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China); Ng, C. W.; Cheng, K. S., E-mail: cyhui@cnu.ac.kr, E-mail: takata@hust.edu.cn [Department of Physics, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong)

2017-01-10

By comparing the properties of non-recycled radio-loud γ -ray pulsars and radio-quiet γ -ray pulsars, we have searched for the differences between these two populations. We found that the γ -ray spectral curvature of radio-quiet pulsars can be larger than that of radio-loud pulsars. Based on the full sample of non-recycled γ -ray pulsars, their distributions of the magnetic field strength at the light cylinder are also found to be different. We note that this might result from an observational bias. By reexamining the previously reported difference of γ -ray-to-X-ray flux ratios, we found that the significance can be hampered by their statistical uncertainties. In the context of the outer gap model, we discuss the expected properties of these two populations and compare with the possible differences that are identified in our analysis.

MODELING MULTI-WAVELENGTH PULSE PROFILES OF THE MILLISECOND PULSAR PSR B1821–24

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Du, Yuanjie; Shuai, Ping; Bei, Xiaomin; Chen, Shaolong; Fu, Linzhong; Huang, Liangwei; Lin, Qingqing; Meng, Jing; Wu, Yaojun; Zhang, Hengbin; Zhang, Qian; Zhang, Xinyuan [Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, NO. 104, Youyi Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100094 (China); Qiao, Guojun, E-mail: dyj@nao.cas.cn [School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2015-03-10

PSR B1821–24 is a solitary millisecond pulsar that radiates multi-wavelength pulsed photons. It has complex radio, X-ray, and γ-ray pulse profiles with distinct peak phase separations that challenge the traditional caustic emission models. Using the single-pole annular gap model with a suitable magnetic inclination angle (α = 40°) and viewing angle (ζ = 75°), we managed to reproduce its pulse profiles of three wavebands. It is found that the middle radio peak originated from the core gap region at high altitudes, and the other two radio peaks originated from the annular gap region at relatively low altitudes. Two peaks of both X-ray and γ-ray wavebands basically originated from the annular gap region, while the γ-ray emission generated from the core gap region contributes somewhat to the first γ-ray peak. Precisely reproducing the multi-wavelength pulse profiles of PSR B1821–24 enables us to understand emission regions of distinct wavebands and justify pulsar emission models.

Pulsars at Parkes

OpenAIRE

Manchester, R. N.

2012-01-01

The first pulsar observations were made at Parkes on March 8, 1968, just 13 days after the publication of the discovery paper by Hewish and Bell. Since then, Parkes has become the world's most successful pulsar search machine, discovering nearly two thirds of the known pulsars, among them many highly significant objects. It has also led the world in pulsar polarisation and timing studies. In this talk I will review the highlights of pulsar work at Parkes from those 1968 observations to about ...

An improved model of induction motors for diagnosis purposes - Slot skewing effect and air-gap eccentricity faults

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghoggal, A.; Zouzou, S.E.; Sahraoui, M. [Laboratoire de genie electrique de Biskra, Departement d' electrotechnique, Universite Mohamed Khider, BP 145, Biskra (Algeria); Razik, H. [Groupe de Recherche en Electrotechnique et Electronique de Nancy, Universite Henri Poincare, Faculte des Sciences et Techniques, BP 239, F-54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Khezzar, A. [Laboratoire d' Electrotechnique de Constantine, Universite Mentouri, Constantine (Algeria)

2009-05-15

This paper describes an improved method for the modeling of axial and radial eccentricities in induction motors (IM). The model is based on an extension of the modified winding function approach (MWFA) which allows for all harmonics of the magnetomotive force (MMF) to be taken into account. It is shown that a plane view of IM gets easily the motor inductances and reduces considerably the calculation process. The described technique includes accurately the slot skewing effect and leads to pure analytical expressions of the inductances in case of radial eccentricity. In order to model the static, dynamic or mixed axial eccentricity, three suitable alternatives are explained. Unlike the previous proposals, the discussed alternatives take into account all the harmonics of the inverse of air-gap function without any development in Fourier series. Simulation results as well as experimental verifications prove the usefulness and the effectiveness of the proposed model. (author)

An improved model of induction motors for diagnosis purposes - Slot skewing effect and air-gap eccentricity faults

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghoggal, A.; Zouzou, S.E.; Razik, H.; Sahraoui, M.; Khezzar, A.

2009-01-01

This paper describes an improved method for the modeling of axial and radial eccentricities in induction motors (IM). The model is based on an extension of the modified winding function approach (MWFA) which allows for all harmonics of the magnetomotive force (MMF) to be taken into account. It is shown that a plane view of IM gets easily the motor inductances and reduces considerably the calculation process. The described technique includes accurately the slot skewing effect and leads to pure analytical expressions of the inductances in case of radial eccentricity. In order to model the static, dynamic or mixed axial eccentricity, three suitable alternatives are explained. Unlike the previous proposals, the discussed alternatives take into account all the harmonics of the inverse of air-gap function without any development in Fourier series. Simulation results as well as experimental verifications prove the usefulness and the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Pulsar wind model for the spin-down behavior of intermittent pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, L.; Tong, H.; Yan, W. M.; Yuan, J. P.; Wang, N. [Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011 (China); Xu, R. X., E-mail: tonghao@xao.ac.cn [School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing (China)

2014-06-10

Intermittent pulsars are part-time radio pulsars. They have higher slow down rates in the on state (radio-loud) than in the off state (radio-quiet). This gives evidence that particle wind may play an important role in pulsar spindown. The effect of particle acceleration is included in modeling the rotational energy loss rate of the neutron star. Applying the pulsar wind model to the three intermittent pulsars (PSR B1931+24, PSR J1841–0500, and PSR J1832+0029) allows their magnetic fields and inclination angles to be calculated simultaneously. The theoretical braking indices of intermittent pulsars are also given. In the pulsar wind model, the density of the particle wind can always be the Goldreich-Julian density. This may ensure that different on states of intermittent pulsars are stable. The duty cycle of particle wind can be determined from timing observations. It is consistent with the duty cycle of the on state. Inclination angle and braking index observations of intermittent pulsars may help to test different models of particle acceleration. At present, the inverse Compton scattering induced space charge limited flow with field saturation model can be ruled out.

The Bursting Pulsar GRO J1744-28: the Slowest Transitional Pulsar?

Science.gov (United States)

Court, J. M. C.; Altamirano, D.; Sanna, A.

2018-04-01

GRO J1744-28 (the Bursting Pulsar) is a neutron star LMXB which shows highly structured X-ray variability near the end of its X-ray outbursts. In this letter we show that this variability is analogous to that seen in Transitional Millisecond Pulsars such as PSR J1023+0038: `missing link' systems consisting of a pulsar nearing the end of its recycling phase. As such, we show that the Bursting Pulsar may also be associated with this class of objects. We discuss the implications of this scenario; in particular, we discuss the fact that the Bursting Pulsar has a significantly higher spin period and magnetic field than any other known Transitional Pulsar. If the Bursting Pulsar is indeed transitional, then this source opens a new window of oppurtunity to test our understanding of these systems in an entirely unexplored physical regime.

Pulsar high energy emission due to inverse Compton scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyutikov, Maxim

2013-06-15

We discuss growing evidence that pulsar high energy is emission is generated via Inverse Compton mechanism. We reproduce the broadband spectrum of Crab pulsar, from UV to very high energy gamma-rays - nearly ten decades in energy, within the framework of the cyclotron-self-Compton model. Emission is produced by two counter-streaming beams within the outer gaps, at distances above ∼ 20 NS radii. The outward moving beam produces UV-X-ray photons via Doppler-booster cyclotron emission, and GeV photons by Compton scattering the cyclotron photons produced by the inward going beam. The scattering occurs in the deep Klein-Nishina regime, whereby the IC component provides a direct measurement of particle distribution within the magnetosphere. The required plasma multiplicity is high, ∼10{sup 6} – 10{sup 7}, but is consistent with the average particle flux injected into the pulsar wind nebula.

Numerical investigation of the LM MHD flows in a curved duct with an FCI with varying slot locations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jong Hoon; Yan, Yue; Kim, Chang Nyung

2016-01-01

Highlights: • This study numerically investigates the liquid-metal magnetohydrodynamic flows in a curved duct with an FCI. • The effects of the location of FCI slot and of the curvature radius on the flow behavior are reviewed. • The influence of the FCI slot position on the equalization of the pressure in the inner fluid region (inside the FCI) and the gap fluid region (outer the FCI) is examined. - Abstract: This study numerically investigates the liquid-metal (LM) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows in a curved duct with an FCI having three different slot locations and having no slot under a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the duct. The flow velocity, current density, electric potential, Lorentz force, and pressure in different flow situations are presented in detail. The effects of the location of FCI slot and of the curvature radius on the flow behavior are reviewed. The flow field is examined with an introduction of the electric-field component and electro-motive component of the current, allowing us to analyze the interdependency of the flow variables. The effect of the FCI slot position on the equalization of the pressure in the inner fluid region (inside the FCI) and the gap fluid region (outer the FCI) is examined. The result shows that and the case with an FCI slot located in the neutral position yields the smallest pressure gradient in the main flow direction among the cases with an FCI slot, resulting in the smallest pressure drop. Also, in a flow situation with smaller radius of curvature with the FCI slot in the neutral position, the axial velocity near the inner (in terms of the curvature) part of a cross-section is higher than that near the outer part.

Binary and Millisecond Pulsars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorimer Duncan R.

2008-11-01

Full Text Available We review the main properties, demographics and applications of binary and millisecond radio pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1800. There are now 83 binary and millisecond pulsars associated with the disk of our Galaxy, and a further 140 pulsars in 26 of the Galactic globular clusters. Recent highlights include the discovery of the young relativistic binary system PSR J1906+0746, a rejuvination in globular cluster pulsar research including growing numbers of pulsars with masses in excess of 1.5M_⊙, a precise measurement of relativistic spin precession in the double pulsar system and a Galactic millisecond pulsar in an eccentric (e = 0.44 orbit around an unevolved companion.

Hybrid rib-slot-rib plasmonic waveguide with deep-subwavelength mode confinement and long propagation length

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Zheng

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We propose a hybrid plasmonic waveguide where a combined rib-slot-rib structure is added on the metal substrate within a low-index gap region. The optical properties of the quasi-TM fundamental mode are numerically calculated using the finite element method. Compared to the traditional hybrid plasmonic waveguide, our designed waveguiding structure can support modes with tighter confinement and longer propagation length, by properly adjusting the geometry of the rib-slot-rib structure and the gap height. In details, it can provide the hybrid mode with mode area λ2/12000 and reasonable propagation distance 23.78 μm, simultaneously. Its excellent optical performance can facilitate potential applications in ultra-compact nanophotonic devices and circuits.

A design procedure for a slotted waveguide with probe-fed slots radiating into plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colborn, J.A.

1989-11-01

A design procedure is developed for slotted-waveguide antennas with probe-fed slots. Radiation into a gyrotropic, plane-stratified medium is considered, nonzero waveguide wall thickness is assumed, and noncosinusoidal slot fields and arbitrary slot length up to about one free-space wavelength are allowed. External mutual coupling is taken into account by matching the tangential fields at the antenna surface. The particular case of longitudinal slots in the broad face of rectangular guide is analyzed. The motivation for this work is the design of such radiators for plasma heating and current-drive on thermonuclear fusion experiments, but some of the analysis is applicable to the probeless slotted waveguide used for avionics and communications. 20 refs., 5 figs

Gamma rays and neutrinos from the Crab Nebula produced by pulsar accelerated nuclei

OpenAIRE

Bednarek, W.; Protheroe, R. J.

1997-01-01

We investigate the consequences of the acceleration of heavy nuclei (e.g. iron nuclei) by the Crab pulsar. Accelerated nuclei can photodisintegrate in collisions with soft photons produced in the pulsar's outer gap, injecting energetic neutrons which decay either inside or outside the Crab Nebula. The protons from neutron decay inside the nebula are trapped by the Crab Nebula magnetic field, and accumulate inside the nebula producing gamma-rays and neutrinos in collisions with the matter in t...

Pulsars today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham-Smith, F.

1990-01-01

The theory concerning pulsars is reviewed, with particular attention to possible evolution, life cycle, and rejuvenation of these bodies. Quantum liquids, such as neutron superfluids, and evidence for the existence of superfluid vortices and other internal phenomena are considered with particular attention to the Crab pulsar. Rate of change of the rotation rate is measured and analyzed for the Crab pulsar and the implications of deviations in the pulse times from those of a perfect rotator are examined. Glitches, the sudden increase in rotation rate of a pulsar that has previously exhibited a steady slowdown, are discussed and it is suggested that the movement of the superfluid core relative to the crust is responsible for this phenomenon. It is noted that radio waves from pulsars can be used to determine the intensity and structure of interplanetary and interstellar gas turbulence and to provide a direct measure of the strength of the interstellar magnetic field

Binary and Millisecond Pulsars.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorimer, Duncan R

2008-01-01

We review the main properties, demographics and applications of binary and millisecond radio pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1800. There are now 83 binary and millisecond pulsars associated with the disk of our Galaxy, and a further 140 pulsars in 26 of the Galactic globular clusters. Recent highlights include the discovery of the young relativistic binary system PSR J1906+0746, a rejuvination in globular cluster pulsar research including growing numbers of pulsars with masses in excess of 1.5 M ⊙ , a precise measurement of relativistic spin precession in the double pulsar system and a Galactic millisecond pulsar in an eccentric ( e = 0.44) orbit around an unevolved companion. Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.12942/lrr-2008-8.

Discovery of an Unidentified Fermi Object as a Black Widow-Like Millisecond Pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, A. K. H.; Huang, R. H. H.; Cheng, K. S.; Takata, J.; Yatsu, Y.; Cheung, C. C.; Donato, D.; Lin, L. C. C.; Kataoka, J.; Takahashi, Y.;

THE PULSAR SEARCH COLLABORATORY: DISCOVERY AND TIMING OF FIVE NEW PULSARS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosen, R.; Swiggum, J.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Lorimer, D. R.; Yun, M.; Boyles, J. [West Virginia University, White Hall, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States); Heatherly, S. A.; Scoles, S. [NRAO, P.O. Box 2, Green Bank, WV 24944 (United States); Lynch, R. [McGill University, Rutherford Physics Building, 3600 Rue University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada); Kondratiev, V. I. [ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Postbus 2, 7990 AA Dwingeloo (Netherlands); Ransom, S. M. [NRAO, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Moniot, M. L.; Thompson, C. [James River High School, 9906 Springwood Road, Buchanan, VA 24066 (United States); Cottrill, A.; Raycraft, M. [Lincoln High School, 100 Jerry Toth Drive, Shinnston, WV 26431 (United States); Weaver, M. [Broadway High School, 269 Gobbler Drive, Broadway, VA 22815 (United States); Snider, A. [Sherando High School, 185 South Warrior Drive, Stephens City, VA 22655 (United States); Dudenhoefer, J.; Allphin, L. [Hedgesville High School, 109 Ridge Road North, Hedgesville, WV 25427 (United States); Thorley, J., E-mail: Rachel.Rosen@mail.wvu.edu [Strasburg High School, 250 Ram Drive, Strasburg, VA 22657 (United States); and others

2013-05-01

We present the discovery and timing solutions of five new pulsars by students involved in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, a NSF-funded joint program between the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and West Virginia University designed to excite and engage high-school students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and related fields. We encourage students to pursue STEM fields by apprenticing them within a professional scientific community doing cutting edge research, specifically by teaching them to search for pulsars. The students are analyzing 300 hr of drift-scan survey data taken with the Green Bank Telescope at 350 MHz. These data cover 2876 deg{sup 2} of the sky. Over the course of five years, more than 700 students have inspected diagnostic plots through a web-based graphical interface designed for this project. The five pulsars discovered in the data have spin periods ranging from 3.1 ms to 4.8 s. Among the new discoveries are PSR J1926-1314, a long period, nulling pulsar; PSR J1821+0155, an isolated, partially recycled 33 ms pulsar; and PSR J1400-1438, a millisecond pulsar in a 9.5 day orbit whose companion is likely a white dwarf star.

Galactic population of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyne, A.G.; Manchester, R.N.

1985-01-01

In order to draw statistical conclusions about the overall population of pulsars in the Galaxy, a sample of 316 pulsars detected in surveys carried out at Jodrell Bank, Arecibo, Molonglo, and Green Bank has been analysed. The important selection effects of each survey are quantified and a statistically reliable pulsar distance scale based on a model for the large-scale distribution of free electrons in the Galaxy is described. These results allow the spatial and luminosity distribution functions of galactic pulsars to be computed. It is concluded that the Galaxy contains approximately 70 000 potentially observable pulsars with luminosities above 0.3 mJy kpc 2 . The period and luminosity evolution of pulsars, is also considered. (author)

The Green Bank North Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey: New Pulsars and Future Prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Ryan S.; Swiggum, Joe; Stovall, Kevin; Chawla, Pragya; DeCesar, Megan E.; Fonseca, Emmanuel; Levin, Lina; Cui, Bingyi; Kondratiev, Vlad; Archibald, Anne; Boyles, Jason; Hessels, Jason W. T.; Jenet, Fredrick; Kaplan, David; Karako-Argaman, Chen; Kaspi, Victoria; Martinez, Jose; McLaughlin, Maura; Ransom, Scott M.; Roberts, Mallory; Siemens, Xavier; Spiewak, Renee; Stairs, Ingrid; van Leeuwn, Joeri; Green Bank North Celestial Cap Survey Collaboration

2018-01-01

The Green Bank North Celestial Cap pulsar survey is the most successful low frequency pulsar survey ever. GBNCC uses the Green Bank telescope to cover the full visible sky at 350 MHz. With the survey over 70% complete, we have discovered over 150 pulsars, including 20 MSPs and 11 RRATs. I will report on the current status of the survey and plans for its completion in the coming years. I will also report on several discoveries including: timing solutions for dozens of new pulsars; new high precision MSPs and their suitability for inclusion in pulsar timing arrays; a new relativistic double neutron star system; new pulsar mass measurements; proper motion measurements for several MSPs; a new mode changing pulsar; interesting new MSP binaries; nulling fraction analyses; and possible implications of the lack of any fast radio bursts in the survey so far.

THE PULSAR SEARCH COLLABORATORY: DISCOVERY AND TIMING OF FIVE NEW PULSARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, R.; Swiggum, J.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Lorimer, D. R.; Yun, M.; Boyles, J.; Heatherly, S. A.; Scoles, S.; Lynch, R.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Ransom, S. M.; Moniot, M. L.; Thompson, C.; Cottrill, A.; Raycraft, M.; Weaver, M.; Snider, A.; Dudenhoefer, J.; Allphin, L.; Thorley, J.

2013-01-01

We present the discovery and timing solutions of five new pulsars by students involved in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, a NSF-funded joint program between the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and West Virginia University designed to excite and engage high-school students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and related fields. We encourage students to pursue STEM fields by apprenticing them within a professional scientific community doing cutting edge research, specifically by teaching them to search for pulsars. The students are analyzing 300 hr of drift-scan survey data taken with the Green Bank Telescope at 350 MHz. These data cover 2876 deg 2 of the sky. Over the course of five years, more than 700 students have inspected diagnostic plots through a web-based graphical interface designed for this project. The five pulsars discovered in the data have spin periods ranging from 3.1 ms to 4.8 s. Among the new discoveries are PSR J1926–1314, a long period, nulling pulsar; PSR J1821+0155, an isolated, partially recycled 33 ms pulsar; and PSR J1400–1438, a millisecond pulsar in a 9.5 day orbit whose companion is likely a white dwarf star.

EINSTEIN-HOME DISCOVERY OF 24 PULSARS IN THE PARKES MULTI-BEAM PULSAR SURVEY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knispel, B.; Kim, H.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.; Bock, O.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Fehrmann, H.; Machenschalk, B. [Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Eatough, R. P.; Keane, E. F.; Kramer, M. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Anderson, D. [University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Crawford, F.; Rastawicki, D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Franklin and Marshall College, P.O. Box 3003, Lancaster, PA 17604 (United States); Hammer, D.; Papa, M. A.; Siemens, X. [Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211 (United States); Lyne, A. G. [Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Miller, R. B. [Department of Physics, West Virginia University, 111 White Hall, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States); Sarkissian, J., E-mail: benjamin.knispel@aei.mpg.de [CSIRO Parkes Observatory, Parkes, NSW 2870 (Australia); and others

2013-09-10

We have conducted a new search for radio pulsars in compact binary systems in the Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey (PMPS) data, employing novel methods to remove the Doppler modulation from binary motion. This has yielded unparalleled sensitivity to pulsars in compact binaries. The required computation time of Almost-Equal-To 17, 000 CPU core years was provided by the distributed volunteer computing project Einstein-Home, which has a sustained computing power of about 1 PFlop s{sup -1}. We discovered 24 new pulsars in our search, 18 of which were isolated pulsars, and 6 were members of binary systems. Despite the wide filterbank channels and relatively slow sampling time of the PMPS data, we found pulsars with very large ratios of dispersion measure (DM) to spin period. Among those is PSR J1748-3009, the millisecond pulsar with the highest known DM ( Almost-Equal-To 420 pc cm{sup -3}). We also discovered PSR J1840-0643, which is in a binary system with an orbital period of 937 days, the fourth largest known. The new pulsar J1750-2536 likely belongs to the rare class of intermediate-mass binary pulsars. Three of the isolated pulsars show long-term nulling or intermittency in their emission, further increasing this growing family. Our discoveries demonstrate the value of distributed volunteer computing for data-driven astronomy and the importance of applying new analysis methods to extensively searched data.

Increasing Pulsar Timing Array Sensitivity Through Addition of Millisecond Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

DeCesar, Megan E.; Crawford, Fronefield; Ferrara, Elizabeth; Lynch, Ryan; Mingarelli, Chiara; Levin Preston, Lina; Ransom, Scott; Romano, Joseph; Simon, Joseph; Spiewak, Renee; Stovall, Kevin; Swiggum, Joe; Taylor, Stephen; Green Bank North Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey, Fermi LAT Collaboration, Fermi Pulsar Search Consortium

2018-01-01

Siemens et al. (2013) and Taylor et al. (2016) demonstrated the importance of increasing the number of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) in order to increase the sensitivity of the array and decrease the time-to-detection of a gravitational wave background (GWB). In particular, they predict that adding four MSPs per year to the NANOGrav and International PTAs will likely yield a GWB detection in less than a decade. A more even distribution of MSPs across the sky is also important for discriminating a GWB signal from a non-quadrupolar background (Sampson et al., in prep). Pulsar surveys and targeted searches have consistently led to additions of 4 or more MSPs per year to PTAs. I will describe these ongoing efforts, particularly in the context of the Green Bank North Celestial Cap pulsar survey and Fermi-guided searches at Green Bank and Arecibo that seek to find MSPs in low-pulsar-density regions of the sky.

Pulsar timing and its applications

OpenAIRE

Manchester, R N

2018-01-01

Pulsars are remarkably precise "celestial clocks" that can be used to explore many different aspects of physics and astrophysics. In this article I give a brief summary of pulsar properties and describe some of the applications of pulsar timing, including tests of theories of gravitation, efforts to detect low-frequency gravitational waves using pulsar timing arrays and establishment a "pulsar timescale".

Pulsar slow-down epochs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heintzmann, H.; Novello, M.

1981-01-01

The relative importance of magnetospheric currents and low frequency waves for pulsar braking is assessed and a model is developed which tries to account for the available pulsar timing data under the unifying aspect that all pulsars have equal masses and magnetic moments and are born as rapid rotators. Four epochs of slow-down are distinguished which are dominated by different braking mechanisms. According to the model no direct relationship exists between 'slow-down age' and true age of a pulsar and leads to a pulsar birth-rate of one event per hundred years. (Author) [pt

Binary and Millisecond Pulsars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorimer Duncan R.

2005-11-01

Full Text Available We review the main properties, demographics and applications of binary and millisecond radio pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1700. There are now 80 binary and millisecond pulsars associated with the disk of our Galaxy, and a further 103 pulsars in 24 of the Galactic globular clusters. Recent highlights have been the discovery of the first ever double pulsar system and a recent flurry of discoveries in globular clusters, in particular Terzan 5.

Oldest pulsars in the Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaham, J.

1987-01-01

Since the discovery of the Vulpecula pulsar two more superfast pulsars have been reported. In 1983 a 6.13-millisecond pulsar (called 1953 + 29) was announced, and in 1986 a 5.362-millisecond pulsar (called 1855 + 09) was publicized. A candidate for a fourth has been mentioned. As more evidence becomes available, it seems increasingly likely that the superfast pulsars can be explained only as a part of a new class of pulsars. Although many of the details of the class remain obscured, some general facts are emerging. Perhaps most interesting of all is the great age these new celestial objects are thought to have. Ordinary pulsars are relatively young, typically less than a million years old; the Crab pulsar, which is the youngest one known, is a mere infant of 932 years. The superfast pulsars, in comparison, are thought to be ancient. They are probably the result of evolutionary processes that could go back as much as a billion years, or one-twentieth of the age of the universe, and they are likely to live for several billion years more. 8 figures

Pulsars for the Beginner

Science.gov (United States)

DiLavore, Phillip; Wayland, James R.

1971-01-01

Presents the history of the discovery of pulsars, observations that have been made on pulsar radiation, and theories that have been presented for its presence and origin. Illustrations using pulsar's properties are presented in mechanics, electromagnetic radiation and thermodynamics. (DS)

Effect of the internal rib structure of the inclusions on the two-dimensional phononic crystal composed of periodic slotted tubes in air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Kunpeng; Chen Tianning; Wang Xiaopeng; Zhou Anan

2012-01-01

Using a finite element method based on the Bloch theorem, a new phononic crystal composed of periodic slotted tubes with internal rib structure in air is investigated. Two parallel plates with slit are introduced into the inclusion as the internal rib structure and its effect on band gaps is studied. The band structure and acoustic modes of the PC are calculated. Results show that the starting frequency of the first band gap is rather lower than that of slotted tubes without rib structure. The internal rib structure plays an important role in both the lower and upper edges of the first band gap. Some rib structural parameters are also studied for their effects on the first band gap. Results show that the first gap can be modulated widely by these parameters and the Helmholtz resonator theory can be used to explain the relationship between the band gap and the parameters.

Cosmic Ray Positrons from Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, Alice K.

2010-01-01

Pulsars are potential Galactic sources of positrons through pair cascades in their magnetospheres. There are, however, many uncertainties in establishing their contribution to the local primary positron flux. Among these are the local density of pulsars, the cascade pair multiplicities that determine the injection rate of positrons from the pulsar, the acceleration of the injected particles by the pulsar wind termination shock, their rate of escape from the pulsar wind nebula, and their propagation through the interstellar medium. I will discuss these issues in the context of what we are learning from the new Fermi pulsar detections and discoveries.

Giant pulses of pulsar radio emission

OpenAIRE

Kuzmin, A. D.

2007-01-01

Review report of giant pulses of pulsar radio emission, based on our detections of four new pulsars with giant pulses, and the comparative analysis of the previously known pulsars with giant pulses, including the Crab pulsar and millisecond pulsar PSR B1937+21.

Different optical properties in different periodic slot cavity geometrical morphologies

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jing; Shen, Meng; Du, Lan; Deng, Caisong; Ni, Haibin; Wang, Ming

2016-09-01

In this paper, optical properties of two-dimensional periodic annular slot cavity arrays in hexagonal close-packing on a silica substrate are theoretically characterized by finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation method. By simulating reflectance spectra, electric field distribution, and charge distribution, we confirm that multiple cylindrical surface plasmon resonances can be excited in annular inclined slot cavities by linearly polarized light, in which the four reflectance dips are attributed to Fabry-Perot cavity resonances in the coaxial cavity. A coaxial waveguide mode TE11 will exist in these annular cavities, and the wavelengths of these reflectance dips are effectively tailored by changing the geometrical pattern of slot cavity and the dielectric materials filled in the cavities. These resonant wavelengths are localized in annular cavities with large electric field enhancement and dissipate gradually due to metal loss. The formation of an absorption peak can be explained from the aspect of phase matching conditions. We observed that the proposed structure can be tuned over the broad spectral range of 600-4000 nm by changing the outer and inner radii of the annular gaps, gap surface topography. Meanwhile, different lengths of the cavity may cause the shift of resonance dips. Also, we study the field enhancement at different vertical locations of the slit. In addition, dielectric materials filling in the annular gaps will result in a shift of the resonance wavelengths, which make the annular cavities good candidates for refractive index sensors. The refractive index sensitivity of annular cavities can also be tuned by the geometry size and the media around the cavity. Annular cavities with novel applications can be implied as surface enhanced Raman spectra substrates, refractive index sensors, nano-lasers, and optical trappers. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61178044), the Natural Science Foundation

Ultrahigh energy cosmic ray nuclei from extragalactic pulsars and the effect of their Galactic counterparts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang, Ke; Olinto, Angela V.; Kotera, Kumiko

2013-01-01

The acceleration of ultrahigh energy nuclei in fast spinning newborn pulsars can explain the observed spectrum of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and the trend towards heavier nuclei for energies above 10 19 eV as reported by the Auger Observatory. Pulsar acceleration implies a hard injection spectrum ( ∼ E −1 ) due to pulsar spin down and a maximum energy E max ∼ Z 10 19 eV due to the limit on the spin rate of neutron stars. We have previously shown that the escape through the young supernova remnant softens the spectrum, decreases slightly the maximum energy, and generates secondary nuclei. Here we show that the distribution of pulsar birth periods and the effect of propagation in the interstellar and intergalactic media modifies the combined spectrum of all pulsars. By assuming a normal distribution of pulsar birth periods centered at 300 ms, we show that the contribution of extragalactic pulsar births to the ultrahigh energy cosmic ray spectrum naturally gives rise to a contribution to very high energy cosmic rays (VHECRs, between 10 16 and 10 18 eV) by Galactic pulsar births. The required injected composition to fit the observed spectrum depends on the absolute energy scale, which is uncertain, differing between Auger Observatory and Telescope Array. The contribution of Galactic pulsar births can also bridge the gap between predictions for cosmic ray acceleration in supernova remnants and the observed spectrum just below the ankle, depending on the composition of the cosmic rays that escape the supernova remnant and the diffusion behavior of VHECRs in the Galaxy

Observational properties of pulsars.

Science.gov (United States)

Manchester, R N

2004-04-23

Pulsars are remarkable clocklike celestial sources that are believed to be rotating neutron stars formed in supernova explosions. They are valuable tools for investigations into topics such as neutron star interiors, globular cluster dynamics, the structure of the interstellar medium, and gravitational physics. Searches at radio and x-ray wavelengths over the past 5 years have resulted in a large increase in the number of known pulsars and the discovery of new populations of pulsars, posing challenges to theories of binary and stellar evolution. Recent images at radio, optical, and x-ray wavelengths have revealed structures resulting from the interaction of pulsar winds with the surrounding interstellar medium, giving new insights into the physics of pulsars.

Using HAWC to discover invisible pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linden, Tim; Auchettl, Katie; Bramante, Joseph; Cholis, Ilias; Fang, Ke; Hooper, Dan; Karwal, Tanvi; Li, Shirley Weishi

2017-11-01

Observations by HAWC and Milagro have detected bright and spatially extended TeV gamma-ray sources surrounding the Geminga and Monogem pulsars. We argue that these observations, along with a substantial population of other extended TeV sources coincident with pulsar wind nebulae, constitute a new morphological class of spatially extended TeV halos. We show that HAWCs wide field-of-view unlocks an expansive parameter space of TeV halos not observable by atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Under the assumption that Geminga and Monogem are typical middle-aged pulsars, we show that ten-year HAWC observations should eventually observe 37$^{+17}_{-13}$ middle-aged TeV halos that correspond to pulsars whose radio emission is not beamed towards Earth. Depending on the extrapolation of the TeV halo efficiency to young pulsars, HAWC could detect more than 100 TeV halos from mis-aligned pulsars. These pulsars have historically been difficult to detect with existing multiwavelength observations. TeV halos will constitute a significant fraction of all HAWC sources, allowing follow-up observations to efficiently find pulsar wind nebulae and thermal pulsar emission. The observation and subsequent multi-wavelength follow-up of TeV halos will have significant implications for our understanding of pulsar beam geometries, the evolution of PWN, the diffusion of cosmic-rays near energetic pulsars, and the contribution of pulsars to the cosmic-ray positron excess.

The galactic distribution of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyne, A.G.

1982-01-01

The galactic distribution of pulsars follows the general form of many population I objects in galactocentric radius, but has a wide distribution above and below the plane due to high space velocities imparted to the pulsars at birth. Statistical studies of the properties of large numbers of pulsars and proper motion measurements demonstrate that the effective magnetic dipole moments decay on a timescale of about 8 million years. This work provides a better knowledge of pulsar evolution and ages and shows that a birthrate of one pulsar every 20 to 50 years is required to sustain the observed galactic population of 300,000. This rate is comparable with most recent estimates of the galactic supernova rate, but requires nearly all supernovae to produce active pulsars. (orig.)

Pulsar magnetosphere-wind or wave

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennel, C.F.

1979-01-01

The structure of both the interior and exterior pulsar magnetosphere depends upon the strength of its plasma source near the surface of the star. We review wave models of exterior pulsar magnetospheres in the light of a vacuum pair-production source model proposed by Sturrock, and Ruderman and Sutherland. This model predicts the existence of a cutoff, determined by the neutron star's spin rate and magnetic field strenght, beyond which coherent radio emission is no longer possible. Since the observed distribution of pulsar spin periods and period derivatives, and the distribution of pulsars with missing radio pulses, is consistent with the pair production threshold, those neutron stars observed as radio pulsars can have relativistic magnetohydrodynamic wind exterior magnetospheres, and cannot have relativistic plasma wave exterior magnetospheres. On the other hand, most erstwhile pulsars in the galaxy are probably halo objects that emit weak fluxes of energetic photons that can have relativistic wave exterior magnetospheres. Extinct pulsars have not been yet observed

Time evolution of propagating nonpremixed flames in a counterflow, annular slot burner under AC electric fields

KAUST Repository

Tran, Vu Manh; Cha, Min

2016-01-01

alternating current electric fields to a gap between the upper and lower parts of a counterflow, annular slot burner and present the characteristics of the propagating nonpremixed edge-flames produced. Contrary to many other previous studies, flame

Radio-quiet Gamma-ray Pulsars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lupin Chun-Che Lin

2016-09-01

Full Text Available A radio-quiet γ-ray pulsar is a neutron star that has significant γ-ray pulsation but without observed radio emission or only limited emission detected by high sensitivity radio surveys. The launch of the Fermi spacecraft in 2008 opened a new epoch to study the population of these pulsars. In the 2nd Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog of γ-ray pulsars, there are 35 (30 % of the 117 pulsars in the catalog known samples classified as radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars with radio flux density (S1400 of less than 30 μJy. Accompanying the observations obtained in various wavelengths, astronomers not only have the opportunity to study the emitting nature of radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars but also have proposed different models to explain their radiation mechanism. This article will review the history of the discovery, the emission properties, and the previous efforts to study pulsars in this population. Some particular cases known as Geminga-like pulsars (e.g., PSR J0633+1746, PSR J0007+7303, PSR J2021+4026, and so on are also to specified discuss their common and specific features.

Radio pulsar death lines to SGRs/AXPs and white dwarfs pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lobato, Ronaldo V.; Malheiro, M. [Departamento de Física, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, ITA - DCTA, Vila das Acácias, São José dos Campos, 12228-900 SP (Brazil); Coelho, J. G. [INPE - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Divisão de Astrofísica, Av. dos Astronautas 1758, São José dos Campos, 12227-010 SP (Brazil)

2015-12-17

Recently, an alternative model based on white dwarfs pulsars has been proposed to explain a class of pulsars known as Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGR) and Anomalus X-Ray Pulsars (AXP) [1], usually named as magnetars. In this model, the magnetized white dwarfs can have surface magnetic field B ∼ 10{sup 7} − 10{sup 10} G and rotate very fast with angular frequencies Ω ∼ 1 rad/s, allowing them to produce large electromagnetic (EM) potentials and generate electron-positron pairs. These EM potentials are comparable with the ones of neutron star pulsars with strong magnetic fields and even larger. In this study we consider two possible processes associated with the particle acceleration, both of them are common used to explain radio emission in neutron star pulsars: in the first process the pair production happens near to the star polar caps, i.e. inside of the light cylinder where magnetic field lines are closed; in the second one the creation of pair happens in the outer magnetosphere, i.e. far away of the star surface where magnetic field lines are open [2]. The analysis of the possibility of radio emission were done for 23 SGRs/AXPs of the McGill Online Magnetar Catalog [3] that contains the current information available on these sources. The results of this work show that the model where the particles production occur in the outer magnetosphere emission “o2” is the process compatible with the astronomical observations of absence of radio emission for almost all SGRs/AXPs when these sources are understood as white dwarf pulsars. Our work is a first attempted to find an explanation for the puzzle why for almost all the SGRs/AXPs was expected radio emission, but it was observed in only four of them. These four sources, as it was suggested recently [4], seem to belong to an high magnetic field neutron star pulsar category, different from all the others SGRs/AXPs that our work indicate to belong to a new class of white dwarf pulsars, very fast and magnetized.

Millisecond pulsars: Timekeepers of the cosmos

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspi, Victoria M.

1995-01-01

A brief discussion on the characteristics of pulsars is given followed by a review of millisecond pulsar discoveries including the very first, PRS B1937+21, discovered in 1982. Methods of timing millisecond pulsars and the accuracy of millisecond pulsars as clocks are discussed. Possible reasons for the pulse residuals, or differences between the observed and predicted pulse arrival times for millisecond pulsars, are given.

Geriatric Pulsar Still Kicking

Science.gov (United States)

2009-02-01

The oldest isolated pulsar ever detected in X-rays has been found with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This very old and exotic object turns out to be surprisingly active. The pulsar, PSR J0108-1431 (J0108 for short) is about 200 million years old. Among isolated pulsars -- ones that have not been spun-up in a binary system -- it is over 10 times older than the previous record holder with an X-ray detection. At a distance of 770 light years, it is one of the nearest pulsars known. Pulsars are born when stars that are much more massive than the Sun collapse in supernova explosions, leaving behind a small, incredibly weighty core, known as a neutron star. At birth, these neutron stars, which contain the densest material known in the Universe, are spinning rapidly, up to a hundred revolutions per second. As the rotating beams of their radiation are seen as pulses by distant observers, similar to a lighthouse beam, astronomers call them "pulsars". Astronomers observe a gradual slowing of the rotation of the pulsars as they radiate energy away. Radio observations of J0108 show it to be one of the oldest and faintest pulsars known, spinning only slightly faster than one revolution per second. The surprise came when a team of astronomers led by George Pavlov of Penn State University observed J0108 in X-rays with Chandra. They found that it glows much brighter in X-rays than was expected for a pulsar of such advanced years. People Who Read This Also Read... Chandra Data Reveal Rapidly Whirling Black Holes Milky Way’s Giant Black Hole Awoke from Slumber 300 Years Ago Erratic Black Hole Regulates Itself Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy Some of the energy that J0108 is losing as it spins more slowly is converted into X-ray radiation. The efficiency of this process for J0108 is found to be higher than for any other known pulsar. "This pulsar is pumping out high-energy radiation much more efficiently than its younger cousins," said Pavlov. "So, although it

Numerical exploration of non-axisymmetric divertor closure in the small angle slot (SAS) divertor at DIII-D

Science.gov (United States)

Frerichs, H.; Schmitz, O.; Covele, B.; Feng, Y.; Guo, H. Y.; Hill, D.

2018-05-01

Numerical simulations of toroidal asymmetries in a tightly baffled small angle slot (SAS) divertor on the DIII-D tokamak show that toroidal asymmetries in divertor closure result in (non-axisymmetric) local onset of detachment within a density window of 10-15% on top of the nominal threshold separatrix density. The SAS divertor is explored at DIII-D for improving access to cold, dissipative/detached divertor conditions. The narrow width of the slot divertor coupled with a small magnetic field line-to-target angle facilitates the buildup of neutral density, thereby increasing radiative and neutrals-related (atoms and molecules) losses in the divertor. Small changes in the strike point location can be expected to have a large impact on divertor conditions. The combination of misaligned slot structure and non-axisymmetric perturbations to the magnetic field configuration causes the strike point to move along the divertor target plate, possibly leaving the divertor slot at some locations. The latter extreme case essentially introduces an opening in the divertor slot from where recycling neutrals can easily escape, and thereby degrade the performance of the slot divertor. Such a strike point dislocation is approximated by a finite gap in the divertor baffle for which 3D edge plasma and neutral gas simulations are performed with the EMC3-EIRENE code.

Pair plasma in pulsar magnetospheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asseo, Estelle

2003-01-01

The main features of radiation received from pulsars imply that they are neutron stars which contain an extremely intense magnetic field and emit coherently in the radio domain. Most recent studies attribute the origin of the coherence to plasma instabilities arising in pulsar magnetospheres; they mainly concern the linear, or the nonlinear, character of the involved unstable waves. We briefly introduce radio pulsars and specify physical conditions in pulsar emission regions: geometrical properties, magnetic field, pair creation processes and repartition of relativistic charged particles. We point to the main ingredients of the linear theory, extensively explored since the 1970s: (i) a dispersion relation specific to the pulsar case; (ii) the characteristics of the waves able to propagate in relativistic pulsar plasmas; (iii) the different ways in which a two-humped distribution of particles may arise in a pulsar magnetosphere and favour the development of a two-stream instability. We sum up recent improvements of the linear theory: (i) the determination of a 'coupling function' responsible for high values of the wave field components and electromagnetic energy available; (ii) the obtention of new dispersion relations for actually anisotropic pulsar plasmas with relativistic motions and temperatures; (iii) the interaction between a plasma and a beam, both with relativistic motions and temperatures; (iv) the interpretation of observed 'coral' and 'conal' features, associated with the presence of boundaries and curved magnetic field lines in the emission region; (v) the detailed topology of the magnetic field in the different parts of the emission region and its relation to models recently proposed to interpret drifting subpulses observed from PSR 0943+10, showing 20 sub-beams of emission. We relate the nonlinear evolution of the two-stream instability and development of strong turbulence in relativistic pulsar plasmas to the emergence of relativistic solitons, able

WHY ARE PULSAR PLANETS RARE?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin, Rebecca G.; Livio, Mario; Palaniswamy, Divya [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 South Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154 (United States)

2016-12-01

Pulsar timing observations have revealed planets around only a few pulsars. We suggest that the rarity of these planets is due mainly to two effects. First, we show that the most likely formation mechanism requires the destruction of a companion star. Only pulsars with a suitable companion (with an extreme mass ratio) are able to form planets. Second, while a dead zone (a region of low turbulence) in the disk is generally thought to be essential for planet formation, it is most probably rare in disks around pulsars, because of the irradiation from the pulsar. The irradiation strongly heats the inner parts of the disk, thus pushing the inner boundary of the dead zone out. We suggest that the rarity of pulsar planets can be explained by the low probability for these two requirements to be satisfied: a very low-mass companion and a dead zone.

Millisecond radio pulsars in globular clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Verbunt, Frank; Lewin, Walter H. G.; Van Paradijs, Jan

1989-01-01

It is shown that the number of millisecond radio pulsars, in globular clusters, should be larger than 100, applying the standard scenario that all the pulsars descend from low-mass X-ray binaries. Moreover, most of the pulsars are located in a small number of clusters. The prediction that Teran 5 and Liller 1 contain at least about a dozen millisecond radio pulsars each is made. The observations of millisecond radio pulsars in globular clusters to date, in particular the discovery of two millisecond radio pulsars in 47 Tuc, are in agreement with the standard scenario, in which the neutron star is spun up during the mass transfer phase.

40 Years of Pulsars: The Birth and Evolution of Isolated Radio Pulsars

OpenAIRE

Faucher-Giguere, C. -A.; Kaspi, V. M.

2007-01-01

We investigate the birth and evolution of isolated radio pulsars using a population synthesis method, modeling the birth properties of the pulsars, their time evolution, and their detection in the Parkes and Swinburne Multibeam (MB) surveys. Together, the Parkes and Swinburne MB surveys have detected nearly 2/3 of the known pulsars and provide a remarkably homogeneous sample to compare with simulations. New proper motion measurements and an improved model of the distribution of free electrons...

The Parkes multibeam pulsar survey and the discovery of new energetic radio pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Amico, N.; Possenti, A.; Kaspi, V.M.; Manchester, R.N.; Bell, J.F.; Camilo, F.; Lyne, A.G.; Kramer, M.; Hobbs, G.; Stairs, I.H.

2001-01-01

The Parkes multibeam pulsar survey is a deep search of the Galactic plane for pulsars. It uses a 13-beam receiver system operating at 1.4 GHz on the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. It has much higher sensitivity than any previous similar survey and is finding large numbers of previously unknown pulsars, many of which are relatively young and energetic. On the basis of an empirical comparison of their properties with other young radio pulsars, some of the new discoveries are expected to be observable as pulsed γ-ray sources. We describe the survey motivation, the experiment characteristics and the results achieved so far

The LOFAR Known Pulsar Data Pipeline

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alexov, A.; Hessels, J.W.T.; Mol, J.D.; Stappers, B.; van Leeuwen, J.

2010-01-01

Abstract: Transient radio phenomena and pulsars are one of six LOFAR Key Science Projects (KSPs). As part of the Transients KSP, the Pulsar Working Group (PWG) has been developing the LOFAR Pulsar Data Pipelines to both study known pulsars as well as search for new ones. The pipelines are being

Slot-coupled CW standing wave accelerating cavity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Shaoheng; Rimmer, Robert; Wang, Haipeng

2017-05-16

A slot-coupled CW standing wave multi-cell accelerating cavity. To achieve high efficiency graded beta acceleration, each cell in the multi-cell cavity may include different cell lengths. Alternatively, to achieve high efficiency with acceleration for particles with beta equal to 1, each cell in the multi-cell cavity may include the same cell design. Coupling between the cells is achieved with a plurality of axially aligned kidney-shaped slots on the wall between cells. The slot-coupling method makes the design very compact. The shape of the cell, including the slots and the cone, are optimized to maximize the power efficiency and minimize the peak power density on the surface. The slots are non-resonant, thereby enabling shorter slots and less power loss.

Visualization of Pulsar Search Data

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, R. S.; Wolszczan, A.

1993-05-01

The search for periodic signals from rotating neutron stars or pulsars has been a computationally taxing problem to astronomers for more than twenty-five years. Over this time interval, increases in computational capability have allowed ever more sensitive searches, covering a larger parameter space. The volume of input data and the general presence of radio frequency interference typically produce numerous spurious signals. Visualization of the search output and enhanced real-time processing of significant candidate events allow the pulsar searcher to optimally processes and search for new radio pulsars. The pulsar search algorithm and visualization system presented in this paper currently runs on serial RISC based workstations, a traditional vector based super computer, and a massively parallel computer. A description of the serial software algorithm and its modifications for massively parallel computing are describe. The results of four successive searches for millisecond period radio pulsars using the Arecibo telescope at 430 MHz have resulted in the successful detection of new long-period and millisecond period radio pulsars.

Pulsar observations with the MAGIC telescopes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, Jezabel R.; Dazzi, F.; Idec, W.; Moretti, E.; Schweizer, T. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Munich (Germany); Bonnefoy, S.; Carreto-Fidalgo, D.; Lopez, M. [Universitad Compultense, Madrid (Spain); Galindo, D.; Zanin, R. [Universitat de Barcelona, ICC/IEEC-UB, Barcelona (Spain); Ona Wilhelmi, E. de [Institute for Space Sciences (CSIC/IEEC), Barcelona (Spain); Reichardt, I. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Padova (Italy); Saito, T. [Kyoto University, Hakubi Center (Japan); Collaboration: MAGIC-Collaboration

2016-07-01

MAGIC is a stereoscopic system of two IACTs, located at the ORM (Spain). Since 2008, MAGIC has played a big role in Pulsar physics due to the discovery of the first VHE gamma-ray emission from the Crab pulsar. Such a discovery was possible thanks to a revolutionary trigger technique used in the initial MAGIC mono system, the Sum-Trigger, that provided a 25 GeV energy threshold. The study of the Crab keeps providing numerous important results for the understanding of pulsar physics. The most recent ones are the bridge emission at VHE and the detection of the Crab pulsations at TeV energies. MAGIC has been also searching for new pulsars, providing recently interesting results about the Geminga pulsar and nebula. This talk reviews the essential MAGIC results about VHE pulsars and their implications for pulsar physics.Also we discuss the development of a new stereo trigger system, the Sum-Trigger-II, and the importance of the observation windows that this system opens for the study of VHE pulsars.

Coupling slots without shunt impedance drop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balleyguier, P.

1996-01-01

It is well known that coupling slots between adjacent cells in a π-mode structure reduce shunt impedance per unit length with respect to single cell cavities. To design optimized coupling slots, one has to answer the following question: for a given coupling factor, what shape, dimension, position and number of slots lead to the lowest shunt impedance drop? A numerical study using the 3D code MAFIA has been carried out. The aim was to design the 352 MHz cavities for the high intensity proton accelerator of the TRISPAL project. The result is an unexpected set of four 'petal' slots. Such slots should lead to a quasi-negligible drop in shunt impedance: about -1% on average, for particle velocity from 0.4 c to 0.8 c. (author)

Integral luminosities of radio pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Malov, I.; Malov, O.

The integral radio luminosities L for 311 normal pulsars and for 27 ones with the rotation period Pfalls for fast ones. The mean values of K are -3.73 and -4.85 for normal and fast pulsars, respectively. There are no changes of L with the kinematic age T = z/V, where z is the pulsar height over the Galactic plane and V = 300 km/s is its mean velocity. The correlation between L and the rate of the rotation energy losses E is detected for both pulsar groups under consideration. It is shown that L= A E^(1/3) for the whole sample. The total number of pulsars in the Galaxy and their birth rate are in agreement with data on the rate of supernova explosions.

Sensitivity of Pulsar Timing Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Siemens, Xavier

2015-08-01

For the better part of the last decade, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has been using the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes to monitor millisecond pulsars. NANOGrav, along with similar international collaborations, the European Pulsar Timing Array and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array in Australia, form a consortium of consortia: the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). The goal of the IPTA is to directly detect low-frequency gravitational waves which cause small changes to the times of arrival of radio pulses from millisecond pulsars. In this talk I will discuss the work of NANOGrav and the IPTA as well as our sensitivity to gravitational waves from astrophysical sources. I will show that a detection is possible by the end of the decade.

Pulsar timing and general relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Backer, D. C.; Hellings, R. W.

1986-01-01

Techniques are described for accounting for relativistic effects in the analysis of pulsar signals. Design features of instrumentation used to achieve millisecond accuracy in the signal measurements are discussed. The accuracy of the data permits modeling the pulsar physical characteristics from the natural glitches in the emissions. Relativistic corrections are defined for adjusting for differences between the pulsar motion in its spacetime coordinate system relative to the terrestrial coordinate system, the earth's motion, and the gravitational potentials of solar system bodies. Modifications of the model to allow for a binary pulsar system are outlined, including treatment of the system as a point mass. Finally, a quadrupole model is presented for gravitational radiation and techniques are defined for using pulsars in the search for gravitational waves.

Slot-Coupled Barbel Antenna

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Kasper Lüthje; Jakobsen, Kaj Bjarne

2016-01-01

A novel slot-coupled barbel antenna is designed and analyzed. A sensitivity analysis performed in order to improve the bandwidth, while the center frequency is kept constant.......A novel slot-coupled barbel antenna is designed and analyzed. A sensitivity analysis performed in order to improve the bandwidth, while the center frequency is kept constant....

G-Tunnel pressurized slot-testing preparations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, R.M.; Sifre-Soto, C.; Mann, K.L.; Bellman, R.A. Jr.; Luker, S.; Dodds, D.J.

1992-04-01

Designers and analysts of radioactive waste repositories must be able to predict the mechanical behavior of the host rock. Sandia National laboratories elected to conduct a development program on pressurized slot testing and featured (1) development of an improved method to cut slots using a chain saw with diamond-tipped cutters, (2) measurements useful for determining in situ stresses normal to slots, (3) measurements applicable for determining the in situ modulus of deformation parallel to a drift surface, and (4) evaluations of the potentials of pressurized slot strength testing. This report describes the preparations leading to the measurements and evaluations

Optical Slot-Waveguide Based Biochemical Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Angulo Barrios

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Slot-waveguides allow light to be guided and strongly confined inside a nanometer-scale region of low refractive index. Thus stronger light-analyte interaction can be obtained as compared to that achievable by a conventional waveguide, in which the propagating beam is confined to the high-refractive-index core of the waveguide. In addition, slot-waveguides can be fabricated by employing CMOS compatible materials and technology, enabling miniaturization, integration with electronic, photonic and fluidic components in a chip, and mass production. These advantages have made the use of slot-waveguides for highly sensitive biochemical optical integrated sensors an emerging field. In this paper, recent achievements in slot-waveguide based biochemical sensing will be reviewed. These include slot-waveguide ring resonator based refractometric label-free biosensors, label-based optical sensing, and nano-opto-mechanical sensors.

Radio spectra of pulsars. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izekova, V.A.; Kuzmin, A.D.; Malofeev, V.M.; Shitov, Yu.P.

1981-01-01

The results of flux pulsar radioemission measurements at meter wavelength, made at Pushchino Radio Astronomical Observatory of the Lebedev Physical Institute, are presented. Flux densities at 102, 85, 61 and 39 MHz have been measured for 85, 29, 37 and 23 pulsars correspondingly. Some of them were performed at all frequencies simultaneously. On the basis of these data and high frequencies data obtained by other authors, spectra of 52 pulsars were plotted. In practically all investigated pulsars we have detected a turn-over frequency at which the flux density of pulsar radioemission attained its maximum. Its mean value is vsub(m) = 130 +- 80 MHz. Averaged on many pulsars, the spectral index is negative in the 39-61 MHz frequency range (anti ALPHA 39 sub(-) 61 = -1.4 +- 0.4) and passes through zero at frequencies of about 100 MHz, becoming positive in the 100-400 MHz frequency range. It was noticed that the spectral index in the 100-400 MHz interval depends upon such pulsar periods as α 100 sub(-) 400 = 0.7 log p + 0.9. Using the spectra, more precise radio luminosities of pulsars have been computed. (orig.)

Astronomers Discover Fastest-Spinning Pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope have discovered the fastest-spinning neutron star ever found, a 20-mile-diameter superdense pulsar whirling faster than the blades of a kitchen blender. Their work yields important new information about the nature of one of the most exotic forms of matter known in the Universe. Pulsar Graphic Pulsars Are Spinning Neutron Stars CREDIT: Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF (Click on image for larger version) "We believe that the matter in neutron stars is denser than an atomic nucleus, but it is unclear by how much. Our observations of such a rapidly rotating star set a hard upper limit on its size, and hence on how dense the star can be.," said Jason Hessels, a graduate student at McGill University in Montreal. Hessels and his colleagues presented their findings to the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Washington, DC. Pulsars are spinning neutron stars that sling "lighthouse beams" of radio waves or light around as they spin. A neutron star is what is left after a massive star explodes at the end of its "normal" life. With no nuclear fuel left to produce energy to offset the stellar remnant's weight, its material is compressed to extreme densities. The pressure squeezes together most of its protons and electrons to form neutrons; hence, the name "neutron star." "Neutron stars are incredible laboratories for learning about the physics of the fundamental particles of nature, and this pulsar has given us an important new limit," explained Scott Ransom, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and one of Hessels' collaborators on this work. The scientists discovered the pulsar, named PSR J1748-2446ad, in a globular cluster of stars called Terzan 5, located some 28,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. The newly-discovered pulsar is spinning 716 times per second, or at 716 Hertz (Hz), readily beating the previous record of 642 Hz from a pulsar

Two-fluid model of the pulsar magnetosphere represented as an axisymmetric force-free dipole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrova, S.A., E-mail: petrova@rian.kharkov.ua [Institute of Radio Astronomy of the NAS of Ukraine, Mystetstv Str., 4, Kharkiv 61002 (Ukraine)

2017-05-01

Based on the exact dipolar solution of the pulsar equation the self-consistent two-fluid model of the pulsar magnetosphere is developed. We concentrate on the low-mass limit of the model, taking into account the radiation damping. As a result, we obtain the particle distributions sustaining the dipolar force-free configuration of the pulsar magnetosphere in case of a slight velocity shear of the electron and positron components. Over most part of the force-free region, the particles follow the poloidal magnetic field lines, with the azimuthal velocities being small. Close to the Y-point, however, the particle motion is chiefly azimuthal and the Lorentz-factor grows unrestrictedly. This may result in the very-high-energy emission from the vicinity of the Y-point and may also imply the magnetocentrifugal formation of a jet. As for the first-order quantities, the longitudinal accelerating electric field is found to change the sign, hinting at coexistence of the polar and outer gaps. Besides that, the components of the plasma conductivity tensor are derived and the low-mass analogue of the pulsar equation is formulated as well.

Galactic distribution and evolution of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.H.; Manchester, R.N.

1977-01-01

The distribution of pulsars with respect to period, z-distance, luminosity, and galactocentric radius has been investigated using data from three extensive pulsar surveys. It is shown that selection effects only slightly modify the observed period and z-distributions but strongly affect the observed luminosity function and galactic distribution. These latter two distributions are computed from the Jodrell Bank and Arecibo data, using an iterative procedure. The largest uncertainties in our results are the result of uncertainty in the adopted distance scale. Therefore, where relevant, separate calculations have been made for two values of the average interstellar electron density, , 0.02 cm -3 and 0.03 cm -3 .The derived luminosity function is closely represented by a power law with index (for logarithmic luminosity intervals) close to -1. For =0.03 cm -3 , the density of potentially observable pulsars is about 90 kpc -2 in the local region and increases with decreasing galactocentric radius. These distributions imply that the total number of pulsars in the Galaxy is about 10 5 . If only a fraction of all pulsars are observable because of beaming effects, then the total number in the Galaxy is correspondingly greater.Recent observations of pulsar proper motions show that pulsars are generally high-velocity objects. The observed z-distribution of pulsars implies that the mean age of observable pulsars does not exceed 2 x 10 6 years. With this mean age the pulsar birthrate required to maintain the observed galactic distribution is 10 -4 yr -1 kpc -2 in the local region and one pulsar birth every 6 years in the Galaxy as a whole. For =0.02 cm -3 , the corresponding rate is one birth every 40 years. These rates exceed most estimates of supernova occurrence rates and may require that all stars with mass greater than approx.2.5 Msun form pulsars at the end of their evolutionary life

Pulsar-irradiated stars in dense globular clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Tavani, Marco

1992-01-01

We discuss the properties of stars irradiated by millisecond pulsars in 'hard' binaries of dense globular clusters. Irradiation by a relativistic pulsar wind as in the case of the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR 1957+20 alter both the magnitude and color of the companion star. Some of the blue stragglers (BSs) recently discovered in dense globular clusters can be irradiated stars in binaries containing powerful millisecond pulsars. The discovery of pulsar-driven orbital modulations of BS brightness and color with periods of a few hours together with evidence for radio and/or gamma-ray emission from BS binaries would valuably contribute to the understanding of the evolution of collapsed stars in globular clusters. Pulsar-driven optical modulation of cluster stars might be the only observable effect of a new class of binary pulsars, i.e., hidden millisecond pulsars enshrouded in the evaporated material lifted off from the irradiated companion star.

SIGPROC: Pulsar Signal Processing Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Lorimer, D. R.

2011-07-01

SIGPROC is a package designed to standardize the initial analysis of the many types of fast-sampled pulsar data. Currently recognized machines are the Wide Band Arecibo Pulsar Processor (WAPP), the Penn State Pulsar Machine (PSPM), the Arecibo Observatory Fourier Transform Machine (AOFTM), the Berkeley Pulsar Processors (BPP), the Parkes/Jodrell 1-bit filterbanks (SCAMP) and the filterbank at the Ooty radio telescope (OOTY). The SIGPROC tools should help users look at their data quickly, without the need to write (yet) another routine to read data or worry about big/little endian compatibility (byte swapping is handled automatically).

Pulsar Timing with the Fermi LAT

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-01

Pulsar Timing with the Fermi LAT Paul S. Ray∗, Matthew Kerr†, Damien Parent∗∗ and the Fermi PSC‡ ∗Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave., SW...Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA ‡Fermi Pulsar Search Consortium Abstract. We present an overview of precise pulsar timing using data from the Large...unbinned photon data. In addition to determining the spindown behavior of the pulsars and detecting glitches and timing noise, such timing analyses al

Searching for pulsars using image pattern recognition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, W. W.; Berndsen, A.; Madsen, E. C.; Tan, M.; Stairs, I. H. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, 6224 Agricultural Road, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1 (Canada); Brazier, A. [Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Lazarus, P. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Lynch, R.; Scholz, P. [Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada); Stovall, K.; Cohen, S.; Dartez, L. P.; Lunsford, G.; Martinez, J. G.; Mata, A. [Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX 78520 (United States); Ransom, S. M. [NRAO, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Banaszak, S.; Biwer, C. M.; Flanigan, J.; Rohr, M., E-mail: zhuww@phas.ubc.ca, E-mail: berndsen@phas.ubc.ca [Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics. University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211 (United States); and others

2014-02-01

In the modern era of big data, many fields of astronomy are generating huge volumes of data, the analysis of which can sometimes be the limiting factor in research. Fortunately, computer scientists have developed powerful data-mining techniques that can be applied to various fields. In this paper, we present a novel artificial intelligence (AI) program that identifies pulsars from recent surveys by using image pattern recognition with deep neural nets—the PICS (Pulsar Image-based Classification System) AI. The AI mimics human experts and distinguishes pulsars from noise and interference by looking for patterns from candidate plots. Different from other pulsar selection programs that search for expected patterns, the PICS AI is taught the salient features of different pulsars from a set of human-labeled candidates through machine learning. The training candidates are collected from the Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array (PALFA) survey. The information from each pulsar candidate is synthesized in four diagnostic plots, which consist of image data with up to thousands of pixels. The AI takes these data from each candidate as its input and uses thousands of such candidates to train its ∼9000 neurons. The deep neural networks in this AI system grant it superior ability to recognize various types of pulsars as well as their harmonic signals. The trained AI's performance has been validated with a large set of candidates from a different pulsar survey, the Green Bank North Celestial Cap survey. In this completely independent test, the PICS ranked 264 out of 277 pulsar-related candidates, including all 56 previously known pulsars and 208 of their harmonics, in the top 961 (1%) of 90,008 test candidates, missing only 13 harmonics. The first non-pulsar candidate appears at rank 187, following 45 pulsars and 141 harmonics. In other words, 100% of the pulsars were ranked in the top 1% of all candidates, while 80% were ranked higher than any noise or interference. The

Searching for pulsars using image pattern recognition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, W. W.; Berndsen, A.; Madsen, E. C.; Tan, M.; Stairs, I. H.; Brazier, A.; Lazarus, P.; Lynch, R.; Scholz, P.; Stovall, K.; Cohen, S.; Dartez, L. P.; Lunsford, G.; Martinez, J. G.; Mata, A.; Ransom, S. M.; Banaszak, S.; Biwer, C. M.; Flanigan, J.; Rohr, M.

2014-01-01

In the modern era of big data, many fields of astronomy are generating huge volumes of data, the analysis of which can sometimes be the limiting factor in research. Fortunately, computer scientists have developed powerful data-mining techniques that can be applied to various fields. In this paper, we present a novel artificial intelligence (AI) program that identifies pulsars from recent surveys by using image pattern recognition with deep neural nets—the PICS (Pulsar Image-based Classification System) AI. The AI mimics human experts and distinguishes pulsars from noise and interference by looking for patterns from candidate plots. Different from other pulsar selection programs that search for expected patterns, the PICS AI is taught the salient features of different pulsars from a set of human-labeled candidates through machine learning. The training candidates are collected from the Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array (PALFA) survey. The information from each pulsar candidate is synthesized in four diagnostic plots, which consist of image data with up to thousands of pixels. The AI takes these data from each candidate as its input and uses thousands of such candidates to train its ∼9000 neurons. The deep neural networks in this AI system grant it superior ability to recognize various types of pulsars as well as their harmonic signals. The trained AI's performance has been validated with a large set of candidates from a different pulsar survey, the Green Bank North Celestial Cap survey. In this completely independent test, the PICS ranked 264 out of 277 pulsar-related candidates, including all 56 previously known pulsars and 208 of their harmonics, in the top 961 (1%) of 90,008 test candidates, missing only 13 harmonics. The first non-pulsar candidate appears at rank 187, following 45 pulsars and 141 harmonics. In other words, 100% of the pulsars were ranked in the top 1% of all candidates, while 80% were ranked higher than any noise or interference. The

Searching for Pulsars Using Image Pattern Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, W. W.; Berndsen, A.; Madsen, E. C.; Tan, M.; Stairs, I. H.; Brazier, A.; Lazarus, P.; Lynch, R.; Scholz, P.; Stovall, K.; Ransom, S. M.; Banaszak, S.; Biwer, C. M.; Cohen, S.; Dartez, L. P.; Flanigan, J.; Lunsford, G.; Martinez, J. G.; Mata, A.; Rohr, M.; Walker, A.; Allen, B.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Bogdanov, S.; Camilo, F.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J. S.; Desvignes, G.; Ferdman, R. D.; Freire, P. C. C.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Jenet, F. A.; Kaplan, D. L.; Kaspi, V. M.; Knispel, B.; Lee, K. J.; van Leeuwen, J.; Lyne, A. G.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Siemens, X.; Spitler, L. G.; Venkataraman, A.

2014-02-01

In the modern era of big data, many fields of astronomy are generating huge volumes of data, the analysis of which can sometimes be the limiting factor in research. Fortunately, computer scientists have developed powerful data-mining techniques that can be applied to various fields. In this paper, we present a novel artificial intelligence (AI) program that identifies pulsars from recent surveys by using image pattern recognition with deep neural nets—the PICS (Pulsar Image-based Classification System) AI. The AI mimics human experts and distinguishes pulsars from noise and interference by looking for patterns from candidate plots. Different from other pulsar selection programs that search for expected patterns, the PICS AI is taught the salient features of different pulsars from a set of human-labeled candidates through machine learning. The training candidates are collected from the Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array (PALFA) survey. The information from each pulsar candidate is synthesized in four diagnostic plots, which consist of image data with up to thousands of pixels. The AI takes these data from each candidate as its input and uses thousands of such candidates to train its ~9000 neurons. The deep neural networks in this AI system grant it superior ability to recognize various types of pulsars as well as their harmonic signals. The trained AI's performance has been validated with a large set of candidates from a different pulsar survey, the Green Bank North Celestial Cap survey. In this completely independent test, the PICS ranked 264 out of 277 pulsar-related candidates, including all 56 previously known pulsars and 208 of their harmonics, in the top 961 (1%) of 90,008 test candidates, missing only 13 harmonics. The first non-pulsar candidate appears at rank 187, following 45 pulsars and 141 harmonics. In other words, 100% of the pulsars were ranked in the top 1% of all candidates, while 80% were ranked higher than any noise or interference. The

Theory of quasi-spherical accretion in X-ray pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Shakura, N.; Postnov, K.; Kochetkova, A.; Hjalmarsdotter, L.

2012-02-01

A theoretical model for quasi-spherical subsonic accretion on to slowly rotating magnetized neutron stars is constructed. In this model, the accreting matter subsonically settles down on to the rotating magnetosphere forming an extended quasi-static shell. This shell mediates the angular momentum removal from the rotating neutron star magnetosphere during spin-down episodes by large-scale convective motions. The accretion rate through the shell is determined by the ability of the plasma to enter the magnetosphere. The settling regime of accretion can be realized for moderate accretion rates ? g s-1. At higher accretion rates, a free-fall gap above the neutron star magnetosphere appears due to rapid Compton cooling, and accretion becomes highly non-stationary. From observations of the spin-up/spin-down rates (the angular rotation frequency derivative ?, and ? near the torque reversal) of X-ray pulsars with known orbital periods, it is possible to determine the main dimensionless parameters of the model, as well as to estimate the magnetic field of the neutron star. We illustrate the model by determining these parameters for three wind-fed X-ray pulsars GX 301-2, Vela X-1 and GX 1+4. The model explains both the spin-up/spin-down of the pulsar frequency on large time-scales and the irregular short-term frequency fluctuations, which can correlate or anticorrelate with the X-ray flux fluctuations in different systems. It is shown that in real pulsars an almost iso-angular-momentum rotation law with ω˜ 1/R2, due to strongly anisotropic radial turbulent motions sustained by large-scale convection, is preferred.

PEACE: pulsar evaluation algorithm for candidate extraction - a software package for post-analysis processing of pulsar survey candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, K. J.; Stovall, K.; Jenet, F. A.; Martinez, J.; Dartez, L. P.; Mata, A.; Lunsford, G.; Cohen, S.; Biwer, C. M.; Rohr, M.; Flanigan, J.; Walker, A.; Banaszak, S.; Allen, B.; Barr, E. D.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Bogdanov, S.; Brazier, A.; Camilo, F.; Champion, D. J.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J.; Desvignes, G.; Ferdman, R. D.; Freire, P.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kaspi, V. M.; Knispel, B.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Lynch, R.; Lyne, A.; McLaughlin, M.; Ransom, S.; Scholz, P.; Siemens, X.; Spitler, L.; Stairs, I.; Tan, M.; van Leeuwen, J.; Zhu, W. W.

2013-07-01

Modern radio pulsar surveys produce a large volume of prospective candidates, the majority of which are polluted by human-created radio frequency interference or other forms of noise. Typically, large numbers of candidates need to be visually inspected in order to determine if they are real pulsars. This process can be labour intensive. In this paper, we introduce an algorithm called Pulsar Evaluation Algorithm for Candidate Extraction (PEACE) which improves the efficiency of identifying pulsar signals. The algorithm ranks the candidates based on a score function. Unlike popular machine-learning-based algorithms, no prior training data sets are required. This algorithm has been applied to data from several large-scale radio pulsar surveys. Using the human-based ranking results generated by students in the Arecibo Remote Command Center programme, the statistical performance of PEACE was evaluated. It was found that PEACE ranked 68 per cent of the student-identified pulsars within the top 0.17 per cent of sorted candidates, 95 per cent within the top 0.34 per cent and 100 per cent within the top 3.7 per cent. This clearly demonstrates that PEACE significantly increases the pulsar identification rate by a factor of about 50 to 1000. To date, PEACE has been directly responsible for the discovery of 47 new pulsars, 5 of which are millisecond pulsars that may be useful for pulsar timing based gravitational-wave detection projects.

The Pulsar Luminosity Function

OpenAIRE

O. H. Guseinov; E. Yazgan; S. O. Tagieva

2003-01-01

Hemos construido y examinado la función de luminosidad para pulsares, usando una nueva lista la cual incluye datos de 1328 radio pulsares. En este trabajo, se construye por primera vez la función de luminosidad en 1400 MHz. También presentamos una función de luminosidad mejorada en 400 MHz. Se comparan las funciones de luminosidad en 400 y 1400 MHz. De igual manera se construyen las funciones de luminosidad excluyendo los pulsares binarios y los de campos magnéticos pequeños. S...

Automated processing of pulsar observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byzhlov, B.V.; Ivanova, V.V.; Izvekova, V.A.; Kuz' min, A.D.; Kuz' min, Yu.P.; Malofeev, V.M.; Popov, Yu.M.; Solomin, N.S.; Shabanova, T.V.; Shitov, Yu.P.

1977-01-01

Digital computer technology which processes observation results in a real time scale is used on meter-range radiotelescopes DKR-100 of the USSR Academy of Sciences Physics Institute and the BSA of the Physics Institute to study pulsars. A method which calls for the accumulation of impulses with preliminary compensation of pulsar dispersion in a broad band is used to increase sensitivity and resolution capability. Known pulsars are studied with the aid of a ''neuron'' type analyzer. A system for processing observations in an on-line set-up was created on the M-6000 computer for seeking unknown pulsars. 8 figures, 1 table, references.

The Discovery of the Most Accelerated Binary Pulsar

OpenAIRE

Cameron, A. D.; Champion, D. J.; Kramer, M.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Bassa, C. G.; Bhandari, S.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burgay, M.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Eatough, R. P.; Flynn, C. M. L.; Freire, P. C. C.; Jameson, A.; Johnston, S.

2018-01-01

Pulsars in relativistic binary systems have emerged as fantastic natural laboratories for testing theories of gravity, the most prominent example being the double pulsar, PSR J0737$-$3039. The HTRU-South Low Latitude pulsar survey represents one of the most sensitive blind pulsar surveys taken of the southern Galactic plane to date, and its primary aim has been the discovery of new relativistic binary pulsars. Here we present our binary pulsar searching strategy and report on the survey's fla...

MHD-flow in slotted channels with conducting walls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evtushenko, I.A.; Kirillov, I.R.; Reed, C.B.

1994-07-01

A review of experimental results is presented for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow in rectangular channels with conducting walls and high aspect ratios (longer side parallel to the applied magnetic field), which are called slotted channels. The slotted channel concept was conceived at Efremov Institute as a method for reducing MHD pressure drop in liquid metal cooled blanket design. The experiments conducted by the authors were aimed at studying both fully developed MHD-flow, and the effect of a magnetic field on the hydrodynamics of 3-D flows in slotted channels. Tests were carried out on five models of the slotted geometry. A good agreement between test and theoretical results for the pressure drop in slotted channels was demonstrated. Application of a open-quotes one-electrode movable probeclose quotes for velocity measurement permitted measurement of the M-shape velocity profiles in the slotted channels. Suppression of 3-D inertial effects in slotted channels of complex geometry was demonstrated based on potential distribution data

Gamma-Ray Pulsar Studies With GLAST

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thompson, D.J.; /NASA, Goddard

2011-11-23

Some pulsars have their maximum observable energy output in the gamma-ray band, offering the possibility of using these high-energy photons as probes of the particle acceleration and interaction processes in pulsar magnetospheres. After an extended hiatus between satellite missions, the recently-launched AGILE mission and the upcoming Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) Large Area Telescope (LAT) will allow gamma-ray tests of the theoretical models developed based on past discoveries. With its greatly improved sensitivity, better angular resolution, and larger energy reach than older instruments, GLAST LAT should detect dozens to hundreds of new gamma-ray pulsars and measure luminosities, light curves, and phase-resolved spectra with unprecedented resolution. It will also have the potential to find radio-quiet pulsars like Geminga, using blind search techniques. Cooperation with radio and X-ray pulsar astronomers is an important aspect of the LAT team's planning for pulsar studies.

Pumping slots: impedances and power losses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurennoy, S [Maryland Univ., College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Physics

1996-08-01

Contributions of pumping slots to the beam coupling impedances and power losses in a B-factory ring are considered. While their leading contribution is to the inductive impedance, for high-intensity machines with short bunches like e{sup +}e{sup -} B-factories the real part of the impedance and related loss factors are also important. Using an analytical approach we calculate the coupling impedances and loss factors due to slots in a ring with an arbitrary cross section of the vacuum chamber. Effects of the slot tilt on the beam impedance are also considered, and restrictions on the tilt angle are derived from limitations on the impedance increase. The power leakage through the slots is discussed briefly. The results are applied to the KEK B-factory. (author)

Particle acceleration by pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arons, Jonathan.

1980-06-01

The evidence that pulsars accelerate relativistic particles is reviewed, with emphasis on the γ-ray observations. The current state of knowledge of acceleration in strong waves is summarized, with emphasis on the inability of consistent theories to accelerate very high energy particles without converting too much energy into high energy photons. The state of viable models for pair creation by pulsars is summarized, with the conclusion that pulsars very likely lose rotational energy in winds instead of in superluminous strong waves. The relation of the pair creation models to γ-ray observations and to soft X-ray observations of pulsars is outlined, with the conclusion that energetically viable models may exist, but none have yet yielded useful agreement with the extant data. Some paths for overcoming present problems are discussed. The relation of the favored models to cosmic rays is discussed. It is pointed out that the pairs made by the models may have observable consequences for observation of positrons in the local cosmic ray flux and for observations of the 511 keV line from the interstellar medium. Another new point is that asymmetry of plasma supply from at least one of the models may qualitatively explain the gross asymmetry of the X-ray emission from the Crab nebula. It is also argued that acceleration of cosmic ray nuclei by pulsars, while energetically possible, can occur only at the boundary of the bubbles blown by the pulsars, if the cosmic ray composition is to be anything like that of the known source spectrum

Pulsar populations and their evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narayan, R.; Ostriker, J.P.

1990-01-01

Luminosity models are developed, and an attempt is made to answer fundamental questions regarding the statistical properties of pulsars, on the basis of a large data base encompassing the periods, period derivatives, radio luminosities, vertical Galactic heights, and transverse velocities, for a homogeneous sample of 301 pulsars. A probability is established for two pulsar subpopulations, designated F and S, which are distinguished primarily on the basis of kinematic properties. The two populations are of comparable size, with the F population having an overall birth-rate close to 1 in 200 years in the Galaxy, with the less certain S pulsar birth-rate not higher than that of the F population. 51 refs

The Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey. II. The Discovery and Timing of 10 Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Kawash, A. M.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Kaplan, D. L.; DeCesar, M. E.; Levin, L.; Lorimer, D. R.; Lynch, R. S.; Stovall, K.; Swiggum, J. K.; Fonseca, E.; Archibald, A. M.; Banaszak, S.; Biwer, C. M.; Boyles, J.; Cui, B.; Dartez, L. P.; Day, D.; Ernst, S.; Ford, A. J.; Flanigan, J.; Heatherly, S. A.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Hinojosa, J.; Jenet, F. A.; Karako-Argaman, C.; Kaspi, V. M.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Leake, S.; Lunsford, G.; Martinez, J. G.; Mata, A.; Matheny, T. D.; Mcewen, A. E.; Mingyar, M. G.; Orsini, A. L.; Ransom, S. M.; Roberts, M. S. E.; Rohr, M. D.; Siemens, X.; Spiewak, R.; Stairs, I. H.; van Leeuwen, J.; Walker, A. N.; Wells, B. L.

2018-04-01

We present timing solutions for 10 pulsars discovered in 350 MHz searches with the Green Bank Telescope. Nine of these were discovered in the Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap survey and one was discovered by students in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory program during an analysis of drift-scan data. Following the discovery and confirmation with the Green Bank Telescope, timing has yielded phase-connected solutions with high-precision measurements of rotational and astrometric parameters. Eight of the pulsars are slow and isolated, including PSR J0930‑2301, a pulsar with a nulling fraction lower limit of ∼30% and a nulling timescale of seconds to minutes. This pulsar also shows evidence of mode changing. The remaining two pulsars have undergone recycling, accreting material from binary companions, resulting in higher spin frequencies. PSR J0557‑2948 is an isolated, 44 ms pulsar that has been partially recycled and is likely a former member of a binary system that was disrupted by a second supernova. The paucity of such so-called “disrupted binary pulsars” (DRPs) compared to double neutron star (DNS) binaries can be used to test current evolutionary scenarios, especially the kicks imparted on the neutron stars in the second supernova. There is some evidence that DRPs have larger space velocities, which could explain their small numbers. PSR J1806+2819 is a 15 ms pulsar in a 44-day orbit with a low-mass white dwarf companion. We did not detect the companion in archival optical data, indicating that it must be older than 1200 Myr.

Spectral properties of 441 radio pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Jankowski, F.; van Straten, W.; Keane, E. F.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Johnston, S.; Kerr, M.

2018-02-01

We present a study of the spectral properties of 441 pulsars observed with the Parkes radio telescope near the centre frequencies of 728, 1382 and 3100 MHz. The observations at 728 and 3100 MHz were conducted simultaneously using the dual-band 10-50 cm receiver. These high-sensitivity, multifrequency observations provide a systematic and uniform sample of pulsar flux densities. We combine our measurements with spectral data from the literature in order to derive the spectral properties of these pulsars. Using techniques from robust regression and information theory, we classify the observed spectra in an objective, robust and unbiased way into five morphological classes: simple or broken power law, power law with either low- or high-frequency cut-off and log-parabolic spectrum. While about 79 per cent of the pulsars that could be classified have simple power-law spectra, we find significant deviations in 73 pulsars, 35 of which have curved spectra, 25 with a spectral break and 10 with a low-frequency turn-over. We identify 11 gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) pulsars, with 3 newly identified in this work and 8 confirmations of known GPS pulsars; 3 others show tentative evidence of GPS, but require further low-frequency measurements to support this classification. The weighted mean spectral index of all pulsars with simple power-law spectra is -1.60 ± 0.03. The observed spectral indices are well described by a shifted log-normal distribution. The strongest correlations of spectral index are with spin-down luminosity, magnetic field at the light-cylinder and spin-down rate. We also investigate the physical origin of the observed spectral features and determine emission altitudes for three pulsars.

Aspects of pulsar evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimura, F.S.; Kennel, C.F.

1980-01-01

We consider pulsar statistics from the point of view of generalized evolutionary equations that assume that pulsar torques diminish exponentially with a decay-time constant T, to be determined empirically. Decay or alignment of the neutron-star magnetic moment, or a combination, may cause the torque to diminish with time. The Sturrock-Ruderman-Sutherland pair-production model provides a quantitative way to calculate pulsar lifetimes. Different test, which use th data in partially independent ways and involve differnt assumptions, consistently suggest that T is less than a million years and may be as short as several hundred thousand years

A New Standard Pulsar Magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Contopoulos, Ioannis; Kalapotharakos, Constantinos; Kazanas, Demosthenes

2014-01-01

In view of recent efforts to probe the physical conditions in the pulsar current sheet, we revisit the standard solution that describes the main elements of the ideal force-free pulsar magnetosphere. The simple physical requirement that the electric current contained in the current layer consists of the local electric charge moving outward at close to the speed of light yields a new solution for the pulsar magnetosphere everywhere that is ideal force-free except in the current layer. The main elements of the new solution are as follows: (1) the pulsar spindown rate of the aligned rotator is 23% larger than that of the orthogonal vacuum rotator; (2) only 60% of the magnetic flux that crosses the light cylinder opens up to infinity; (3) the electric current closes along the other 40%, which gradually converges to the equator; (4) this transfers 40% of the total pulsar spindown energy flux in the equatorial current sheet, which is then dissipated in the acceleration of particles and in high-energy electromagnetic radiation; and (5) there is no separatrix current layer. Our solution is a minimum free-parameter solution in that the equatorial current layer is electrostatically supported against collapse and thus does not require a thermal particle population. In this respect, it is one more step toward the development of a new standard solution. We discuss the implications for intermittent pulsars and long-duration gamma-ray bursts. We conclude that the physical conditions in the equatorial current layer determine the global structure of the pulsar magnetosphere.

Pulsars: gigantic nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Renxin

2011-01-01

What is the real nature of pulsars? This is essentially a question of the fundamental strong interaction between quarks at low-energy scale and hence of the non-perturbative quantum chromo-dynamics, the solution of which would certainly be meaningful for us to understand one of the seven millennium prize problems (i.e., "Yang-Mills Theory") named by the Clay Mathematical Institute. After a historical note, it is argued here that a pulsar is very similar to an extremely big nucleus, but is a little bit different from the gigantic nucleus speculated 80 years ago by L. Landau. The paper demonstrates the similarity between pulsars and gigantic nuclei from both points of view: the different manifestations of compact stars and the general behavior of the strong interaction. (author)

The International Pulsar Timing Array project: using pulsars as a gravitational wave detector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hobbs, G.; Archibald, A.; Arzoumanian, Z.; Backer, D.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N.D.R.; Burgay, M.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Champion, D.; Cognard, I.; Coles, W.; Cordes, J.; Demorest, P.; Desvignes, G.; Ferdman, R.D.; Finn, L.; Freire, P.; Gonzalez, M.; Hessels, J.; Hotan, A.; Janssen, G.; Jenet, F.; Jessner, A.; Jordan, C.; Kaspi, V.; Kramer, M.; Kondratiev, V.; Lazio, J.; Lazaridis, K.; Lee, K.J.; Levin, Y.; Lommen, A.; Lorimer, D.; Lynch, R.; Lyne, A.; Manchester, R.; McLaughlin, M.; Nice, D.; Oslowski, S.; Pilia, M.; Possenti, A.; Purver, M.; Ransom, S.; Reynolds, J.; Sanidas, S.; Sarkissian, J.; Sesana, A.; Shannon, R.; Siemens, X.; Stairs, I.; Stappers, B.; Stinebring, D.; Theureau, G.; van Haasteren, R.; van Straten, W.; Verbiest, J.P.W.; Yardley, D.R.B.; You, X.P.

2010-01-01

The International Pulsar Timing Array project combines observations of pulsars from both northern and southern hemisphere observatories with the main aim of detecting ultra-low frequency (similar to 10(-9)-10(-8) Hz) gravitational waves. Here we introduce the project, review the methods used to

Pulsars and Acceleration Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, Alice

2008-01-01

Rotation-powered pulsars are excellent laboratories for the studying particle acceleration as well as fundamental physics of strong gravity, strong magnetic fields and relativity. But even forty years after their discovery, we still do not understand their pulsed emission at any wavelength. I will review both the basic physics of pulsars as well as the latest developments in understanding their high-energy emission. Special and general relativistic effects play important roles in pulsar emission, from inertial frame-dragging near the stellar surface to aberration, time-of-flight and retardation of the magnetic field near the light cylinder. Understanding how these effects determine what we observe at different wavelengths is critical to unraveling the emission physics. Fortunately the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), with launch in May 2008 will detect many new gamma-ray pulsars and test the predictions of these models with unprecedented sensitivity and energy resolution for gamma-rays in the range of 30 MeV to 300 GeV.

Student-Led Objective Tutorial (SLOT) in Medical Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Sivagnanam, Gurusamy; Saraswathi, Simansalam; Rajasekaran, Aiyalu

2006-12-01

Purpose - To assess an innovative tutoring program named 'Student-Led Objective Tutorial' (SLOT) among undergraduate medical students. Method - The program was conceptualized by the Pharmacology Unit of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Asian Institute of Medicine Science & Technology (AIMST), Malaysia and implemented in the middle of 2005. A cohort of 246 medical undergraduate students (spread across 5 consecutive batches) participated. Following a brief explanation on the purpose and nature of SLOT, each batch was divided into small groups and was given a reading assignment on 4 previously delivered lecture topics. Each group was asked to prepare 3-5 multiple choice questions (MCQs) of their own in PowerPoint format to be presented, in turns, to the whole class on the day of SLOT. The proceedings were facilitated by 2 lecturers. Student feedback on the efficacy and benefits were assessed through an anonymous self administered questionnaire. Results - About 76% (188) of the students favored SLOT. The acceptance rate of SLOT was higher among males. There was no significant difference between batches in their opinions on whether to pursue SLOT in future. The most prevalent positive comment was that SLOT enhanced learning skills, and the negative comment being, it consumed more time. Conclusions - SLOT is a novel tutorial method which can offset faculty shortage with advantages like enhanced interest among teachers and learners, uniform reach of content, opportunities for group learning, and involvement of visual aids as teaching-learning (T-L) method. SLOT unraveled the students' potential of peer tutoring both inside as well as outside the classroom. Consumer tutors (students) can be tapped as a resource for SLOT for all subjects and courses in healthcare teaching.

Two-stream instability in pulsar magnetospheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usov, V.V.

1987-01-01

If the electron-positron plasma flow from the pulsar environment is stationary, the two-stream instability does not have enough time to develop in the pulsar magnetosphere. In that case the outflowing electron-positron plasma gathers into separate clouds. The clouds move along magnetic field lines and disperse as they go farther from the pulsar. At a distance of about 10 to the 8th cm from the pulsar surface, the high-energy particles of a given cloud catch up with the low-energy particles that belong to the cloud going ahead of it. In this region of a pulsar magnetosphere, the energy distribution of plasma particles is two-humped, and a two-stream instability may develop. The growth rate of the instability is quite sufficient for its development. 17 references

Relativistic spin precession in the double pulsar.

Science.gov (United States)

Breton, Rene P; Kaspi, Victoria M; Kramer, Michael; McLaughlin, Maura A; Lyutikov, Maxim; Ransom, Scott M; Stairs, Ingrid H; Ferdman, Robert D; Camilo, Fernando; Possenti, Andrea

2008-07-04

The double pulsar PSR J0737-3039A/B consists of two neutron stars in a highly relativistic orbit that displays a roughly 30-second eclipse when pulsar A passes behind pulsar B. Describing this eclipse of pulsar A as due to absorption occurring in the magnetosphere of pulsar B, we successfully used a simple geometric model to characterize the observed changing eclipse morphology and to measure the relativistic precession of pulsar B's spin axis around the total orbital angular momentum. This provides a test of general relativity and alternative theories of gravity in the strong-field regime. Our measured relativistic spin precession rate of 4.77 degrees (-0 degrees .65)(+0 degrees .66) per year (68% confidence level) is consistent with that predicted by general relativity within an uncertainty of 13%.

Hidden slow pulsars in binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Tavani, Marco; Brookshaw, Leigh

1993-01-01

The recent discovery of the binary containing the slow pulsar PSR 1718-19 orbiting around a low-mass companion star adds new light on the characteristics of binary pulsars. The properties of the radio eclipses of PSR 1718-19 are the most striking observational characteristics of this system. The surface of the companion star produces a mass outflow which leaves only a small 'window' in orbital phase for the detection of PSR 1718-19 around 400 MHz. At this observing frequency, PSR 1718-19 is clearly observable only for about 1 hr out of the total 6.2 hr orbital period. The aim of this Letter is twofold: (1) to model the hydrodynamical behavior of the eclipsing material from the companion star of PSR 1718-19 and (2) to argue that a population of binary slow pulsars might have escaped detection in pulsar surveys carried out at 400 MHz. The possible existence of a population of partially or totally hidden slow pulsars in binaries will have a strong impact on current theories of binary evolution of neutron stars.

Selection of radio pulsar candidates using artificial neural networks

OpenAIRE

Eatough, R. P.; Molkenthin, N.; Kramer, M.; Noutsos, A.; Keith, M. J.; Stappers, B. W.; Lyne, A. G.

2010-01-01

Radio pulsar surveys are producing many more pulsar candidates than can be inspected by human experts in a practical length of time. Here we present a technique to automatically identify credible pulsar candidates from pulsar surveys using an artificial neural network. The technique has been applied to candidates from a recent re-analysis of the Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey resulting in the discovery of a previously unidentified pulsar.

Slotting allowances to coordinate manufacturers’ retail sales effort

OpenAIRE

Foros, Øystein; Kind, Hans Jarle; Sand, Jan Yngve

2007-01-01

Slotting allowances are fees paid by manufacturers to get access to retailers’ shelf space. Although the main attention towards slotting allowances has been within the grocery industry, slotting allowances have also been applied within e.g. e-commerce and mobile telephony. In these industries we observe that distributors have large market power due to their control of access to customers. We analyse how shifting bargaining power from manufacturers to retailers and the use of slotting allowanc...

Pulsar discovery by global volunteer computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Knispel, B; Allen, B; Cordes, J M; Deneva, J S; Anderson, D; Aulbert, C; Bhat, N D R; Bock, O; Bogdanov, S; Brazier, A; Camilo, F; Champion, D J; Chatterjee, S; Crawford, F; Demorest, P B; Fehrmann, H; Freire, P C C; Gonzalez, M E; Hammer, D; Hessels, J W T; Jenet, F A; Kasian, L; Kaspi, V M; Kramer, M; Lazarus, P; van Leeuwen, J; Lorimer, D R; Lyne, A G; Machenschalk, B; McLaughlin, M A; Messenger, C; Nice, D J; Papa, M A; Pletsch, H J; Prix, R; Ransom, S M; Siemens, X; Stairs, I H; Stappers, B W; Stovall, K; Venkataraman, A

2010-09-10

Einstein@Home aggregates the computer power of hundreds of thousands of volunteers from 192 countries to mine large data sets. It has now found a 40.8-hertz isolated pulsar in radio survey data from the Arecibo Observatory taken in February 2007. Additional timing observations indicate that this pulsar is likely a disrupted recycled pulsar. PSR J2007+2722's pulse profile is remarkably wide with emission over almost the entire spin period; the pulsar likely has closely aligned magnetic and spin axes. The massive computing power provided by volunteers should enable many more such discoveries.

THE DISTURBANCE OF A MILLISECOND PULSAR MAGNETOSPHERE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shannon, R. M.; Kerr, M.; Dai, S.; Hobbs, G.; Manchester, R. N.; Reardon, D. J.; Toomey, L. [CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia); Lentati, L. T. [Astrophysics Group, Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Bailes, M.; Osłowski, S.; Rosado, P. A.; Van Straten, W. [Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122 (Australia); Bhat, N. D. R. [International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102 (Australia); Coles, W. A. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States); Dempsey, J. [CSIRO Information Management and Technology, Box 225, Dickson, ACT 2602 (Australia); Keith, M. J. [Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Lasky, P. D.; Levin, Y. [Monash Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, VIC 3800 (Australia); Ravi, V. [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Spiewak, R., E-mail: ryan.shannon@csiro.au [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201 (United States); and others

2016-09-01

Pulsar timing has enabled some of the strongest tests of fundamental physics. Central to the technique is the assumption that the detected radio pulses can be used to accurately measure the rotation of the pulsar. Here, we report on a broadband variation in the pulse profile of the millisecond pulsar J1643−1224. A new component of emission suddenly appears in the pulse profile, decays over four months, and results in a permanently modified pulse shape. Profile variations such as these may be the origin of timing noise observed in other millisecond pulsars. The sensitivity of pulsar-timing observations to gravitational radiation can be increased by accounting for this variability.

THE DISTURBANCE OF A MILLISECOND PULSAR MAGNETOSPHERE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shannon, R. M.; Kerr, M.; Dai, S.; Hobbs, G.; Manchester, R. N.; Reardon, D. J.; Toomey, L.; Lentati, L. T.; Bailes, M.; Osłowski, S.; Rosado, P. A.; Van Straten, W.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Coles, W. A.; Dempsey, J.; Keith, M. J.; Lasky, P. D.; Levin, Y.; Ravi, V.; Spiewak, R.

2016-01-01

Pulsar timing has enabled some of the strongest tests of fundamental physics. Central to the technique is the assumption that the detected radio pulses can be used to accurately measure the rotation of the pulsar. Here, we report on a broadband variation in the pulse profile of the millisecond pulsar J1643−1224. A new component of emission suddenly appears in the pulse profile, decays over four months, and results in a permanently modified pulse shape. Profile variations such as these may be the origin of timing noise observed in other millisecond pulsars. The sensitivity of pulsar-timing observations to gravitational radiation can be increased by accounting for this variability.

A Pulsar and a Disk

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-07-01

Recent, unusual X-ray observations from our galactic neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud, have led to an interesting model for SXP 214, a pulsar in a binary star system.Artists illustration of the magnetic field lines of a pulsar, a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star. [NASA]An Intriguing BinaryAn X-ray pulsar is a magnetized, rotating neutron star in a binary system with a stellar companion. Material is fed from the companion onto the neutron star, channeled by the objects magnetic fields onto a hotspot thats millions of degrees. This hotspot rotating past our line of sight is what produces the pulsations that we observe from X-ray pulsars.Located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, SXP 214 is a transient X-ray pulsar in a binary with a Be-type star. This star is spinning so quickly that material is thrown off of it to form a circumstellar disk.Recently, a team of authors led by JaeSub Hong (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) have presented new Chandra X-ray observations of SXP 214, tracking it for 50 ks (~14 hours) in January 2013. These observations reveal some very unexpected behavior for this pulsar.X-ray PuzzleThe energy distribution of the X-ray emission from SXP 214 over time. Dark shades or blue colors indicate high counts, and light shades or yellow colors indicate low counts. Lower-energy X-ray emission appeared only later, after about 20 ks. [Hong et al. 2016]Three interesting pieces of information came from the Chandra observations:SXP 214s rotation period was measured to be 211.5 s an increase in the spin rate since the discovery measurement of a 214-second period. Pulsars usually spin down as they lose angular momentum over time so what caused this one to spin up?Its overall X-ray luminosity steadily increased over the 50 ks of observations.Its spectrum became gradually softer (lower energy) over time; in the first 20 ks, the spectrum only consisted of hard X-ray photons above 3 keV, but after 20 ks, softer X-ray photons below 2 ke

Pulsar velocity observations: Correlations, interpretations, and discussion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helfand, D.J.; Tademaru, E.

1977-01-01

From an examination of the current sample of 12 pulsars with measured proper motions and the z-distribution of the much larger group of over 80 sources with measured period derivatives, we develop a self-consistent picture of pulsar evolution. The apparent tendency of pulsars to move parallel to the galactic plane is explained as the result of various selection effects. A method for calculating the unmeasurable radial velocity of a pulsar is presented; it is shown that the total space velocities thus obtained are consistent with the assumption of an extreme Population I origin for pulsars which subsequently move away from the plane with a large range of velocities. The time scale for pulsar magnetic field decay is derived from dynamical considerations. A strong correlation of the original pulsar field strength with the magnitude of pulsar velocity is discussed. This results in the division of pulsars into two classes: Class A sources characterized by low space velocities, a small scale height, and low values of P 0 P 0 ; and Class B sources with a large range of velocities (up to 1000 km s -1 ), a much greater scale height, and larger values of initial field strength. It is postulated that Class A sources originate in tight binaries where their impulse acceleration at birth is insufficient to remove them from the system, while the Class B sources arise from single stars or loosely bound binaries and are accelerated to high velocities by their asymmetric radiation force. The evolutionary picture which is developed is shown to be consistent with a number of constraints imposed by supernova rates, the relative frequency of massive binaries and Class A sources, theoretical field-decay times, and the overall pulsar galactic distribution

Quad-Band U-Slot Antenna for Mobile Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. L. Ruiz

2006-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, two different planar quad-band antennas are designed, modeled, fabricated and measured. Subsequently, the antennas are redesigned using an electromagnetic band gap substrate (EBG. Those new planar antennas operate in four frequency bands: 900 MHz, 1 800 MHz (both GSM, 1 900 MHz (USA and 2 400 to 2 500 MHz (Bluetooth The antenna has four narrow U-shaped slots etched to the patch. Using software, CST Microwave Studio [1], Zeland IE3D [2], and FEMLAB [3], simulations have been carried out to investigate the antenna's performance and characteristics. The antennas designed have been also built and measured to compare the real results with those obtained from the simulations.

Eddy current loss analysis of open-slot fault-tolerant permanent-magnet machines based on conformal mapping method

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Jinghua; Luo, Jianhua; Lei, Qian; Bian, Fangfang

2017-05-01

This paper proposed an analytical method, based on conformal mapping (CM) method, for the accurate evaluation of magnetic field and eddy current (EC) loss in fault-tolerant permanent-magnet (FTPM) machines. The aim of modulation function, applied in CM method, is to change the open-slot structure into fully closed-slot structure, whose air-gap flux density is easy to calculate analytically. Therefore, with the help of Matlab Schwarz-Christoffel (SC) Toolbox, both the magnetic flux density and EC density of FTPM machine are obtained accurately. Finally, time-stepped transient finite-element method (FEM) is used to verify the theoretical analysis, showing that the proposed method is able to predict the magnetic flux density and EC loss precisely.

Stereoscopic display in a slot machine

Science.gov (United States)

Laakso, M.

2012-03-01

This paper reports the results of a user trial with a slot machine equipped with a stereoscopic display. The main research question was to find out what kind of added value does stereoscopic 3D (S-3D) bring to slot games? After a thorough literature survey, a novel gaming platform was designed and implemented. Existing multi-game slot machine "Nova" was converted to "3DNova" by replacing the monitor with an S-3D display and converting six original games to S-3D format. To evaluate the system, several 3DNova machines were put available for players for four months. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis was carried out from statistical values, questionnaires and observations. According to the results, people find the S-3D concept interesting but the technology is not optimal yet. Young adults and adults were fascinated by the system, older people were more cautious. Especially the need to wear stereoscopic glasses provide a challenge; ultimate system would probably use autostereoscopic technology. Also the games should be designed to utilize its full power. The main contributions of this paper are lessons learned from creating an S-3D slot machine platform and novel information about human factors related to stereoscopic slot machine gaming.

Dual Mode Slotted Monopole Antenna

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-05

May 2017 The below identified patent application is available for licensing. Requests for information should be addressed to: TECHNOLOGY...REFERENCE TO OTHER PATENT APPLICATIONS [0002] None. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention is directed...to connect across slot 14. [0005] In United States Patent No. 6,127,983 to Rivera and Josypenko, it has been shown that the slotted cylinder

Evidence for free precession in a pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Stairs; Lyne; Shemar

2000-08-03

Pulsars are rotating neutron stars that produce lighthouse-like beams of radio emission from their magnetic poles. The observed pulse of emission enables their rotation rates to be measured with great precision. For some young pulsars, this provides a means of studying the interior structure of neutron stars. Most pulsars have stable pulse shapes, and slow down steadily (for example, see ref. 20). Here we report the discovery of long-term, highly periodic and correlated variations in both the pulse shape and the rate of slow-down of the pulsar PSR B1828-11. The variations are best described as harmonically related sinusoids, with periods of approximately 1,000, 500 and 250 days, probably resulting from precession of the spin axis caused by an asymmetry in the shape of the pulsar. This is difficult to understand theoretically, because torque-free precession of a solitary pulsar should be damped out by the vortices in its superfluid interior.

The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey - XII. Galactic plane acceleration search and the discovery of 60 pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, C.; Champion, D. J.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Bates, S. D.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burgay, M.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Flynn, C. M. L.; Jameson, A.; Johnston, S.; Keith, M. J.; Kramer, M.; Levin, L.; Petroff, E.; Possenti, A.; Stappers, B. W.; van Straten, W.; Tiburzi, C.; Eatough, R. P.; Lyne, A. G.

2015-07-01

We present initial results from the low-latitude Galactic plane region of the High Time Resolution Universe pulsar survey conducted at the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. We discuss the computational challenges arising from the processing of the terabyte-sized survey data. Two new radio interference mitigation techniques are introduced, as well as a partially coherent segmented acceleration search algorithm which aims to increase our chances of discovering highly relativistic short-orbit binary systems, covering a parameter space including potential pulsar-black hole binaries. We show that under a constant acceleration approximation, a ratio of data length over orbital period of ≈0.1 results in the highest effectiveness for this search algorithm. From the 50 per cent of data processed thus far, we have redetected 435 previously known pulsars and discovered a further 60 pulsars, two of which are fast-spinning pulsars with periods less than 30 ms. PSR J1101-6424 is a millisecond pulsar whose heavy white dwarf (WD) companion and short spin period of 5.1 ms indicate a rare example of full-recycling via Case A Roche lobe overflow. PSR J1757-27 appears to be an isolated recycled pulsar with a relatively long spin period of 17 ms. In addition, PSR J1244-6359 is a mildly recycled binary system with a heavy WD companion, PSR J1755-25 has a significant orbital eccentricity of 0.09 and PSR J1759-24 is likely to be a long-orbit eclipsing binary with orbital period of the order of tens of years. Comparison of our newly discovered pulsar sample to the known population suggests that they belong to an older population. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our current pulsar detection yield is as expected from population synthesis.

A Search for Debris Disks Around Variable Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Shannon, Ryan; Cordes, J.; Lazio, J.; Kramer, M.; Lyne, A.

2009-01-01

After a supernova explosion, a modest amount of material will fall back and form a disk surrounding the resultant neutron star. This material can aggregate into rocky debris and the disk can be stable for the entire 10 million year lifetime of a canonical (non-recycled) radio pulsar. Previously, we developed a model that unifies the different classes of radio variability observed in many older pulsars. In this model, rocky material migrates inwards towards the neutron star and is ablated inside the pulsar magnetosphere. This material alters the electrodynamics in the magnetosphere which can cause the observed quiescent and bursting states observed in nulling pulsars, intermittent pulsars, and rotating radio transients. With this model in mind, we observed three nulling pulsars and one intermittent pulsar that are good candidates to host debris disks detectable by the Spitzer IRAC. Here we report how our IRAC observations constrain disk geometry, with particular emphasis on configurations that can provide the in-fall rate to cause the observed radio variability. We place these observations in the context of other searches for debris disks around neutron stars, which had studied either very young or very old (recycled) pulsars. By observing older canonical pulsars, all major classes of radio pulsars have been observed, and we can assess the presence of debris disks as a function of pulsar type. This work is based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through an award issued by JPL/Caltech.

S-parameters for weakly excited slots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albertsen, Niels Christian

1999-01-01

A simple approach to account for parasitic effects in weakly excited slots cut in the broad wall of a rectangular waveguide is proposed......A simple approach to account for parasitic effects in weakly excited slots cut in the broad wall of a rectangular waveguide is proposed...

Pulsars as tools for fundamental physics & astrophysics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cordes, J.M.; Kramer, M.; Lazio, T.J.W.; Stappers, B.W.; Backer, D.C.; Johnston, S.

2004-01-01

The sheer number of pulsars discovered by the SKA, in combination with the exceptional timing precision it can provide, will revolutionize the field of pulsar astrophysics. The SKA will provide a complete census of pulsars in both the Galaxy and in Galactic globular clusters that can be used to

Slot Machine Response Frequency Predicts Pathological Gambling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Linnet, Jakob; Rømer Thomsen, Kristine; Møller, Arne

2013-01-01

Slot machines are among the most addictive forms of gambling, and pathological gambling slot machine players represent the largest group of treatment seekers, accounting for 35% to 93% of the population. Pathological gambling sufferers have significantly higher response frequency (games / time......) on slot machines compared with non-problem gamblers, which may suggest increased reinforcement of the gambling behavior in pathological gambling. However, to date it is unknown whether or not the increased response frequency in pathological gambling is associated with symptom severity of the disorder....... This study tested the hypothesis that response frequency is associated with symptom severity in pathological gambling. We tested response frequency among twenty-two pathological gambling sufferers and twenty-one non-problem gamblers on a commercially available slot machine, and screened for pathological...

Detecting pulsars in the Galactic Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Rajwade, K. M.; Lorimer, D. R.; Anderson, L. D.

2017-10-01

Although high-sensitivity surveys have revealed a number of highly dispersed pulsars in the inner Galaxy, none have so far been found in the Galactic Centre (GC) region, which we define to be within a projected distance of 1 pc from Sgr A*. This null result is surprising given that several independent lines of evidence predict a sizable population of neutron stars in the region. Here, we present a detailed analysis of both the canonical and millisecond pulsar populations in the GC and consider free-free absorption and multipath scattering to be the two main sources of flux density mitigation. We demonstrate that the sensitivity limits of previous surveys are not sufficient to detect GC pulsar population, and investigate the optimum observing frequency for future surveys. Depending on the degree of scattering and free-free absorption in the GC, current surveys constrain the size of the potentially observable population (I.e. those beaming towards us) to be up to 52 canonical pulsars and 10 000 millisecond pulsars. We find that the optimum frequency for future surveys is in the range of 9-13 GHz. We also predict that future deeper surveys with the Square Kilometre array will probe a significant portion of the existing radio pulsar population in the GC.

The Effect of an Offset Polar Cap Dipolar Magnetic Field on the Modeling of the Vela Pulsar's Gamma-Ray Light Curves

Science.gov (United States)

Barnard, M.; Venter, C.; Harding, A. K.

2016-01-01

We performed geometric pulsar light curve modeling using static, retarded vacuum, and offset polar cap (PC) dipole B-fields (the latter is characterized by a parameter epsilon), in conjunction with standard two-pole caustic (TPC) and outer gap (OG) emission geometries. The offset-PC dipole B-field mimics deviations from the static dipole (which corresponds to epsilon equals 0). In addition to constant-emissivity geometric models, we also considered a slot gap (SG) E-field associated with the offset-PC dipole B-field and found that its inclusion leads to qualitatively different light curves. Solving the particle transport equation shows that the particle energy only becomes large enough to yield significant curvature radiation at large altitudes above the stellar surface, given this relatively low E-field. Therefore, particles do not always attain the radiation-reaction limit. Our overall optimal light curve fit is for the retarded vacuum dipole field and OG model, at an inclination angle alpha equals 78 plus or minus 1 degree and observer angle zeta equals 69 plus 2 degrees or minus 1 degree. For this B-field, the TPC model is statistically disfavored compared to the OG model. For the static dipole field, neither model is significantly preferred. We found that smaller values of epsilon are favored for the offset-PC dipole field when assuming constant emissivity, and larger epsilon values favored for variable emissivity, but not significantly so. When multiplying the SG E-field by a factor of 100, we found improved light curve fits, with alpha and zeta being closer to best fits from independent studies, as well as curvature radiation reaction at lower altitudes.

X-ray pulsars in nearby irregular galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jun

2018-01-01

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Irregular Galaxy IC 10 are valuable laboratories to study the physical, temporal and statistical properties of the X-ray pulsar population with multi-satellite observations, in order to probe fundamental physics. The known distance of these galaxies can help us easily categorize the luminosity of the pulsars and their age difference can be helpful for for studying the origin and evolution of compact objects. Therefore, a complete archive of 116 XMM-Newton PN, 151 Chandra (Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer) ACIS, and 952 RXTE PCA observations for the pulsars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) were collected and analyzed, along with 42 XMM-Newton and 30 Chandra observations for the Large Magellanic Cloud, spanning 1997-2014. From a sample of 67 SMC pulsars we generate a suite of products for each pulsar detection: spin period, flux, event list, high time-resolution light-curve, pulse-profile, periodogram, and X-ray spectrum. Combining all three satellites, I generated complete histories of the spin periods, pulse amplitudes, pulsed fractions and X-ray luminosities. Many of the pulsars show variations in pulse period due to the combination of orbital motion and accretion torques. Long-term spin-up/down trends are seen in 28/25 pulsars respectively, pointing to sustained transfer of mass and angular momentum to the neutron star on decadal timescales. The distributions of pulse detection and flux as functions of spin period provide interesting findings: mapping boundaries of accretion-driven X-ray luminosity, and showing that fast pulsars (P<10 s) are rarely detected, which yet are more prone to giant outbursts. In parallel we compare the observed pulse profiles to our general relativity (GR) model of X-ray emission in order to constrain the physical parameters of the pulsars.In addition, we conduct a search for optical counterparts to X-ray sources in the local dwarf galaxy IC 10 to form a comparison

Slotted Circularly Polarized Microstrip Antenna for RFID Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Kumar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A single layer coaxial fed rectangular microstrip slotted antenna for circular polarization (CP is proposed for radio frequency identification (RFID application. Two triangular shaped slots and one rectangular slot along the diagonal axis of a square patch have been embedded. Due to slotted structure along the diagonal axis and less surface area, good quality of circular polarization has been obtained with the reduction in the size of microstrip antenna by 4.04 %. Circular polarization radiation performance has been studied by size and angle variation of diagonally slotted structures. The experimental result found for 10-dB return loss is 44 MHz with 10MHz of 3dB Axial Ratio (AR bandwidth respectively at the resonant frequency 910 MHz. The overall proposed antenna size including the ground plane is 80 mm x 80 mm x 4.572 mm.

Toward an Empirical Theory of Pulsar Emission. XII. Exploring the Physical Conditions in Millisecond Pulsar Emission Regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rankin, Joanna M.; Mitra, Dipanjan; Archibald, Anne; Hessels, Jason; Leeuwen, Joeri van; Ransom, Scott; Stairs, Ingrid; Straten, Willem van; Weisberg, Joel M.

2017-01-01

The five-component profile of the 2.7 ms pulsar J0337+1715 appears to exhibit the best example to date of a core/double-cone emission-beam structure in a millisecond pulsar (MSP). Moreover, three other MSPs, the binary pulsars B1913+16, B1953+29, and J1022+1001, seem to exhibit core/single-cone profiles. These configurations are remarkable and important because it has not been clear whether MSPs and slow pulsars exhibit similar emission-beam configurations, given that they have considerably smaller magnetospheric sizes and magnetic field strengths. MSPs thus provide an extreme context for studying pulsar radio emission. Particle currents along the magnetic polar flux tube connect processes just above the polar cap through the radio-emission region to the light-cylinder and the external environment. In slow pulsars, radio-emission heights are typically about 500 km around where the magnetic field is nearly dipolar, and estimates of the physical conditions there point to radiation below the plasma frequency and emission from charged solitons by the curvature process. We are able to estimate emission heights for the four MSPs and carry out a similar estimation of physical conditions in their much lower emission regions. We find strong evidence that MSPs also radiate by curvature emission from charged solitons.

Toward an Empirical Theory of Pulsar Emission. XII. Exploring the Physical Conditions in Millisecond Pulsar Emission Regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rankin, Joanna M.; Mitra, Dipanjan [Physics Department, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405 (United States); Archibald, Anne; Hessels, Jason; Leeuwen, Joeri van [Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam (Netherlands); Ransom, Scott [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 29201 (United States); Stairs, Ingrid [Physics Department, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, BC (Canada); Straten, Willem van [Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand); Weisberg, Joel M., E-mail: Joanna.Rankin@uvm.edu [Physics and Astronomy Department, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057 (United States)

2017-08-10

The five-component profile of the 2.7 ms pulsar J0337+1715 appears to exhibit the best example to date of a core/double-cone emission-beam structure in a millisecond pulsar (MSP). Moreover, three other MSPs, the binary pulsars B1913+16, B1953+29, and J1022+1001, seem to exhibit core/single-cone profiles. These configurations are remarkable and important because it has not been clear whether MSPs and slow pulsars exhibit similar emission-beam configurations, given that they have considerably smaller magnetospheric sizes and magnetic field strengths. MSPs thus provide an extreme context for studying pulsar radio emission. Particle currents along the magnetic polar flux tube connect processes just above the polar cap through the radio-emission region to the light-cylinder and the external environment. In slow pulsars, radio-emission heights are typically about 500 km around where the magnetic field is nearly dipolar, and estimates of the physical conditions there point to radiation below the plasma frequency and emission from charged solitons by the curvature process. We are able to estimate emission heights for the four MSPs and carry out a similar estimation of physical conditions in their much lower emission regions. We find strong evidence that MSPs also radiate by curvature emission from charged solitons.

FERMI-LAT DETECTION OF PULSED GAMMA-RAYS ABOVE 50 GeV FROM THE VELA PULSAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leung, Gene C. K.; Takata, J.; Ng, C. W.; Cheng, K. S. [Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong); Kong, A. K. H.; Tam, P. H. T. [Institute of Astronomy and Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Hui, C. Y., E-mail: gene930@connect.hku.hk, E-mail: takata@hku.hk [Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-12-20

The first Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) catalog of sources above 10 GeV reported evidence of pulsed emission above 25 GeV from 12 pulsars, including the Vela pulsar, which showed evidence of pulsation at >37 GeV energy bands. Using 62 months of Fermi-LAT data, we analyzed the gamma-ray emission from the Vela pulsar and searched for pulsed emission above 50 GeV. Having confirmed the significance of the pulsation in 30-50 GeV with the H test (p-value ∼10{sup –77}), we extracted its pulse profile using the Bayesian block algorithm and compared it with the distribution of the five observed photons above 50 GeV using the likelihood ratio test. Pulsation was significantly detected for photons above 50 GeV with a p-value of =3 × 10{sup –5} (4.2σ). The detection of pulsation is significant above 4σ at >79 GeV and above 3σ at >90 GeV energy bands, making this the highest energy pulsation significantly detected by the LAT. We explore the non-stationary outer gap scenario of the very high-energy emissions from the Vela pulsar.

Fast pulsars, strange stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glendenning, N.K.

1990-02-01

The initial motivation for this work was the reported discovery in January 1989 of a 1/2 millisecond pulsar in the remnant of the spectacular supernova, 1987A. The status of this discovery has come into grave doubt as of data taken by the same group in February, 1990. At this time we must consider that the millisecond signal does not belong to the pulsar. The existence of a neutron star in remnant of the supernova is suspected because of recent observations on the light curve of the remnant, and of course by the neutrino burst that announced the supernova. However its frequency is unknown. I can make a strong case that a pulsar rotation period of about 1 ms divides those that can be understood quite comfortably as neutron stars, and those that cannot. What we will soon learn is whether there is an invisible boundary below which pulsar periods do not fall, in which case, all are presumable neutron stars, or whether there exist sub- millisecond pulsars, which almost certainly cannot be neutron stars. Their most plausible structure is that of a self-bound star, a strange-quark-matter star. The existence of such stars would imply that the ground state of the strong interaction is not, as we usually assume, hadronic matter, but rather strange quark matter. Let us look respectively at stars that are bound only by gravity, and hypothetical stars that are self-bound, for which gravity is so to speak, icing on the cake

Influence of Closed Stator Slots on Cogging Torque

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ion, Trifu; Leban, Krisztina Monika; Ritchie, Ewen

2013-01-01

Cogging torque results due interaction of magnetic field of magnets and stator slots, and have negative effects on permanent magnet machines such as vibrations, noise, torque ripples and problems during turbine start-up and cut-in. In order to reduce cogging torque this paper presents a study...... of influence of closed stator slots on cogging torque using magnetic slot wedges....

The galactic distribution of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyne, A.G.

1981-01-01

The galactic distribution of pulsars follows the general form of many population I objects in galactocentric radius, but has a wide distribution above and below the galactic plane due to high space velocities imparted to the pulsars at birth. The evidence for this model is described and the various factors involved in estimating the total galactic population and the galactic birthrate of pulsars are discussed. The various estimates of the galactic population which cluster around 5 x 10 5 are seen to be critically dependent upon the cut-off at low luminosities and upon the value of the mean electron density within 500 pc of the Earth. Estimates of the lifetimes of pulsars are available from both the characteristic ages and proper motion measurements and both give values of about 5 million years. The implied birthrate of one in every 10 years is barely compatible with most estimates of the galactic supernova rate. (Auth.)

Timing Noise Analysis of NANOGrav Pulsars

OpenAIRE

Perrodin, Delphine; Jenet, Fredrick; Lommen, Andrea; Finn, Lee; Demorest, Paul; Ferdman, Robert; Gonzalez, Marjorie; Nice, David; Ransom, Scott; Stairs, Ingrid

2013-01-01

We analyze timing noise from five years of Arecibo and Green Bank observations of the seventeen millisecond pulsars of the North-American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) pulsar timing array. The weighted autocovariance of the timing residuals was computed for each pulsar and compared against two possible models for the underlying noise process. The first model includes red noise and predicts the autocovariance to be a decaying exponential as a function of time lag. Th...

Slot Antenna for Wireless Temperature Measurement Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Acar, Öncel; Jakobsen, Kaj Bjarne

2016-01-01

This paper presents a novel clover-slot antenna for a surface-acoustic-wave sensor based wireless temperature measurement system. The slot is described by a parametric locus curve that has the shape of a clover. The antenna is operated at high temperatures, in rough environments, and has a 43......% fractional bandwidth at the 2.4 GHz ISM-band. The slot antenna has been optimized for excitation by a passive chip soldered onto it. Measurement results are compared with simulation results and show good agreements....

Vertically Polarized Omnidirectional Printed Slot Loop Antenna

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kammersgaard, Nikolaj Peter Iversen; Kvist, Søren H.; Thaysen, Jesper

2015-01-01

A novel vertically polarized omnidirectional printed slot loop antenna has been designed, simulated, fabricated and measured. The slot loop works as a magnetic loop. The loop is loaded with inductors to insure uniform and in-phase fields in the slot in order to obtain an omnidirectional radiation...... pattern. The antenna is designed for the 2.45 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical band. Applications of the antenna are many. One is for on-body applications since it is ideal for launching a creeping waves due to the polarization....

THE PECULIAR PULSAR POPULATION OF THE CENTRAL PARSEC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dexter, Jason; O' Leary, Ryan M., E-mail: jdexter@berkeley.edu, E-mail: oleary@berkeley.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)

2014-03-01

Pulsars orbiting the Galactic center black hole, Sgr A*, would be potential probes of its mass, distance, and spin, and may even be used to test general relativity. Despite predictions of large populations of both ordinary and millisecond pulsars in the Galactic center, none have been detected within 25 pc by deep radio surveys. One explanation has been that hyperstrong temporal scattering prevents pulsar detections, but the recent discovery of radio pulsations from a highly magnetized neutron star (magnetar) within 0.1 pc shows that the temporal scattering is much weaker than predicted. We argue that an intrinsic deficit in the ordinary pulsar population is the most likely reason for the lack of detections to date: a ''missing pulsar problem'' in the Galactic center. In contrast, we show that the discovery of a single magnetar implies efficient magnetar formation in the region. If the massive stars in the central parsec form magnetars rather than ordinary pulsars, their short lifetimes could explain the missing pulsars. Efficient magnetar formation could be caused by strongly magnetized progenitors, or could be further evidence of a top-heavy initial mass function. Furthermore, current high-frequency surveys should already be able to detect bright millisecond pulsars, given the measured degree of temporal scattering.

Plerions and pulsar-powered nebulae

OpenAIRE

Gaensler, Bryan

2000-01-01

In this brief review, I discuss recent developments in the study of pulsar-powered nebulae ("plerions"). The large volume of data which has been acquired in recent years reveals a diverse range of observational properties, demonstrating how differing environmental and pulsar properties manifest themselves in the resulting nebulae.

Pilot pulsar surveys with LOFAR

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coenen, T.

2013-01-01

We are performing two complementary pilot pulsar surveys as part of LOFAR commissioning. The LOFAR Pilot Pulsar Survey (LPPS) is a shallow all-sky survey using an incoherent combination of LOFAR stations. The LOFAR Tied-Array Survey (LOTAS) is a deeper pilot survey using 19 simultaneous tied-array

Pulsar glitch dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Morley, P. D.

2018-01-01

We discuss pulsar glitch dynamics from three different viewpoints: statistical description, neutron star equation of state description and finally an electromagnetic field description. For the latter, the pulsar glitch recovery times are the dissipation time constants of sheet surface currents created in response to the glitch-induced crustal magnetic field disruption. We mathematically derive these glitch time constants (Ohmic time constant and Hall sheet current time constant) from a perturbation analysis of the electromagnetic induction equation. Different crustal channels will carry the sheet surface current and their different electron densities determine the time constants.

A Bayesian Classifier for X-Ray Pulsars Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Liang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recognition for X-ray pulsars is important for the problem of spacecraft’s attitude determination by X-ray Pulsar Navigation (XPNAV. By using the nonhomogeneous Poisson model of the received photons and the minimum recognition error criterion, a classifier based on the Bayesian theorem is proposed. For X-ray pulsars recognition with unknown Doppler frequency and initial phase, the features of every X-ray pulsar are extracted and the unknown parameters are estimated using the Maximum Likelihood (ML method. Besides that, a method to recognize unknown X-ray pulsars or X-ray disturbances is proposed. Simulation results certificate the validity of the proposed Bayesian classifier.

Magnetic Pair Creation Transparency in Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Story, Sarah; Baring, M. G.

2013-04-01

The Fermi gamma-ray pulsar database now exceeds 115 sources and has defined an important part of Fermi's science legacy, providing rich information for the interpretation of young energetic pulsars and old millisecond pulsars. Among the well established population characteristics is the common occurrence of exponential turnovers in the 1-10 GeV range. These turnovers are too gradual to arise from magnetic pair creation in the strong magnetic fields of pulsar inner magnetospheres, so their energy can be used to provide lower bounds to the typical altitude of GeV band emission. We explore such constraints due to single-photon pair creation transparency below the turnover energy. We adopt a semi-analytic approach, spanning both domains when general relativistic influences are important and locales where flat spacetime photon propagation is modified by rotational aberration effects. Our work clearly demonstrates that including near-threshold physics in the pair creation rate is essential to deriving accurate attenuation lengths. The altitude bounds, typically in the range of 2-6 neutron star radii, provide key information on the emission altitude in radio quiet pulsars that do not possess double-peaked pulse profiles. For the Crab pulsar, which emits pulsed radiation up to energies of 120 GeV, we obtain a lower bound of around 15 neutron star radii to its emission altitude.

G-tunnel pressurized slot-testing evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, R.M.; Sifre-Soto, C.; Mann, K.L.; Bellman, R.A. Jr.; Luker, S.; Dodds, D.J.

1992-04-01

Designers and analysts of radioactive waste repositories must be able to predict the mechanical behavior of the host rock. Sandia National Laboratories elected to conduct a development program to enhance mechanical-type measurements. The program was focused on pressurized slot testing and featured (1) development of an improved method to cut slots using a chain saw with diamond-tipped cutters, (2) measurements useful for determining in situ stresses normal to slots, (3) measurements applicable for determining the in situ modulus of deformation parallel to a drift surface, and (4) evaluations of pressurized slot strength testing results and methods. This report contains data interpretation and evaluations. Included are recommendations for future efforts. This third report contains the interpretations of the testing with emphasis on the measurement results as they apply to describing rock behavior. In particular, emphases are placed on (1) normal stress determinations using the flatjack cancellation (FC) method, (2) modulus of deformation determinations, and (3) high pressure investigations. Most of the material in the first two reports is not repeated here. Appropriate data are repeated in tabular form

Giant Pulse Studies of Ordinary and Recycled Pulsars with NICER

Science.gov (United States)

Lewandowska, Natalia; Arzoumanian, Zaven; Gendreau, Keith C.; Enoto, Teruaki; Harding, Alice; Lommen, Andrea; Ray, Paul S.; Deneva, Julia; Kerr, Matthew; Ransom, Scott M.; NICER Team

2018-01-01

Radio Giant Pulses are one of the earliest discovered form of anomalous single pulse emission from pulsars. Known for their non-periodical occurrence, restriction to certain phase ranges, power-law intensity distributions, pulse widths ranging from microseconds to nanoseconds and very high brightness temperatures, they stand out as an individual form of pulsar radio emission.Discovered originally in the case of the Crab pulsar, several other pulsars have been observed to emit radio giant pulses, the most promising being the recycled pulsar PSR B1937+21 and also the Vela pulsar.Although radio giant pulses are apparently the result of a coherent emission mechanism, recent studies of the Crab pulsar led to the discovery of an additional incoherent component at optical wavelengths. No such component has been identified for recycled pulsars, or Vela yet.To provide constraints on possible emission regions in their magnetospheres and to search for differences between giant pulses from ordinary and recycled pulsars, we present the progress of the correlation study of PSR B1937+21 and the Vela pulsar carried out with NICER and several radio observatories.

Energy dissipation of slot-type flip buckets

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jian-hua; Li, Shu-fang; Ma, Fei

2018-03-01

The energy dissipation is a key index in the evaluation of energy dissipation elements. In the present work, a flip bucket with a slot, called the slot-type flip bucket, is theoretically and experimentally investigated by the method of estimating the energy dissipation. The theoretical analysis shows that, in order to have the energy dissipation, it is necessary to determine the sequent flow depth h 1 and the flow speed V 1 at the corresponding position through the flow depth h 2 after the hydraulic jump. The relative flow depth h 2 / h 。 is a function of the approach flow Froude number Fr 。, the relative slot width b/B 。, and the relative slot angle θ/β. The expression for estimating the energy dissipation is developed, and the maximum error is not larger than 9.21%.

Nonlinear temporal modulation of pulsar radioemission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chian, A.C.-L.

1984-01-01

A nonlinear theory is discussed for self-modulation of pulsar radio pulses. A nonlinear Schroedinger equation is derived for strong electromagnetic waves propagating in an electron-positron plasma. The nonlinearities arising from wave intensity induced relativistic particle mass variation may excite the modulational instability of circularly and linearly polarized pulsar radiation. The resulting wave envelopes can take the form of periodic wave trains or solitons. These nonlinear stationary wave forms may account for the formation of pulsar microstructures. (Author) [pt

49 CFR 236.809 - Signal, slotted mechanical.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Signal, slotted mechanical. 236.809 Section 236.809 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD... § 236.809 Signal, slotted mechanical. A mechanically operated signal with an electromagnetic device...

A Waveguide Transverse Broad Wall Slot Radiating Between Baffles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dich, Mikael; Rengarajan, S.R.

1997-01-01

An analysis of the self impedance of waveguide-fed transverse slots radiating between baffles is presented. The region exterior to the slot is treated as a parallel plate (PP) waveguide which radiates into half space through an aperture in an infinite ground plane. The slot problem is analyzed...

Binary millisecond pulsar discovery via gamma-ray pulsations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pletsch, H J; Guillemot, L; Fehrmann, H; Allen, B; Kramer, M; Aulbert, C; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; de Angelis, A; Atwood, W B; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Borgland, A W; Bottacini, E; Brandt, T J; Bregeon, J; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Buehler, R; Buson, S; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Casandjian, J M; Cecchi, C; Çelik, Ö; Charles, E; Chaves, R C G; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Conrad, J; Cutini, S; D'Ammando, F; Dermer, C D; Digel, S W; Drell, P S; Drlica-Wagner, A; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Favuzzi, C; Ferrara, E C; Franckowiak, A; Fukazawa, Y; Fusco, P; Gargano, F; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Giroletti, M; Godfrey, G; Grenier, I A; Grondin, M-H; Grove, J E; Guiriec, S; Hadasch, D; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; den Hartog, P R; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Hill, A B; Hou, X; Hughes, R E; Jóhannesson, G; Jackson, M S; Jogler, T; Johnson, A S; Johnson, W N; Kataoka, J; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Larsson, S; Latronico, L; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Massaro, F; Mayer, M; Mazziotta, M N; McEnery, J E; Mehault, J; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Monzani, M E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nakamori, T; Nemmen, R; Nuss, E; Ohno, M; Ohsugi, T; Omodei, N; Orienti, M; Orlando, E; de Palma, F; Paneque, D; Perkins, J S; Piron, F; Pivato, G; Porter, T A; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Ray, P S; Razzano, M; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Romani, R W; Romoli, C; Sanchez, D A; Saz Parkinson, P M; Schulz, A; Sgrò, C; do Couto e Silva, E; Siskind, E J; Smith, D A; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Suson, D J; Takahashi, H; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J B; Thayer, J G; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Tinivella, M; Troja, E; Usher, T L; Vandenbroucke, J; Vasileiou, V; Vianello, G; Vitale, V; Waite, A P; Winer, B L; Wood, K S; Wood, M; Yang, Z; Zimmer, S

2012-12-07

Millisecond pulsars, old neutron stars spun up by accreting matter from a companion star, can reach high rotation rates of hundreds of revolutions per second. Until now, all such "recycled" rotation-powered pulsars have been detected by their spin-modulated radio emission. In a computing-intensive blind search of gamma-ray data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (with partial constraints from optical data), we detected a 2.5-millisecond pulsar, PSR J1311-3430. This unambiguously explains a formerly unidentified gamma-ray source that had been a decade-long enigma, confirming previous conjectures. The pulsar is in a circular orbit with an orbital period of only 93 minutes, the shortest of any spin-powered pulsar binary ever found.

The International Pulsar Timing Array project: using pulsars as a gravitational wave detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hobbs, G; Burke-Spolaor, S; Champion, D [Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia); Archibald, A [Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, H3A 2T8 (Canada); Arzoumanian, Z [CRESST/USRA, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Backer, D [Astronomy Department and Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States); Bailes, M; Bhat, N D R [Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Hawthorn VIC 3122 (Australia); Burgay, M [Universita di Cagliari, Dipartimento di Fisica, SP Monserrato-Sestu km 0.7, 09042 Monserrato (Canada) (Italy); Cognard, I; Desvignes, G; Ferdman, R D [Station de Radioastronomie de Nanay, Observatoire de Paris, 18330 Nancay (France); Coles, W [Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Cordes, J [Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Demorest, P [National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Finn, L [Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Freire, P [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf Dem Huegel 69, 53121, Bonn (Germany); Gonzalez, M [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada); Hessels, J [Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ Amsterdam (Netherlands); Hotan, A, E-mail: george.hobbs@csiro.a [Department of Imaging and Applied Physics, Curtin University, Bentley, WA (Australia)

2010-04-21

The International Pulsar Timing Array project combines observations of pulsars from both northern and southern hemisphere observatories with the main aim of detecting ultra-low frequency (approx 10{sup -9}-10{sup -8} Hz) gravitational waves. Here we introduce the project, review the methods used to search for gravitational waves emitted from coalescing supermassive binary black-hole systems in the centres of merging galaxies and discuss the status of the project.

A lower limit for the birth rate of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narayan, R.; Vivekanand, M.

1981-01-01

Using experimental data on observed pulsars, a lower limit for the birth rate of pulsars in our galaxy was estimated, taking into account the beam factor which allows for the possibility that only a fraction of all pulsars is beamed towards the earth. The calculation reduces the discrepancy between pulsar and supernova birth rates. (U.K.)

Handbook of pulsar astronomy

CERN Document Server

Lorimer, Duncan

2005-01-01

Radio pulsars are rapidly rotating highly magnetized neutron stars. Studies of these fascinating objects have provided applications in solid-state physics, general relativity, galactic astronomy, astrometry, planetary physics and even cosmology. Most of these applications and much of what we know about neutron stars are derived from single-dish radio observations using state-of-the-art receivers and data acquisition systems. This comprehensive 2004 book is a unique resource that brings together the key observational techniques, background information and a review of results, including the discovery of a double pulsar system. Useful software tools are provided which can be used to analyse example data, made available on a related website. This work will be of great value not only to graduate students but also to researchers wishing to carry out and interpret a wide variety of radio pulsar observations.

Pulsar searching and timing with the Parkes telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, C. W. Y.

2014-11-01

Pulsars are highly magnetised, rapidly rotating neutron stars that radiate a beam of coherent radio emission from their magnetic poles. An introduction to the pulsar phenomenology is presented in Chapter 1 of this thesis. The extreme conditions found in and around such compact objects make pulsars fantastic natural laboratories, as their strong gravitational fields provide exclusive insights to a rich variety of fundamental physics and astronomy. The discovery of pulsars is therefore a gateway to new science. An overview of the standard pulsar searching technique is described in Chapter 2, as well as a discussion on notable pulsar searching efforts undertaken thus far with various telescopes. The High Time Resolution Universe (HTRU) Pulsar Survey conducted with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope in Australia forms the bulk of this PhD. In particular, the author has led the search effort of the HTRU low-latitude Galactic plane project part which is introduced in Chapter 3. We discuss the computational challenges arising from the processing of the petabyte-sized survey data. Two new radio interference mitigation techniques are introduced, as well as a partially-coherent segmented acceleration search algorithm which aims to increase our chances of discovering highly-relativistic short-orbit binary systems, covering a parameter space including the potential pulsar-black hole binaries. We show that under a linear acceleration approximation, a ratio of ~0.1 of data length over orbital period results in the highest effectiveness for this search algorithm. Chapter 4 presents the initial results from the HTRU low-latitude Galactic plane survey. From the 37 per cent of data processed thus far, we have re-detected 348 previously known pulsars and discovered a further 47 pulsars. Two of which are fast-spinning pulsars with periods less than 30 ms. PSR J1101-6424 is a millisecond pulsar (MSP) with a heavy white dwarf companion while its short spin period of 5 ms indicates

Star-formation functions and the genetics of pulsar origin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guseinov, O.K.; Kasumov, F.K.; Yusifov, I.M.

1982-01-01

The star-formation function and the genetics of pulsar origin are discussed. It is shown that the progenitors of pulsars are main-sequence stars with masses of >5M/sub sun/ for almost all the kinds of initial mass functions discussed in the literature. Pulsars are genetically connected with supernova outbursts (mainly of type II). The probability of pulsar formation as a result of ''quiet collapse'' is extremely low. Thus, the hypothesis that pulsars are formed from objects of the extreme planar component of the Galaxy is confirmed on more complete and statistically uniform material

A Search for Pulsar Companions to OB Runaway Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspi, V. M.

1995-01-01

We have searched for radio pulsar companions to 40 nearby OB runaway stars. Observations were made at 474 and 770 MHz with the NRAO 140 ft telescope. The survey was sensitive to long- period pulsars with flux densities of 1 mJy or more. One previously unknown pulsar was discovered, PSRJ2044+4614, while observing towards target O star BD+45,3260. Follow-up timing observations of the pulsar measured its position to high precision, revealing a 9' separation between the pulsar and the target star, unequivocally indicating they are not associated.

Circularly Polarized Slotted Microstrip Patch Antenna with Finite Ground Plane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanyog Rawat

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper a new geometry of circularly polarized patch antenna is proposed with improved bandwidth. The radiation performance of proposed patch antenna is investigated using IE3D simulation software and its performance is compared with that of conventional rectangular patch antenna. The simulated return loss, axial ratio and impedance with frequency for the proposed antenna are reported in this paper. It is shown that by selecting suitable ground-plane dimensions, air gap and location of the slots, the impedance bandwidth can be enhanced upto 10.15% as compared to conventional rectangular patch (4.24% with an axial ratio bandwidth of 4.05%.

Clocks in the sky the story of pulsars

CERN Document Server

McNamara, Geoff

2008-01-01

Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars, the collapsed cores of once massive stars that ended their lives as supernova explosions. Pulsar rotation rates can reach incredible speeds, up to hundreds of times per second. This title explores the history, subsequent discovery and contemporary research into pulsar astronomy.

COHERENT NETWORK ANALYSIS FOR CONTINUOUS GRAVITATIONAL WAVE SIGNALS IN A PULSAR TIMING ARRAY: PULSAR PHASES AS EXTRINSIC PARAMETERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yan [MOE Key Laboratory of Fundamental Physical Quantities Measurements, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430074 (China); Mohanty, Soumya D.; Jenet, Fredrick A., E-mail: ywang12@hust.edu.cn [Department of Physics, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1 West University Boulevard, Brownsville, TX 78520 (United States)

2015-12-20

Supermassive black hole binaries are one of the primary targets of gravitational wave (GW) searches using pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). GW signals from such systems are well represented by parameterized models, allowing the standard Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) to be used for their detection and estimation. However, there is a dichotomy in how the GLRT can be implemented for PTAs: there are two possible ways in which one can split the set of signal parameters for semi-analytical and numerical extremization. The straightforward extension of the method used for continuous signals in ground-based GW searches, where the so-called pulsar phase parameters are maximized numerically, was addressed in an earlier paper. In this paper, we report the first study of the performance of the second approach where the pulsar phases are maximized semi-analytically. This approach is scalable since the number of parameters left over for numerical optimization does not depend on the size of the PTA. Our results show that for the same array size (9 pulsars), the new method performs somewhat worse in parameter estimation, but not in detection, than the previous method where the pulsar phases were maximized numerically. The origin of the performance discrepancy is likely to be in the ill-posedness that is intrinsic to any network analysis method. However, the scalability of the new method allows the ill-posedness to be mitigated by simply adding more pulsars to the array. This is shown explicitly by taking a larger array of pulsars.

Rectangular-cladding silicon slot waveguide with improved nonlinear performance

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zengzhi; Huang, Qingzhong; Wang, Yi; Xia, Jinsong

2018-04-01

Silicon slot waveguides have great potential in hybrid silicon integration to realize nonlinear optical applications. We propose a rectangular-cladding hybrid silicon slot waveguide. Simulation result shows that, with a rectangular-cladding, the slot waveguide can be formed by narrower silicon strips, so the two-photon absorption (TPA) loss in silicon is decreased. When the cladding material is a nonlinear polymer, the calculated TPA figure of merit (FOMTPA) is 4.4, close to the value of bulk nonlinear polymer of 5.0. This value confirms the good nonlinear performance of rectangular-cladding silicon slot waveguides.

Polarized curvature radiation in pulsar magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, P. F.; Wang, C.; Han, J. L.

2014-07-01

The propagation of polarized emission in pulsar magnetosphere is investigated in this paper. The polarized waves are generated through curvature radiation from the relativistic particles streaming along curved magnetic field lines and corotating with the pulsar magnetosphere. Within the 1/γ emission cone, the waves can be divided into two natural wave-mode components, the ordinary (O) mode and the extraordinary (X) mode, with comparable intensities. Both components propagate separately in magnetosphere, and are aligned within the cone by adiabatic walking. The refraction of O mode makes the two components separated and incoherent. The detectable emission at a given height and a given rotation phase consists of incoherent X-mode and O-mode components coming from discrete emission regions. For four particle-density models in the form of uniformity, cone, core and patches, we calculate the intensities for each mode numerically within the entire pulsar beam. If the corotation of relativistic particles with magnetosphere is not considered, the intensity distributions for the X-mode and O-mode components are quite similar within the pulsar beam, which causes serious depolarization. However, if the corotation of relativistic particles is considered, the intensity distributions of the two modes are very different, and the net polarization of outcoming emission should be significant. Our numerical results are compared with observations, and can naturally explain the orthogonal polarization modes of some pulsars. Strong linear polarizations of some parts of pulsar profile can be reproduced by curvature radiation and subsequent propagation effect.

Localizing New Pulsars with Intensity Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Swiggum, Joe; Gentile, Peter

2018-01-01

Although low-frequency, single dish pulsar surveys provide an efficient means of searching large regions of sky quickly, the localization of new discoveries is poor. For example, discoveries from 350 MHz surveys using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) have position uncertainties up to the FWHM of the telescope's "beam" on the sky, over half a degree! Before finding a coherent timing solution (requires 8-12 months of dedicated timing observations) a "gridding" method is usually employed to improve localization of new pulsars, whereby a grid of higher frequency beam positions is used to tile the initial error region. This method often requires over an hour of observing time to achieve arcminute-precision localization (provided the pulsar is detectable at higher frequencies).Here, we describe another method that uses the same observing frequency as the discovery observation and scans over Right Ascension and Declination directions around the nominal position. A Gaussian beam model is fit to folded pulse profile intensities as a function of time/position to provide improved localization. Using five test cases, we show that intensity mapping localization at 350 MHz with the GBT yields pulsar positions to 1 arcminute precision, facilitating high-frequency follow-up and higher significance detections for future pulsar timing. This method is also well suited to be directly implemented in future low-frequency drift scan pulsar surveys (e.g. with the Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope; FAST).

Gigahertz-peaked Spectra Pulsars and Thermal Absorption Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kijak, J.; Basu, R.; Lewandowski, W.; Rożko, K. [Janusz Gil Institute of Astronomy, University of Zielona Góra, ul. Z. Szafrana 2, PL-65-516 Zielona Góra (Poland); Dembska, M., E-mail: jkijak@astro.ia.uz.zgora.pl [DLR Institute of Space Systems, Robert-Hooke-Str. 7 D-28359 Bremen (Germany)

2017-05-10

We present the results of our radio interferometric observations of pulsars at 325 and 610 MHz using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. We used the imaging method to estimate the flux densities of several pulsars at these radio frequencies. The analysis of the shapes of the pulsar spectra allowed us to identify five new gigahertz-peaked spectra (GPS) pulsars. Using the hypothesis that the spectral turnovers are caused by thermal free–free absorption in the interstellar medium, we modeled the spectra of all known objects of this kind. Using the model, we were able to put some observational constraints on the physical parameters of the absorbing matter, which allows us to distinguish between the possible sources of absorption. We also discuss the possible effects of the existence of GPS pulsars on future search surveys, showing that the optimal frequency range for finding such objects would be from a few GHz (for regular GPS sources) to possibly 10 GHz for pulsars and radio magnetars exhibiting very strong absorption.

Spectra of short-period pulsars according to the hypothesis of the two types of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malov, I.F.

1985-01-01

The lack of low-frequency turnovers in the spectra of PSR 0531+21 and 1937+21 may be expl ned if the generation of radio emission in these pulsars occurs near the light cylinder. Differences of high frequency cut-offs and spectral inoices for long-period pulsars and short-period ones are discussed

Summary of the PULSAR and ARIES studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Najmabadi, F.; Conn, R.W.

1994-01-01

The PULSAR research program is a multi-institutional effort to investigate the feasibility and potential features of fusion power plants based on pulsed, inductively driven tokamak operation. In order to provide a sensible assessment of pulsed tokamak operation, a comparison with the ARIES steady-state power plant designs has been made. Two PULSAR designs have been considered: PULSAR-I uses He coolant, a solid tritium-breeding material, and SiC composite structure; PULSAR-II uses liquid Li as the coolant and tritium breeder, and a V-alloy structure material. This paper focuses on the PULSAR design and the comparison with steady-state ARIES designs. The 1000-MWe PULSAR design has an aspect ratio of 4, a plasma major radius of 8.6m, a plasma minor radius of 2.2m, and a neutron wall loading of l.3MW/m 2 . The toroidal field on axis is 7T, plasma β is 2.8%, plasma current is 14MA, and the bootstrap fraction is 37%. Because of cyclic fatigue, the allowable stress in the TF coils is lower, and, therefore, for the same magnet technology, the maximum toroidal field on the coil is 12T in the PULSAR design (corresponding to 16T in a steady-state device). This decrease in the toroidal-field strength more than offsets the gains in plasma β values for a pulsed device, resulting in a lower fusion-power density and a larger tokamak relative to a steady-state design

THE SECOND FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE CATALOG OF GAMMA-RAY PULSARS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdo, A. A. [Center for Earth Observing and Space Research, College of Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 (United States); Ajello, M. [Space Sciences Laboratory, 7 Gauss Way, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 (United States); Allafort, A.; Bloom, E. D.; Bottacini, E. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Baldini, L. [Università di Pisa and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Ballet, J. [Laboratoire AIM, CEA-IRFU/CNRS/Université Paris Diderot, Service d' Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette (France); Barbiellini, G. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste (Italy); Baring, M. G. [Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, MS-108, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 (United States); Bastieri, D. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Belfiore, A. [Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Bellazzini, R.; Bregeon, J. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Bhattacharyya, B. [National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Pune 411 007 (India); Bissaldi, E. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, and Università di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste (Italy); Bonamente, E. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia (Italy); Brandt, T. J. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Brigida, M., E-mail: hartog@stanford.edu [Dipartimento di Fisica ' ' M. Merlin' ' dell' Università e del Politecnico di Bari, I-70126 Bari (Italy); and others

2013-10-01

This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence ≥0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117 pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emission for several young and millisecond pulsars. We compare the gamma-ray properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermi's selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing comparisons with predicted population distributions.

The second FERMI large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdo, A. A.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Baring, M. G.; Bastieri, D.; Belfiore, A.; Bellazzini, R.; Bhattacharyya, B.; Bissaldi, E.; Bloom, E. D.; Bonamente, E.; Bottacini, E.; Brandt, T. J.; Bregeon, J.; Brigida, M.; Bruel, P.; Buehler, R.; Burgay, M.; Burnett, T. H.; Busetto, G.; Buson, S.; Caliandro, G. A.; Cameron, R. A.; Camilo, F.; Caraveo, P. A.; Casandjian, J. M.; Cecchi, C.; Çelik, Ö.; Charles, E.; Chaty, S.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chekhtman, A.; Chen, A. W.; Chiang, J.; Chiaro, G.; Ciprini, S.; Claus, R.; Cognard, I.; Cohen-Tanugi, J.; Cominsky, L. R.; Conrad, J.; Cutini, S.; D' Ammando, F.; de Angelis, A.; DeCesar, M. E.; De Luca, A.; den Hartog, P. R.; de Palma, F.; Dermer, C. D.; Desvignes, G.; Digel, S. W.; Di Venere, L.; Drell, P. S.; Drlica-Wagner, A.; Dubois, R.; Dumora, D.; Espinoza, C. M.; Falletti, L.; Favuzzi, C.; Ferrara, E. C.; Focke, W. B.; Franckowiak, A.; Freire, P. C. C.; Funk, S.; Fusco, P.; Gargano, F.; Gasparrini, D.; Germani, S.; Giglietto, N.; Giommi, P.; Giordano, F.; Giroletti, M.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Gotthelf, E. V.; Grenier, I. A.; Grondin, M. -H.; Grove, J. E.; Guillemot, L.; Guiriec, S.; Hadasch, D.; Hanabata, Y.; Harding, A. K.; Hayashida, M.; Hays, E.; Hessels, J.; Hewitt, J.; Hill, A. B.; Horan, D.; Hou, X.; Hughes, R. E.; Jackson, M. S.; Janssen, G. H.; Jogler, T.; Jóhannesson, G.; Johnson, R. P.; Johnson, A. S.; Johnson, T. J.; Johnson, W. N.; Johnston, S.; Kamae, T.; Kataoka, J.; Keith, M.; Kerr, M.; Knödlseder, J.; Kramer, M.; Kuss, M.; Lande, J.; Larsson, S.; Latronico, L.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Longo, F.; Loparco, F.; Lovellette, M. N.; Lubrano, P.; Lyne, A. G.; Manchester, R. N.; Marelli, M.; Massaro, F.; Mayer, M.; Mazziotta, M. N.; McEnery, J. E.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Mehault, J.; Michelson, P. F.; Mignani, R. P.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Mizuno, T.; Moiseev, A. A.; Monzani, M. E.; Morselli, A.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Murgia, S.; Nakamori, T.; Nemmen, R.; Nuss, E.; Ohno, M.; Ohsugi, T.; Orienti, M.; Orlando, E.; Ormes, J. F.; Paneque, D.; Panetta, J. H.; Parent, D.; Perkins, J. S.; Pesce-Rollins, M.; Pierbattista, M.; Piron, F.; Pivato, G.; Pletsch, H. J.; Porter, T. A.; Possenti, A.; Rainò, S.; Rando, R.; Ransom, S. M.; Ray, P. S.; Razzano, M.; Rea, N.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renault, N.; Reposeur, T.; Ritz, S.; Romani, R. W.; Roth, M.; Rousseau, R.; Roy, J.; Ruan, J.; Sartori, A.; Saz Parkinson, P. M.; Scargle, J. D.; Schulz, A.; Sgrò, C.; Shannon, R.; Siskind, E. J.; Smith, D. A.; Spandre, G.; Spinelli, P.; Stappers, B. W.; Strong, A. W.; Suson, D. J.; Takahashi, H.; Thayer, J. G.; Thayer, J. B.; Theureau, G.; Thompson, D. J.; Thorsett, S. E.; Tibaldo, L.; Tibolla, O.; Tinivella, M.; Torres, D. F.; Tosti, G.; Troja, E.; Uchiyama, Y.; Usher, T. L.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Vasileiou, V.; Venter, C.; Vianello, G.; Vitale, V.; Wang, N.; Weltevrede, P.; Winer, B. L.; Wolff, M. T.; Wood, D. L.; Wood, K. S.; Wood, M.; Yang, Z.

2013-09-19

This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence ≥0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117 pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emission for several young and millisecond pulsars. We compare the gamma-ray properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermi's selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing comparisons with predicted population distributions.

The second fermi large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdo, A. A.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Baring, M. G.; Bastieri, D.; Belfiore, A.; Bellazzini, R.; Bhattacharyya, B.; Bissaldi, E.; Bloom, E. D.; Bonamente, E.; Bottacini, E.; Brandt, T. J.; Bregeon, J.; Brigida, M.; Bruel, P.; Buehler, R.; Burgay, M.; Burnett, T. H.; Busetto, G.; Buson, S.; Caliandro, G. A.; Cameron, R. A.; Camilo, F.; Caraveo, P. A.; Casandjian, J. M.; Cecchi, C.; Çelik, Ö.; Charles, E.; Chaty, S.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chekhtman, A.; Chen, A. W.; Chiang, J.; Chiaro, G.; Ciprini, S.; Claus, R.; Cognard, I.; Cohen-Tanugi, J.; Cominsky, L. R.; Conrad, J.; Cutini, S.; D' Ammando, F.; de Angelis, A.; DeCesar, M. E.; De Luca, A.; den Hartog, P. R.; de Palma, F.; Dermer, C. D.; Desvignes, G.; Digel, S. W.; Di Venere, L.; Drell, P. S.; Drlica-Wagner, A.; Dubois, R.; Dumora, D.; Espinoza, C. M.; Falletti, L.; Favuzzi, C.; Ferrara, E. C.; Focke, W. B.; Franckowiak, A.; Freire, P. C. C.; Funk, S.; Fusco, P.; Gargano, F.; Gasparrini, D.; Germani, S.; Giglietto, N.; Giommi, P.; Giordano, F.; Giroletti, M.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Gotthelf, E. V.; Grenier, I. A.; Grondin, M. -H.; Grove, J. E.; Guillemot, L.; Guiriec, S.; Hadasch, D.; Hanabata, Y.; Harding, A. K.; Hayashida, M.; Hays, E.; Hessels, J.; Hewitt, J.; Hill, A. B.; Horan, D.; Hou, X.; Hughes, R. E.; Jackson, M. S.; Janssen, G. H.; Jogler, T.; Jóhannesson, G.; Johnson, R. P.; Johnson, A. S.; Johnson, T. J.; Johnson, W. N.; Johnston, S.; Kamae, T.; Kataoka, J.; Keith, M.; Kerr, M.; Knödlseder, J.; Kramer, M.; Kuss, M.; Lande, J.; Larsson, S.; Latronico, L.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Longo, F.; Loparco, F.; Lovellette, M. N.; Lubrano, P.; Lyne, A. G.; Manchester, R. N.; Marelli, M.; Massaro, F.; Mayer, M.; Mazziotta, M. N.; McEnery, J. E.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Mehault, J.; Michelson, P. F.; Mignani, R. P.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Mizuno, T.; Moiseev, A. A.; Monzani, M. E.; Morselli, A.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Murgia, S.; Nakamori, T.; Nemmen, R.; Nuss, E.; Ohno, M.; Ohsugi, T.; Orienti, M.; Orlando, E.; Ormes, J. F.; Paneque, D.; Panetta, J. H.; Parent, D.; Perkins, J. S.; Pesce-Rollins, M.; Pierbattista, M.; Piron, F.; Pivato, G.; Pletsch, H. J.; Porter, T. A.; Possenti, A.; Rainò, S.; Rando, R.; Ransom, S. M.; Ray, P. S.; Razzano, M.; Rea, N.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renault, N.; Reposeur, T.; Ritz, S.; Romani, R. W.; Roth, M.; Rousseau, R.; Roy, J.; Ruan, J.; Sartori, A.; Saz Parkinson, P. M.; Scargle, J. D.; Schulz, A.; Sgrò, C.; Shannon, R.; Siskind, E. J.; Smith, D. A.; Spandre, G.; Spinelli, P.; Stappers, B. W.; Strong, A. W.; Suson, D. J.; Takahashi, H.; Thayer, J. G.; Thayer, J. B.; Theureau, G.; Thompson, D. J.; Thorsett, S. E.; Tibaldo, L.; Tibolla, O.; Tinivella, M.; Torres, D. F.; Tosti, G.; Troja, E.; Uchiyama, Y.; Usher, T. L.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Vasileiou, V.; Venter, C.; Vianello, G.; Vitale, V.; Wang, N.; Weltevrede, P.; Winer, B. L.; Wolff, M. T.; Wood, D. L.; Wood, K. S.; Wood, M.; Yang, Z.

2013-09-19

This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence ≥0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117 pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emission for several young and millisecond pulsars. We compare the gamma-ray properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermi's selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing comparisons with predicted population distributions.

Slot Optimization Design of Induction Motor for Electric Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yiming; Zhu, Changqing; Wang, Xiuhe

2018-01-01

Slot design of induction motor has a great influence on its performance. The RMxprt module based on magnetic circuit method can be used to analyze the influence of rotor slot type on motor characteristics and optimize slot parameters. In this paper, the authors take an induction motor of electric vehicle for a typical example. The first step of the design is to optimize the rotor slot by RMxprt, and then compare the main performance of the motor before and after the optimization through Ansoft Maxwell 2D. After that, the combination of optimum slot type and the optimum parameters are obtained. The results show that the power factor and the starting torque of the optimized motor have been improved significantly. Furthermore, the electric vehicle works at a better running status after the optimization.

Galactic distribution and genesis of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guseinov, O.H.; Kasumov, F.K.

1981-01-01

The radial distribution of pulsars in the Galaxy have been calculated by the authors using the available electron density figure for each pulsar. Also the luminosity function, the evolution of luminosity with age and the birth rate were determined. (Auth.)

Predictors of return rate discrimination in slot machine play.

Science.gov (United States)

Coates, Ewan; Blaszczynski, Alex

2014-09-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which accurate estimates of payback percentages and volatility combined with prior learning, enabled players to successfully discriminate between multi-line/multi-credit slot machines that provided differing rates of reinforcement. The aim was to determine if the capacity to discriminate structural characteristics of gaming machines influenced player choices in selecting 'favourite' slot machines. Slot machine gambling history, gambling beliefs and knowledge, impulsivity, illusions of control, and problem solving style were assessed in a sample of 48 first year undergraduate psychology students. Participants were subsequently exposed to a choice paradigm where they could freely select to play either of two concurrently presented PC-simulated slot machines programmed to randomly differ in expected player return rates (payback percentage) and win frequency (volatility). Results suggest that prior learning and cognitions (particularly gambler's fallacy) but not payback, were major contributors to the ability of a player to discriminate volatility between slot machines. Participants displayed a general tendency to discriminate payback, but counter-intuitively placed more bets on the slot machine with lower payback percentage rates.

The Role of Auditory Features Within Slot-Themed Social Casino Games and Online Slot Machine Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Bramley, Stephanie; Gainsbury, Sally M

2015-12-01

Over the last few years playing social casino games has become a popular entertainment activity. Social casino games are offered via social media platforms and mobile apps and resemble gambling activities. However, social casino games are not classified as gambling as they can be played for free, outcomes may not be determined by chance, and players receive no monetary payouts. Social casino games appear to be somewhat similar to online gambling activities in terms of their visual and auditory features, but to date little research has investigated the cross over between these games. This study examines the auditory features of slot-themed social casino games and online slot machine games using a case study design. An example of each game type was played on three separate occasions during which, the auditory features (i.e., music, speech, sound effects, and the absence of sound) within the games were logged. The online slot-themed game was played in demo mode. This is the first study to provide a qualitative account of the role of auditory features within a slot-themed social casino game and an online slot machine game. Our results found many similarities between how sound is utilised within the two games. Therefore the sounds within these games may serve functions including: setting the scene for gaming, creating an image, demarcating space, interacting with visual features, prompting players to act, communicating achievements to players, providing reinforcement, heightening player emotions and the gaming experience. As a result this may reduce the ability of players to make a clear distinction between these two activities, which may facilitate migration between games.

Excitation of spin waves in BiFeO3 multiferroic film by the slot line transducer

Science.gov (United States)

Korneev, V. I.; Popkov, A. F.; Solov'yov, S. V.

2018-01-01

Analysis of the efficiency of magnetoelectric excitation of spin-waves in BiFeO3 multiferroic films by a slot line is performed based on the solution of dynamic Ginzburg-Landau equations for the antiferromagnetic vector. The excitation efficiency is determined by the magnitude of the conversion coefficient of the electromagnetic wave to the spin wave by the slot line transducer or in other words, losses on conversion in the slot line. Calculations are made for a homogeneous antiferromagnetic state of the multiferroic in the presence of a sufficiently large magnetic field and for a spatially modulated spin state (SMSS) at zero magnetic field. It is shown that in the case of a homogeneous antiferromagnetic state, the losses on the excitation of spin waves exceed the excitation efficiency in the SMSS state; however, as the frequency approaches the spin excitation gap, it falls and becomes lower than in the SMSS state. Spin wave excitation in the presence of antiferromagnetic cycloid strongly depends on the relation of the slot width of the transducer to the cycloid periodicity and on the magnitude of the shift of the position of the transducer along the cycloid on its period. The usage of multiferroics for delay lines in the considered frequency range from 100 to 600 GHz requires significant reduction in conversion and propagation losses. More promising seems multiferroic usage in phase shifters and switches for this range.

Predicting Pulsar Scintillation from Refractive Plasma Sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Simard, Dana; Pen, Ue-Li

2018-05-01

The dynamic and secondary spectra of many pulsars show evidence for long-lived, aligned images of the pulsar that are stationary on a thin scattering sheet. One explanation for this phenomenon considers the effects of wave crests along sheets in the ionized interstellar medium, such as those due to Alfvén waves propagating along current sheets. If these sheets are closely aligned to our line-of-sight to the pulsar, high bending angles arise at the wave crests and a selection effect causes alignment of images produced at different crests, similar to grazing reflection off of a lake. Using geometric optics, we develop a simple parameterized model of these corrugated sheets that can be constrained with a single observation and that makes observable predictions for variations in the scintillation of the pulsar over time and frequency. This model reveals qualitative differences between lensing from overdense and underdense corrugated sheets: Only if the sheet is overdense compared to the surrounding interstellar medium can the lensed images be brighter than the line-of-sight image to the pulsar, and the faint lensed images are closer to the pulsar at higher frequencies if the sheet is underdense, but at lower frequencies if the sheet is overdense.

[Influence of slot size on torque control].

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Jun; Liu, Zhong-Hao; Zhang, Ding; Wu, Chuan-Jun

2009-12-01

To study the influence of two slot size brackets on torque control when teeth interacted in the same arch. After the upper arch was aligned and leveled in Typodont study, the inclinations of upper teeth 5 +/- 5 were measured when 0.457 2 mm x 0.635 0 mm OPA-K brackets and 0.558 8 mmx0.711 2 mm OPA-K brackets were filled with 0.431 8 mm x 0.635 0 mm stainless steel wire. This experiment was duplicated 10 times. The inclin of each tooth were transformed to the absolute values of the torque play angle psi by computing program, and paired-t test was used. The two kinds of slot size brackets were different with statistical significance on torque control. When the brackets were filled with 0.431 8 mm x 0.635 0 mm stainless steel wire, the absolute values of the angle psi in 0.558 8 mm x 0.711 2 mm and 0.457 2 mm x 0.635 0 mm slot size brackets were 6.140 degrees +/- 3.758 degrees and 2.608 degrees +/- 1.479 degrees respectively, and the average difference of that between the two slot size brackets was 3.532 degrees. The absolute values of the angle psi in the upper left and right canine brackets were 2.560 degrees +/- 2.605 degrees, 4.230 degrees +/- 2.817 degrees, 1.260 degrees +/- 0.747 degrees and 2.070 degrees +/- 0.663 degrees respectively, and average differences between them were smaller than that in the other teeth. There was difference between the two kinds of slot size brackets on torque control, and 0.457 2 mm x 0.635 0 mm slot size bracket controls torque better when filled with the same size wire. In this study, the teeth interaction in the same arch probably caused the result that the difference of two slot size brackets on torque control was less than the study results of the theory calculations and material studys before.

The Velocity Distribution of Isolated Radio Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Arzoumanian, Z.; Chernoff, D. F.; Cordes, J. M.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We infer the velocity distribution of radio pulsars based on large-scale 0.4 GHz pulsar surveys. We do so by modelling evolution of the locations, velocities, spins, and radio luminosities of pulsars; calculating pulsed flux according to a beaming model and random orientation angles of spin and beam; applying selection effects of pulsar surveys; and comparing model distributions of measurable pulsar properties with survey data using a likelihood function. The surveys analyzed have well-defined characteristics and cover approx. 95% of the sky. We maximize the likelihood in a 6-dimensional space of observables P, dot-P, DM, absolute value of b, mu, F (period, period derivative, dispersion measure, Galactic latitude, proper motion, and flux density). The models we test are described by 12 parameters that characterize a population's birth rate, luminosity, shutoff of radio emission, birth locations, and birth velocities. We infer that the radio beam luminosity (i) is comparable to the energy flux of relativistic particles in models for spin-driven magnetospheres, signifying that radio emission losses reach nearly 100% for the oldest pulsars; and (ii) scales approximately as E(exp 1/2) which, in magnetosphere models, is proportional to the voltage drop available for acceleration of particles. We find that a two-component velocity distribution with characteristic velocities of 90 km/ s and 500 km/ s is greatly preferred to any one-component distribution; this preference is largely immune to variations in other population parameters, such as the luminosity or distance scale, or the assumed spin-down law. We explore some consequences of the preferred birth velocity distribution: (1) roughly 50% of pulsars in the solar neighborhood will escape the Galaxy, while approx. 15% have velocities greater than 1000 km/ s (2) observational bias against high velocity pulsars is relatively unimportant for surveys that reach high Galactic absolute value of z distances, but is severe for

Pulsar era

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hewish, A

1986-12-01

The discovery of pulsars in 1967 initiated one of the most effervescent phases of astronomy since World War II and opened up a number of important new fields of research. In looking back at the history of this event it is useful to focus on three aspects. These are the prehistory because it reveals a fascinating relationship between theory and observation concerning an entirely new phenomenon - the neutron star; the discovery itself, which was totally unexpected, to see if anything can be learned which might have a bearing on serendipitous discoveries in the future. For example, would pulsars have been found if the sky survey had been recorded digitally and analysed by a computer; the astronomical impact of the discovery as seen eighteen years after the initial excitement.

A STACKED ANALYSIS OF 115 PULSARS OBSERVED BY THE FERMI LAT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCann, A., E-mail: mccann@kicp.uchicago.edu [Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago 933 East 56th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)

2015-05-10

Due to the low gamma-ray fluxes from pulsars above 50 GeV and the small collecting area of space-based telescopes, the gamma-ray emission discovered by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) in ∼150 pulsars is largely unexplored at these energies. In this regime, the uncertainties on the spectral data points and/or the constraints from upper limits are not sufficient to provide robust tests of competing emission models in individual pulsars. The discovery of power-law-type emission from the Crab pulsar at energies exceeding 100 GeV provides a compelling justification for exploration of other pulsars at these energies. We applied the method of aperture photometry to measure pulsar emission spectra from Fermi-LAT data and present a stacked analysis of 115 pulsars selected from the Second Fermi-LAT catalog of gamma-ray pulsars. This analysis, which uses an average of ∼4.2 yr of data per pulsar, aggregates low-level emission which cannot be resolved in individual objects but can be detected in an ensemble. We find no significant stacked excess at energies above 50 GeV. An upper limit of 30% of the Crab pulsar level is found for the average flux from 115 pulsars in the 100–177 GeV energy range at the 95% confidence level. Stacked searches exclusive to the young pulsar sample, the millisecond pulsar sample, and several other promising sub-samples also return no significant excesses above 50 GeV.

Arecibo pulsar survey using ALFA. III. Precursor survey and population synthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swiggum, J. K.; Lorimer, D. R.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Bates, S. D.; Senty, T. R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States); Champion, D. J.; Lazarus, P. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Ransom, S. M. [NRAO, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Brazier, A.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M. [Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Hessels, J. W. T. [ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Postbus 2, 7990 AA, Dwingeloo (Netherlands); Nice, D. J. [Department of Physics, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042 (United States); Ellis, J.; Allen, B. [Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI 53211 (United States); Bhat, N. D. R. [Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122 (Australia); Bogdanov, S.; Camilo, F. [Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Crawford, F. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 17604-3003 (United States); Deneva, J. S. [Arecibo Observatory, HC3 Box 53995, Arecibo, PR 00612 (United States); and others

2014-06-01

The Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array (PALFA) Survey uses the ALFA 7-beam receiver to search both inner and outer Galactic sectors visible from Arecibo (32° ≲ ℓ ≲ 77° and 168° ≲ ℓ ≲ 214°) close to the Galactic plane (|b| ≲ 5°) for pulsars. The PALFA survey is sensitive to sources fainter and more distant than have previously been seen because of Arecibo's unrivaled sensitivity. In this paper we detail a precursor survey of this region with PALFA, which observed a subset of the full region (slightly more restrictive in ℓ and |b| ≲ 1°) and detected 45 pulsars. Detections included 1 known millisecond pulsar and 11 previously unknown, long-period pulsars. In the surveyed part of the sky that overlaps with the Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey (36° ≲ ℓ ≲ 50°), PALFA is probing deeper than the Parkes survey, with four discoveries in this region. For both Galactic millisecond and normal pulsar populations, we compare the survey's detections with simulations to model these populations and, in particular, to estimate the number of observable pulsars in the Galaxy. We place 95% confidence intervals of 82,000 to 143,000 on the number of detectable normal pulsars and 9000 to 100,000 on the number of detectable millisecond pulsars in the Galactic disk. These are consistent with previous estimates. Given the most likely population size in each case (107,000 and 15,000 for normal and millisecond pulsars, respectively), we extend survey detection simulations to predict that, when complete, the full PALFA survey should have detected 1000{sub −230}{sup +330} normal pulsars and 30{sub −20}{sup +200} millisecond pulsars. Identical estimation techniques predict that 490{sub −115}{sup +160} normal pulsars and 12{sub −5}{sup +70} millisecond pulsars would be detected by the beginning of 2014; at the time, the PALFA survey had detected 283 normal pulsars and 31 millisecond pulsars, respectively. We attribute the deficiency in normal pulsar

Searching for millisecond pulsars: surveys, techniques and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stovall, K; Lorimer, D R; Lynch, R S

2013-01-01

Searches for millisecond pulsars (which we here loosely define as those with periods < 20 ms) in the galactic field have undergone a renaissance in the past five years. New or recently refurbished radio telescopes utilizing cooled receivers and state-of-the art digital data acquisition systems are carrying out surveys of the entire sky at a variety of radio frequencies. Targeted searches for millisecond pulsars in point sources identified by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have proved phenomenally successful, with over 50 discoveries in the past five years. The current sample of millisecond pulsars now numbers almost 200 and, for the first time in 25 years, now outnumbers their counterparts in galactic globular clusters. While many of these searches are motivated to find pulsars which form part of pulsar timing arrays, a wide variety of interesting systems are now being found. Following a brief overview of the millisecond pulsar phenomenon, we describe these searches and present some of the highlights of the new discoveries in the past decade. We conclude with predictions and prospects for ongoing and future surveys. (paper)

The Binary Pulsar: Gravity Waves Exist.

Science.gov (United States)

Will, Clifford

1987-01-01

Reviews the history of pulsars generally and the 1974 discovery of the binary pulsar by Joe Taylor and Russell Hulse specifically. Details the data collection and analysis used by Taylor and Hulse. Uses this discussion as support for Albert Einstein's theory of gravitational waves. (CW)

The Gambling Reducing Slot Machine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Callesen, Mette Buhl; Thomsen, Kristine Rømer; Linnet, Jakob

2007-01-01

  The Gambling Reducing Slot Machine - Preliminary results Mette Buhl Callesen, Kristine Rømer Thomsen, Jakob Linnet and Arne Møller The PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital and Centre of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus, Denmark   Slot machines are among the most addictive forms...... and willingness to continue gambling. The results may have important implications for understanding how to reduce gambling behavior in pathological gamblers.   [1] Griffiths, M. 1999. Gambling Technologies: Prospects for Problem Gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, vol. 15(3), pp. 265-283.    ...

Theory of a Traveling Wave Feed for a Planar Slot Array Antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Rengarajan, Sembiam

2012-01-01

Planar arrays of waveguide-fed slots have been employed in many radar and remote sensing applications. Such arrays are designed in the standing wave configuration because of high efficiency. Traveling wave arrays can produce greater bandwidth at the expense of efficiency due to power loss in the load or loads. Traveling wave planar slot arrays may be designed with a long feed waveguide consisting of centered-inclined coupling slots. The feed waveguide is terminated in a matched load, and the element spacing in the feed waveguide is chosen to produce a beam squinted from the broadside. The traveling wave planar slot array consists of a long feed waveguide containing resonant-centered inclined coupling slots in the broad wall, coupling power into an array of stacked radiating waveguides orthogonal to it. The radiating waveguides consist of longitudinal offset radiating slots in a standing wave configuration. For the traveling wave feed of a planar slot array, one has to design the tilt angle and length of each coupling slot such that the amplitude and phase of excitation of each radiating waveguide are close to the desired values. The coupling slot spacing is chosen for an appropriate beam squint. Scattering matrix parameters of resonant coupling slots are used in the design process to produce appropriate excitations of radiating waveguides with constraints placed only on amplitudes. Since the radiating slots in each radiating waveguide are designed to produce a certain total admittance, the scattering (S) matrix of each coupling slot is reduced to a 2x2 matrix. Elements of each 2x2 S-matrix and the amount of coupling into the corresponding radiating waveguide are expressed in terms of the element S11. S matrices are converted into transmission (T) matrices, and the T matrices are multiplied to cascade the coupling slots and waveguide sections, starting from the load end and proceeding towards the source. While the use of non-resonant coupling slots may provide an

Radiation from a Slot System in the Coaxial Line Shield

Science.gov (United States)

Katrich, V. A.; Lyashchenko, V. A.; Medvedev, N. V.

2012-06-01

The problem of electromagnetic wave excitation, scattering and radiation by the system of transverse slots, cut in the outer conductor of an infinite coaxial line, is solved by the magnetomotive forces method. The radiation and reflection coefficients of the circular and arc slot systems are investigated in dependence on slot sizes and feeder parameters. The processes of radiation into lossy material media are studied. The researches have been carried out with the interconnection between slots of internal and external regions considered.

Detecting dark matter with imploding pulsars in the galactic center.

Science.gov (United States)

Bramante, Joseph; Linden, Tim

2014-11-07

The paucity of old millisecond pulsars observed at the galactic center of the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter accumulating in and destroying neutron stars. In regions of high dark matter density, dark matter clumped in a pulsar can exceed the Schwarzschild limit and collapse into a natal black hole which destroys the pulsar. We examine what dark matter models are consistent with this hypothesis and find regions of parameter space where dark matter accumulation can significantly degrade the neutron star population within the galactic center while remaining consistent with observations of old millisecond pulsars in globular clusters and near the solar position. We identify what dark matter couplings and masses might cause a young pulsar at the galactic center to unexpectedly extinguish. Finally, we find that pulsar collapse age scales inversely with the dark matter density and linearly with the dark matter velocity dispersion. This implies that maximum pulsar age is spatially dependent on position within the dark matter halo of the Milky Way. In turn, this pulsar age spatial dependence will be dark matter model dependent.

Magnetic field decay in black widow pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Mendes, Camile; de Avellar, Marcio G. B.; Horvath, J. E.; Souza, Rodrigo A. de; Benvenuto, O. G.; De Vito, M. A.

2018-04-01

We study in this work the evolution of the magnetic field in `redback-black widow' pulsars. Evolutionary calculations of these `spider' systems suggest that first the accretion operates in the redback stage, and later the companion star ablates matter due to winds from the recycled pulsar. It is generally believed that mass accretion by the pulsar results in a rapid decay of the magnetic field when compared to the rate of an isolated neutron star. We study the evolution of the magnetic field in black widow pulsars by solving numerically the induction equation using the modified Crank-Nicolson method with intermittent episodes of mass accretion on to the neutron star. Our results show that the magnetic field does not fall below a minimum value (`bottom field') in spite of the long evolution time of the black widow systems, extending the previous conclusions for much younger low-mass X-ray binary systems. We find that in this scenario, the magnetic field decay is dominated by the accretion rate, and that the existence of a bottom field is likely related to the fact that the surface temperature of the pulsar does not decay as predicted by the current cooling models. We also observe that the impurity of the pulsar crust is not a dominant factor in the decay of magnetic field for the long evolution time of black widow systems.

DETECTING GRAVITATIONAL WAVE MEMORY WITH PULSAR TIMING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordes, J. M.; Jenet, F. A.

2012-01-01

We compare the detectability of gravitational bursts passing through the solar system with those passing near each millisecond pulsar in an N-pulsar timing array. The sensitivity to Earth-passing bursts can exploit the correlation expected in pulse arrival times while pulsar-passing bursts, though uncorrelated between objects, provide an N-fold increase in overall time baseline that can compensate for the lower sensitivity. Bursts with memory from mergers of supermassive black holes produce step functions in apparent spin frequency that are the easiest to detect in pulsar timing. We show that the burst rate and amplitude distribution, while strongly dependent on inadequately known cosmological evolution, may favor detection in the pulsar terms rather than the Earth timing perturbations. Any contamination of timing data by red spin noise makes burst detection more difficult because both signals grow with the length of the time data span T. Furthermore, the different bursts that could appear in one or more data sets of length T ≈ 10 yr also affect the detectability of the gravitational wave stochastic background that, like spin noise, has a red power spectrum. A burst with memory is a worthwhile target in the timing of multiple pulsars in a globular cluster because it should produce a correlated signal with a time delay of less than about 10 years in some cases.

Detecting Gravitational Wave Memory with Pulsar Timing

Science.gov (United States)

Cordes, J. M.; Jenet, F. A.

2012-06-01

We compare the detectability of gravitational bursts passing through the solar system with those passing near each millisecond pulsar in an N-pulsar timing array. The sensitivity to Earth-passing bursts can exploit the correlation expected in pulse arrival times while pulsar-passing bursts, though uncorrelated between objects, provide an N-fold increase in overall time baseline that can compensate for the lower sensitivity. Bursts with memory from mergers of supermassive black holes produce step functions in apparent spin frequency that are the easiest to detect in pulsar timing. We show that the burst rate and amplitude distribution, while strongly dependent on inadequately known cosmological evolution, may favor detection in the pulsar terms rather than the Earth timing perturbations. Any contamination of timing data by red spin noise makes burst detection more difficult because both signals grow with the length of the time data span T. Furthermore, the different bursts that could appear in one or more data sets of length T ≈ 10 yr also affect the detectability of the gravitational wave stochastic background that, like spin noise, has a red power spectrum. A burst with memory is a worthwhile target in the timing of multiple pulsars in a globular cluster because it should produce a correlated signal with a time delay of less than about 10 years in some cases.

Radio emission region exposed: courtesy of the double pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Lomiashvili, David; Lyutikov, Maxim

2014-06-01

The double pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B offers exceptional possibilities for detailed probes of the structure of the pulsar magnetosphere, pulsar winds and relativistic reconnection. We numerically model the distortions of the magnetosphere of pulsar B by the magnetized wind from pulsar A, including effects of magnetic reconnection and of the geodetic precession. Geodetic precession leads to secular evolution of the geometric parameters and effectively allows a 3D view of the magnetosphere. Using the two complimentary models of pulsar B's magnetosphere, adapted from the Earth's magnetosphere models by Tsyganenko (ideal pressure confinement) and Dungey (highly resistive limit), we determine the precise location and shape of the coherent radio emission generation region within pulsar B's magnetosphere. We successfully reproduce orbital variations and secular evolution of the profile of B, as well as subpulse drift (due to reconnection between the magnetospheric and wind magnetic fields), and determine the location and the shape of the emission region. The emission region is located at about 3750 stellar radii and has a horseshoe-like shape, which is centred on the polar magnetic field lines. The best-fitting angular parameters of the emission region indicate that radio emission is generated on the field lines which, according to the theoretical models, originate close to the poles and carry the maximum current. We resolved all but one degeneracy in pulsar B's geometry. When considered together, the results of the two models converge and can explain why the modulation of B's radio emission at A's period is observed only within a certain orbital phase region. Our results imply that the wind of pulsar A has a striped structure only 1000 light-cylinder radii away. We discuss the implications of these results for pulsar magnetospheric models, mechanisms of coherent radio emission generation and reconnection rates in relativistic plasma.

Investigation of a slot nanoantenna in optical frequency range

Science.gov (United States)

Dinesh kumar, V.; Asakawa, Kiyoshi

2009-11-01

Following the analogy of radio frequency slot antenna and its complementary dipole, we propose the implementation of a slot nanoantenna (SNA) in the optical frequency range. Using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, we investigate the electromagnetic (EM) properties of a SNA formed in a thin gold film and compare the results with the properties of a gold dipole nanoantenna (DNA) of the same dimension as the slot. It is found that the response of the SNA is very similar to the DNA, like their counterparts in the radio frequency (RF) range. The SNA can enhance the near field intensity of incident field which strongly depends on its feedgap dimension. The resonance of the SNA is influenced by its slot length; for the increasing slot length, resonant frequency decreases whereas the sharpness of resonance increases. Besides, the resonance of the SNA is found sensitive to the thickness of metal film, when the latter is smaller than the skin depth. The effect of polarization of incident field on the EM response of the SNA was examined; the field enhancement is optimum when polarization is parallel to the feedgap. Finally, we calculate the radiation patterns of the DNA and SNA and compare them with those of the RF dipole antenna. The radiation pattern of the SNA is found to be independent of its slot length when excited at resonant frequency. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on a slot antenna in the optical frequency.

Metal membrane with dimer slots as a universal polarizer

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukovsky, Sergej; Zalkovskij, Maksim; Malureanu, Radu; Kremers, Christian; Chigrin, Dmitry; Tang, Peter T.; Jepsen, Peter U.; Lavrinenko, Andrei V.

2014-03-01

In this work, we show theoretically and confirm experimentally that thin metal membranes patterned with an array of slot dimers (or their Babinet analogue with metal rods) can function as a versatile spectral and polarization filter. We present a detailed covariant multipole theory for the electromagnetic response of an arbitrary dimer based on the Green functions approach. The theory confirms that a great variety of polarization properties, such as birefringence, chirality and elliptical dichroism, can be achieved in a metal layer with such slot-dimer patterning (i.e. in a metasurface). Optical properties of the metasurface can be extensively tuned by varying the geometry (shape and dimensions) of the dimer, for example, by adjusting the sizes and mutual placement of the slots (e.g. inter-slot distance and alignment angle). Three basic shapes of dimers are analyzed: II-shaped (parallel slots), V-shaped, and T-shaped. These particular shapes of dimers are found to be sensitive to variations of the slots lengths and orientation of elements. Theoretical results are well supported by full-wave three-dimensional simulations. Our findings were verified experimentally on the metal membranes fabricated using UV lithography with subsequent Ni growth. Such metasurfaces were characterized using time-domain THz spectroscopy. The samples exhibit pronounced optical activity (500 degrees per wavelength) and high transmission: even though the slots cover only 4.3 % of the total membrane area the amplitude transmission reaches 0.67 at the resonance frequency 0.56 THz.

Humanizing machines: Anthropomorphization of slot machines increases gambling.

Science.gov (United States)

Riva, Paolo; Sacchi, Simona; Brambilla, Marco

2015-12-01

Do people gamble more on slot machines if they think that they are playing against humanlike minds rather than mathematical algorithms? Research has shown that people have a strong cognitive tendency to imbue humanlike mental states to nonhuman entities (i.e., anthropomorphism). The present research tested whether anthropomorphizing slot machines would increase gambling. Four studies manipulated slot machine anthropomorphization and found that exposing people to an anthropomorphized description of a slot machine increased gambling behavior and reduced gambling outcomes. Such findings emerged using tasks that focused on gambling behavior (Studies 1 to 3) as well as in experimental paradigms that included gambling outcomes (Studies 2 to 4). We found that gambling outcomes decrease because participants primed with the anthropomorphic slot machine gambled more (Study 4). Furthermore, we found that high-arousal positive emotions (e.g., feeling excited) played a role in the effect of anthropomorphism on gambling behavior (Studies 3 and 4). Our research indicates that the psychological process of gambling-machine anthropomorphism can be advantageous for the gaming industry; however, this may come at great expense for gamblers' (and their families') economic resources and psychological well-being. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Slot Parameter Optimization for Multiband Antenna Performance Improvement Using Intelligent Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erdem Demircioglu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses bandwidth enhancement for multiband microstrip patch antennas (MMPAs using symmetrical rectangular/square slots etched on the patch and the substrate properties. The slot parameters on MMPA are modeled using soft computing technique of artificial neural networks (ANN. To achieve the best ANN performance, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO and Differential Evolution (DE are applied with ANN’s conventional training algorithm in optimization of the modeling performance. In this study, the slot parameters are assumed as slot distance to the radiating patch edge, slot width, and length. Bandwidth enhancement is applied to a formerly designed MMPA fed by a microstrip transmission line attached to the center pin of 50 ohm SMA connecter. The simulated antennas are fabricated and measured. Measurement results are utilized for training the artificial intelligence models. The ANN provides 98% model accuracy for rectangular slots and 97% for square slots; however, ANFIS offer 90% accuracy with lack of resonance frequency tracking.

Southern hemisphere searches for short period pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manchester, R.N.

1984-01-01

Two searches of the southern sky for short period pulsars are briefly described. The first, made using the 64-m telescope at Parkes, is sensitive to pulsars with periods greater than about 10 ms and the second, made using the Molonglo radio telescope, has sensitivity down to periods of about 1.5 ms. Four pulsars were found in the Parkes survey and none in the Molonglo survey, although analysis of the latter is as yet incomplete. 10 references, 1 figure, 2 tables

Effects of geometry on slot-jet film cooling performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hyams, D.G.; McGovern, K.T.; Leylek, J.H. [Clemson Univ., SC (United States)

1995-10-01

The physics of the film cooling process for shaped, inclined slot-jets with realistic slot-length-to-width ratios (L/s) is studied for a range of blowing ratio (M) and density ratio (DR) parameters typical of gas turbine operations. For the first time in the open literature, the effect of inlet and exit shaping of the slot-jet on both flow and thermal field characteristics is isolated, and the dominant mechanisms responsible for differences in these characteristics are documented. A previously documented computational methodology was applied for the study of four distinct configurations: (1) slot with straight edges and sharp corners (reference case); (2) slot with shaped inlet region; (3) slot with shaped exit region; and (4) slot with both shaped inlet and exit regions. Detailed field results as well as surface phenomena involving adiabatic film effectiveness ({eta}) and heat transfer coefficient (h) are presented. It is demonstrated that both {eta} and h results are vital in the proper assessment of film cooling performance. All simulations were carried out using a multi-block, unstructured/adaptive grid, fully explicit, time-marching solver with multi-grid, local time stepping, and residual smoothing type acceleration techniques. Special attention was paid to and full documentation provided for: (1) proper modeling of the physical phenomena; (2) exact geometry and high quality grid generation techniques; (3) discretization schemes; and (4) turbulence modeling issues. The key parameters M and DR were varied from 1.0 to 2.0 and 1.5 to 2.0, respectively, to show their influence. Simulations were repeated for slot length-to-width ratio (L/s) of 3.0 and 4.5 in order to explain the effects of this important parameter. Additionally, the performance of two popular turbulence models, standard k-F, and RNG k-E, were studied to establish their ability to handle highly elliptic jet/crossflow interaction type processes.

PINT, A Modern Software Package for Pulsar Timing

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jing; Ransom, Scott M.; Demorest, Paul; Ray, Paul S.; Stovall, Kevin; Jenet, Fredrick; Ellis, Justin; van Haasteren, Rutger; Bachetti, Matteo; NANOGrav PINT developer team

2018-01-01

Pulsar timing, first developed decades ago, has provided an extremely wide range of knowledge about our universe. It has been responsible for many important discoveries, such as the discovery of the first exoplanet and the orbital period decay of double neutron star systems. Currently pulsar timing is the leading technique for detecting low frequency (about 10^-9 Hertz) gravitational waves (GW) using an array of pulsars as the detectors. To achieve this goal, high precision pulsar timing data, at about nanoseconds level, is required. Most high precision pulsar timing data are analyzed using the widely adopted software TEMPO/TEMPO2. But for a robust and believable GW detection, it is important to have independent software that can cross-check the result. In this poster we present the new generation pulsar timing software PINT. This package will provide a robust system to cross check high-precision timing results, completely independent of TEMPO and TEMPO2. In addition, PINT is designed to be a package that is easy to extend and modify, through use of flexible code architecture and a modern programming language, Python, with modern technology and libraries.

Flexural and Thermal Properties of Novel Energy Conservation Slotted Reinforced Concrete Beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gao Ma

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional solid reinforced concrete (RC beams were modified to slotted beams for consideration as thermal insulation structural components. The slotted beam consisted of an outer and an inner beam, respectively, with a slot located near the middle of the beam along its width direction for filling thermal insulation material. Flexural and thermal behavior of the slotted beams were investigated. Three RC reference solid beams and six slotted beams were fabricated and tested under four-point bending tests. The test results indicated that the failure mode of both slotted beams and the solid beams was flexural failure. However, the damage process of the slotted beams was different from that of the solid beams at the final loading stage. The moment curvature analysis indicated that the tensile reinforcement ratio of the outer and inner beams had an important effect on the flexural behavior, especially the ductility of the slotted beams. Thermal study indicated that the heat transfer coefficient of the slotted beam was greatly reduced and the thermal inertia factor increased a lot, compared with the solid beam. In addition, FE simulation results showed that a new frame structure using slotted beams exhibited obvious and attractive thermal insulation property.

Development of Pulsar Detection Methods for a Galactic Center Search

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, Stephen; Wharton, Robert; Cordes, James; Chatterjee, Shami

2018-01-01

Finding pulsars within the inner parsec of the galactic center would be incredibly beneficial: for pulsars sufficiently close to Sagittarius A*, extremely precise tests of general relativity in the strong field regime could be performed through measurement of post-Keplerian parameters. Binary pulsar systems with sufficiently short orbital periods could provide the same laboratories with which to test existing theories. Fast and efficient methods are needed to parse large sets of time-domain data from different telescopes to search for periodicity in signals and differentiate radio frequency interference (RFI) from pulsar signals. Here we demonstrate several techniques to reduce red noise (low-frequency interference), generate signals from pulsars in binary orbits, and create plots that allow for fast detection of both RFI and pulsars.

A 5.75-millisecond pulsar in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manchester, R.N.; Lyne, A.G.; Johnston, S.; D'Amico, N.; Lim, J.; Kniffen, D.A.

1990-01-01

Millisecond pulsars are generally believed to be old pulsars that have been spun up ('recycled') as a result of accretion of matter from a companion in a low-mass X-ray binary system. As there is a high incidence of such systems in globular clusters, these are good places to search for millisecond pulsars; so far, ten globular-cluster pulsars have been detected unambiguously. Using the Parkes radiotelescope in Australia, we have found a pulsar with a period of 5.75 ms and a dispersion measure of 25 cm -3 pc in the direction of 47 Tucanae. Despite its probable origin as a member of a binary system, timing measurements show that the pulsar is now single. The observed dispersion measure is consistent with the pulsar lying outside the galactic electron layer and within 47 Tucanae; but it is very different from the value of 67 cm -3 pc for the pulsars that were reported recently as being in this globular cluster, and we suggest that the latter pulsars probably do not in fact lie within 47 Tucanae. (author)

Pulsars Magnetospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Timokhin, Andrey

2012-01-01

Current density determines the plasma flow regime. Cascades are non-stationary. ALWAYS. All flow regimes look different: multiple components (?) Return current regions should have particle accelerating zones in the outer magnetosphere: y-ray pulsars (?) Plasma oscillations in discharges: direct radio emission (?)

On the Spectral Shape of Non-recycled γ-ray Pulsars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Yue Hui

2016-06-01

Full Text Available More than 100 γ−ray pulsars have been discovered by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. With a significantly enlarged sample size, it is possible to compare the properties of different classes. Radio-quiet (RQ γ−ray pulsars form a distinct population, and various studies have shown that the properties of the RQ population can be intrinsically different from those of radio-loud (RL pulsars. Utilizing these differences, it is possible to further classify the pulsar-like unidentified γ−ray sources into sub-groups. In this study, we suggest the possibility of distinguishing RQ/RL pulsars by their spectral shape. We compute the probabilities of a pulsar to be RQ or RL for a given spectral curvature. This can provide a key to the estimation of the intrinsic fraction of radio-quietness in the γ−ray pulsar population, which can place a tight constraint on the emission geometry.

The pulsar contribution to the diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pohl, M.; Kanbach, G.; Hunter, S.D.

1997-01-01

There is active interest in the extent to which unresolved gamma-ray pulsars contribute to the Galactic diffuse emission, and in whether unresolved gamma-ray pulsars could be responsible for the excess of diffuse Galactic emission above 1 GeV that has been observed by EGRET. The diffuse gamma......-ray intensity due to unresolved pulsars is directly linked to the number of objects that should be observed in the EGRET data. We can therefore use our knowledge of the unidentified EGRET sources to constrain model parameters like the pulsar birthrate and their beaming angle. This analysis is based only...... on the properties of the six pulsars that have been identified in the EGRET data and is independent of choice of a pulsar emission model. We find that pulsars contribute very little to the diffuse emission at lower energies, whereas above 1 GeV they can account for 18% of the observed intensity in selected regions...

An algorithm for determining the rotation count of pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Freire, Paulo C. C.; Ridolfi, Alessandro

2018-06-01

We present here a simple, systematic method for determining the correct global rotation count of a radio pulsar; an essential step for the derivation of an accurate phase-coherent ephemeris. We then build on this method by developing a new algorithm for determining the global rotational count for pulsars with sparse timing data sets. This makes it possible to obtain phase-coherent ephemerides for pulsars for which this has been impossible until now. As an example, we do this for PSR J0024-7205aa, an extremely faint Millisecond pulsar (MSP) recently discovered in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. This algorithm has the potential to significantly reduce the number of observations and the amount of telescope time needed to follow up on new pulsar discoveries.

Detectability of rotation-powered pulsars in future hard X-ray surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Wei

2009-01-01

Recent INTEGRAL/IBIS hard X-ray surveys have detected about 10 young pulsars. We show hard X-ray properties of these 10 young pulsars, which have a luminosity of 10 33 -10 37 erg s -1 and a photon index of 1.6-2.1 in the energy range of 20-100 keV. The correlation between X-ray luminosity and spin-down power of L X ∝ L sd 1.31 suggests that the hard X-ray emission in rotation-powered pulsars is dominated by the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) component. Assuming spectral properties are similar in 20-100 keV and 2-10 keV for both the pulsar and PWN components, the hard X-ray luminosity and flux of 39 known young X-ray pulsars and 8 millisecond pulsars are obtained, and a correlation of L X ∝ L sd 1.5 is derived. About 20 known young X-ray pulsars and 1 millisecond pulsars could be detected with future INTEGRAL and HXMT surveys. We also carry out Monte Carlo simulations of hard X-ray pulsars in the Galaxy and the Gould Belt, assuming values for the pulsar birth rate, initial position, proper motion velocity, period, and magnetic field distribution and evolution based on observational statistics and the L X - L sd relations: L X ∝ L sd 1.31 and L X ∝ L sd 1.5 . More than 40 young pulsars (mostly in the Galactic plane) could be detected after ten years of INTEGRAL surveys and the launch of HXMT. So, the young pulsars would be a significant part of the hard X-ray source population in the sky, and will contribute to unidentified hard X-ray sources in present and future hard X-ray surveys by INTEGRAL and HXMT.

Analysis and design of broadband U-slot cut rectangular microstrip ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

AMIT A DESHMUKH

2017-07-15

Jul 15, 2017 ... Abstract. Broadband microstrip antenna using variations of U-slot has been widely reported. However, in most of the reported work, an in-depth explanation about the mode introduced by U-slot and procedure to design. U-slot cut antennas at any given frequency is not explained. In this paper, first an ...

Meter-wavelength VLBI. III. Pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vandenberg, N.R.; Clark, T.A.; Clark, W.C.; Erickson, W.C.; Resch, G.M.; Broderick, J.J.

1976-01-01

The results and analysis of observations of pulsars, especially the Crab Nebula pulsar, taken during a series of meter-wavelength very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiments are discussed. Based on a crude 144 MHz visibility curve which is consistent with a Gaussian brightness distribution, the measured visibilities at 196, 111, and 74 MHz were interpreted to yield apparent angular diameters (at half-power) of 0 .03 +- 0 .01, 0 .07 +- 0 .01, and 0 .18 +- 0 .01, respectively. These sizes scale approximately as wavelength-squared, and the 74 MHz size agrees with recent observations using interplanetary scintillation techniques.The VLBI-measured total flux densities lie on the extrapolation from higher frequencies of the pulsing flux densities. Variations in the total flux density up to 25 percent were observed. A lack of fine structure other than the pulsar in the nebula is indicated by our simple visibility curves. The pulse shapes observed with the interferometer are similar to single-dish measurements at 196 MHz but reveal a steady, nonpulsing component at 111 MHz. The ratio of pulsing to total power was approximately equal to one-half but varied with time. No pulsing power was detected at 74 MHz. It was found that four strong, low-dispersion pulsars were only slightly resolved

Probing the properties of the pulsar wind via studying the dispersive effects in the pulses from the pulsar companion in a double neutron-star binary system

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Shu-Xu; Cheng, K.-S.

2017-12-01

The velocity and density distribution of e± in the pulsar wind are crucial distinction among magnetosphere models, and contain key parameters determining the high-energy emission of pulsar binaries. In this work, a direct method is proposed, which might probe the properties of the wind from one pulsar in a double-pulsar binary. When the radio signals from the first-formed pulsar travel through the relativistic e± flow in the pulsar wind from the younger companion, the components of different radio frequencies will be dispersed. It will introduce an additional frequency-dependent time-of-arrival delay of pulses, which is function of the orbital phase. In this paper, we formulate the above-mentioned dispersive delay with the properties of the pulsar wind. As examples, we apply the formula to the double-pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B and the pulsar-neutron star binary PSR B1913+16. For PSR J0737-3039A/B, the time delay in 300 MHz is ≲ 10 μ s-1 near the superior conjunction, under the optimal pulsar wind parameters, which is approximately half of the current timing accuracy. For PSR B1913+16, with the assumption that the neutron-star companion has a typical spin-down luminosity of 1033 erg s-1, the time delay is as large as 10 - 20 μ s-1 in 300 MHz. The best timing precision of this pulsar is ∼ 5 μ s-1 in 1400 MHz. Therefore, it is possible that we can find this signal in archival data. Otherwise, we can set an upper limit on the spin-down luminosity. Similar analysis can be applied to other 11 known pulsar-neutron star binaries.

Electrodynamic coupling between pulsars and surrounding nebulae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dobrowolny, M [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Frascati (Italy). Lab. per il Plasma nello Spazio; L' Aquila Univ. (Italy). Istituto di Fisica); Ferrari, A [Cambridge Univ. (UK). Inst. of Astronomy; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Turin (Italy). Lab. di Cosmo-Geofisica; Turin Univ. (Italy). Istituto di Fisica)

1976-02-01

In this work a study is presented of collective plasma processes by which pulsars can energetically support young supernova remnants. We show that many of the observed features of the Crab Nebula can be adequately interpreted in terms of a parametric interaction between the low-frequency electromagnetic wave emitted by the pulsar in the oblique rotator model and a relativistic wind of charged particle leaking from the pulsar's inner magnetosphere. In particular we show that there is a relativistic parametric resonant coupling of the strong wave with electrostatic and electromagnetic modes.

GAMMA-RAY SIGNAL FROM THE PULSAR WIND IN THE BINARY PULSAR SYSTEM PSR B1259-63/LS 2883

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khangulyan, Dmitry [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science/JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Aharonian, Felix A. [Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2 (Ireland); Bogovalov, Sergey V. [National Research Nuclear University-MEPHI, Kashirskoe Shosse 31, Moscow 115409 (Russian Federation); Ribo, Marc, E-mail: khangul@astro.isas.jaxa.jp, E-mail: felix.aharonian@dias.ie, E-mail: svbogovalov@mephi.ru, E-mail: mribo@am.ub.es [Departament d' Astronomia i Meteorologia, Institut de Ciences del Cosmos (ICC), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Marti i Franques 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain)

2011-12-01

Binary pulsar systems emit potentially detectable components of gamma-ray emission due to Comptonization of the optical radiation of the companion star by relativistic electrons of the pulsar wind, both before and after termination of the wind. The recent optical observations of binary pulsar system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 revealed radiation properties of the companion star which differ significantly from previous measurements. In this paper, we study the implications of these observations for the interaction rate of the unshocked pulsar wind with the stellar photons and the related consequences for fluxes of high energy and very high energy (VHE) gamma rays. We show that the signal should be strong enough to be detected with Fermi close to the periastron passage, unless the pulsar wind is strongly anisotropic or the Lorentz factor of the wind is smaller than 10{sup 3} or larger than 10{sup 5}. The higher luminosity of the optical star also has two important implications: (1) attenuation of gamma rays due to photon-photon pair production and (2) Compton drag of the unshocked wind. While the first effect has an impact on the light curve of VHE gamma rays, the second effect may significantly decrease the energy available for particle acceleration after termination of the wind.

Pulsar kicks from a dark-matter sterile neutrino

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuller, George M.; Kusenko, Alexander; Mocioiu, Irina; Pascoli, Silvia

2003-01-01

We show that a sterile neutrino with a mass in the 1-20 keV range and a small mixing with the electron neutrino can simultaneously explain the origin of the pulsar motions and the dark matter in the Universe. An asymmetric neutrino emission from a hot nascent neutron star can be the explanation of the observed pulsar velocities. In addition to the pulsar kick mechanism based on resonant neutrino transitions, we point out a new possibility: an asymmetric off-resonant emission of sterile neutrinos. The two cases correspond to different values of the masses and mixing angles. In both cases we identify the ranges of parameters consistent with the pulsar kick, as well as cosmological constraints

Navigation in space by X-ray pulsars

CERN Document Server

Emadzadeh, Amir Abbas

2011-01-01

This book covers modeling of X-ray pulsar signals and explains how X-ray pulsar signals can be used to solve the relative navigation problem. It formulates the problem, proposes a recursive solution and analyzes different aspects of the navigation system.

Constraining Alternative Theories of Gravity Using Pulsar Timing Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Cornish, Neil J.; O'Beirne, Logan; Taylor, Stephen R.; Yunes, Nicolás

2018-05-01

The opening of the gravitational wave window by ground-based laser interferometers has made possible many new tests of gravity, including the first constraints on polarization. It is hoped that, within the next decade, pulsar timing will extend the window by making the first detections in the nanohertz frequency regime. Pulsar timing offers several advantages over ground-based interferometers for constraining the polarization of gravitational waves due to the many projections of the polarization pattern provided by the different lines of sight to the pulsars, and the enhanced response to longitudinal polarizations. Here, we show that existing results from pulsar timing arrays can be used to place stringent limits on the energy density of longitudinal stochastic gravitational waves. However, unambiguously distinguishing these modes from noise will be very difficult due to the large variances in the pulsar-pulsar correlation patterns. Existing upper limits on the power spectrum of pulsar timing residuals imply that the amplitude of vector longitudinal (VL) and scalar longitudinal (SL) modes at frequencies of 1/year are constrained, AVL<4 ×10-16 and ASL<4 ×10-17, while the bounds on the energy density for a scale invariant cosmological background are ΩVLh2<4 ×10-11 and ΩSLh2<3 ×10-13.

PEACE: pulsar evaluation algorithm for candidate extraction - a software package for post-analysis processing of pulsar survey candidates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, K.J.; Stovall, K.; Jenet, F.A.; Martinez, J.; Dartez, L.P.; Mata, A.; Lunsford, G.; Cohen, S.; Biwer, C.M.; Rohr, M.; Flanigan, J.; Walker, A.; Banaszak, S.; Allen, B.; Barr, E.D.; Bhat, N.D.R.; Bogdanov, S.; Brazier, A.; Camilo, F.; Champion, D.J.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J.; Crawford, F.; Deneva, J.; Desvignes, G.; Ferdman, R.D.; Freire, P.; Hessels, J.W.T.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kaspi, V.M.; Knispel, B.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Lynch, R.; Lyne, A.; McLaughlin, M.; Ransom, S.; Scholz, P.; Siemens, X.; Spitler, L.; Stairs, I.; Tan, M.; van Leeuwen, J.; Zhu, W.W.

2013-01-01

Modern radio pulsar surveys produce a large volume of prospective candidates, the majority of which are polluted by human-created radio frequency interference or other forms of noise. Typically, large numbers of candidates need to be visually inspected in order to determine if they are real pulsars.

Do the enigmatic ``Infrared-Faint Radio Sources'' include pulsars?

Science.gov (United States)

Hobbs, George; Middelberg, Enno; Norris, Ray; Keith, Michael; Mao, Minnie; Champion, David

2009-04-01

The Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) team have surveyed seven square degrees of sky at 1.4GHz. During processing some unexpected infrared-faint radio sources (IFRS sources) were discovered. The nature of these sources is not understood, but it is possible that some of these sources may be pulsars within our own galaxy. We propose to observe the IFRS sources with steep spectral indices using standard search techniques to determine whether or not they are pulsars. A pulsar detection would 1) remove a subset of the IFRS sources from the ATLAS sample so they would not need to be observed with large optical/IR telescopes to find their hosts and 2) be intrinsically interesting as the pulsar would be a millisecond pulsar and/or have an extreme spatial velocity.

MHD Interaction of Pulsar Wind Nebulae with SNRs and the ISM

OpenAIRE

van der Swaluw, Eric

2005-01-01

In the late 1960s the discovery of the Crab pulsar in its associated supernova remnant, launched a new field in supernova remnant research: the study of pulsar-driven or plerionic supernova remnants. In these type of remnants, the relativistic wind emitted by the pulsar, blows a pulsar wind nebula into the interior of its supernova remnant. Now, more then forty years after the discovery of the Crab pulsar, there are more then fifty plerionic supernova remnants known, due to the ever-increasin...

Neutron Stars and the Discovery of Pulsars.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenstein, George

1985-01-01

Part one recounted the story of the discovery of pulsars and examined the Crab Nebula, supernovae, and neutron stars. This part (experts from the book "Frozen Star") shows how an understanding of the nature of pulsars allowed astronomers to tie these together. (JN)

Pulsar perimetry in the diagnosis of early glaucoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeppieri, Marco; Brusini, Paolo; Parisi, Lucia; Johnson, Chris A; Sampaolesi, Roberto; Salvetat, Maria Letizia

2010-01-01

To assess the ability of Pulsar perimetry (Pulsar) in detecting early glaucomatous visual field (VF) damage in comparison with Frequency Doubling Technology (FDT), Scanning Laser Polarimetry (SLP, GDx VCC), and Heidelberg Retina Tomography (HRT). Prospective observational cross-sectional case study. This multicenter study included: 87 ocular hypertensives (OHT); 67 glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON) patients; 75 primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients; and 90 normals. All patients underwent standard automated perimetry (SAP) HFA 30-2, Pulsar T30W, FDT N-30, HRT II, and GDx VCC. Area under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves (AROCs) for discriminating between healthy and glaucomatous eyes and agreement among instruments were determined. The best parameters for Pulsar, FDT, HRT, and GDx were, respectively: loss variance square root; no. of areas with PPulsar (AROC, 0.90) appeared comparable with FDT (0.89) and significantly better than HRT (0.82) and GDx (0.79). For GON, Pulsar ability (0.74) was higher than GDx (0.69) and lower than FDT (0.80) and HRT (0.83). The agreement among instruments ranged from 0.12 to 0.56. Pulsar test duration was significantly shorter than SAP and FDT (PPulsar T30W test is a rapid and easy perimetric method, showing higher sensitivity than SAP in detecting early glaucomatous VF loss. Its diagnostic ability is good for detecting early perimetric POAG eyes and fair for GON eyes. Pulsar performance was comparable with FDT, HRT, and GDx, even if the agreement between instruments was poor to fair. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discovery of the optical counterparts to four energetic Fermi millisecond pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breton, R. P. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Van Kerkwijk, M. H. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4 (Canada); Roberts, M. S. E. [Eureka Scientific Inc., 2452 Delmer Street, Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94602-3017 (United States); Hessels, J. W. T. [ASTRON, The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Postbus 2, 7990-AA Dwingeloo (Netherlands); Camilo, F. [Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, 550 West, 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States); McLaughlin, M. A. [Department of Physics, White Hall, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States); Ransom, S. M. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Ray, P. S. [Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7655, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Stairs, I. H., E-mail: r.breton@soton.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada)

2013-06-01

In the last few years, over 43 millisecond radio pulsars have been discovered by targeted searches of unidentified γ-ray sources found by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. A large fraction of these millisecond pulsars are in compact binaries with low-mass companions. These systems often show eclipses of the pulsar signal and are commonly known as black widows and redbacks because the pulsar is gradually destroying its companion. In this paper, we report on the optical discovery of four strongly irradiated millisecond pulsar companions. All four sources show modulations of their color and luminosity at the known orbital periods from radio timing. Light curve modeling of our exploratory data shows that the equilibrium temperature reached on the companion's dayside with respect to their nightside is consistent with about 10%-30% of the available spin-down energy from the pulsar being reprocessed to increase the companion's dayside temperature. This value compares well with the range observed in other irradiated pulsar binaries and offers insights about the energetics of the pulsar wind and the production of γ-ray emission. In addition, this provides a simple way of estimating the brightness of irradiated pulsar companions given the pulsar spin-down luminosity. Our analysis also suggests that two of the four new irradiated pulsar companions are only partially filling their Roche lobe. Some of these sources are relatively bright and represent good targets for spectroscopic follow-up. These measurements could enable, among other things, mass determination of the neutron stars in these systems.

X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE YOUNG PULSAR J1357—6429 AND ITS PULSAR WIND NEBULA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Chulhoon; Pavlov, George G.; Kargaltsev, Oleg; Shibanov, Yurii A.

2012-01-01

We observed the young pulsar J1357—6429 with the Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories. The pulsar spectrum fits well a combination of an absorbed power-law model (Γ = 1.7 ± 0.6) and a blackbody model (kT = 140 +60 –40 eV, R ∼ 2 km at the distance of 2.5 kpc). Strong pulsations with pulsed fraction of 42% ± 5%, apparently associated with the thermal component, were detected in 0.3-1.1 keV. Surprisingly, the pulsed fraction at higher energies, 1.1-10 keV, appears to be smaller, 23% ± 4%. The small emitting area of the thermal component either corresponds to a hotter fraction of the neutron star surface or indicates inapplicability of the simplistic blackbody description. The X-ray images also reveal a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) with complex, asymmetric morphology comprised of a brighter, compact PWN surrounded by the fainter, much more extended PWN whose spectral slopes are Γ = 1.3 ± 0.3 and Γ = 1.7 ± 0.2, respectively. The extended PWN with the observed flux of ∼7.5 × 10 –13 erg s –1 cm –2 is a factor of 10 more luminous then the compact PWN. The pulsar and its PWN are located close to the center of the extended TeV source HESS J1356-645, which strongly suggests that the very high energy emission is powered by electrons injected by the pulsar long ago. The X-ray to TeV flux ratio, ∼0.1, is similar to those of other relic PWNe. We found no other viable candidates to power the TeV source. A region of diffuse radio emission, offset from the pulsar toward the center of the TeV source, could be synchrotron emission from the same relic PWN rather than from the supernova remnant.

A glitch in the Crab pulsar (PSR B0531+21)

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Benjamin; Lyne, Andrew; Bassa, Cees; Breton, Rene; Jordan, Christine; Keith, Michael; Mickaliger, Mitchell B.; Stappers, Benjamin; Weltevrede, Patrick

2018-05-01

We have detected a glitch in the Crab pulsar, B0531+21, on 2018-04-29. The Crab pulsar is regularly monitored with the 42-ft and Lovell telescopes at the Jodrell Bank Observatory as part of the pulsar timing programme.

X-ray states of redback millisecond pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linares, M. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, c/Vía Láctea s/n, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)

2014-11-01

Compact binary millisecond pulsars with main-sequence donors, often referred to as 'redbacks', constitute the long-sought link between low-mass X-ray binaries and millisecond radio pulsars and offer a unique probe of the interaction between pulsar winds and accretion flows. We present a systematic study of eight nearby redbacks, using more than 100 observations obtained with Swift's X-ray Telescope. We distinguish between three main states: pulsar, disk, and outburst states. We find X-ray mode switching in the disk state of PSR J1023+0038 and XSS J12270-4859, similar to what was found in the other redback that showed evidence for accretion: rapid, recurrent changes in X-ray luminosity (0.5-10 keV, L {sub X}), between (6-9) × 10{sup 32} erg s{sup –1} (disk-passive state) and (3-5) × 10{sup 33} erg s{sup –1} (disk-active state). This strongly suggests that mode switching—which has not been observed in quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries—is universal among redback millisecond pulsars in the disk state. We briefly explore the implications for accretion disk truncation and find that the inferred magnetospheric radius in the disk state of PSR J1023+0038 and XSS J12270-4859 lies outside the light cylinder. Finally, we note that all three redbacks that have developed accretion disks have relatively high L {sub X} in the pulsar state (>10{sup 32} erg s{sup –1}).

The High Time Resolution Universe surveys for pulsars and fast transients

Science.gov (United States)

Keith, Michael J.

2013-03-01

The High Time Resolution Universe survey for pulsars and transients is the first truly all-sky pulsar survey, taking place at the Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia and the Effelsberg Radio Telescope in Germany. Utilising multibeam receivers with custom built all-digital recorders the survey targets the fastest millisecond pulsars and radio transients on timescales of 64 μs to a few seconds. The new multibeam digital filter-bank system at has a factor of eight improvement in frequency resolution over previous Parkes multibeam surveys, allowing us to probe further into the Galactic plane for short duration signals. The survey is split into low, mid and high Galactic latitude regions. The mid-latitude portion of the southern hemisphere survey is now completed, discovering 107 previously unknown pulsars, including 26 millisecond pulsars. To date, the total number of discoveries in the combined survey is 135 and 29 MSPs These discoveries include the first magnetar to be discovered by it's radio emission, unusual low-mass binaries, gamma-ray pulsars and pulsars suitable for pulsar timing array experiments.

Angular Momentum Transfer and Fractional Moment of Inertia in Pulsar Glitches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eya, I. O.; Urama, J. O.; Chukwude, A. E.

2017-01-01

We use the Jodrell Bank Observatory glitch database containing 472 glitches from 165 pulsars to investigate the angular momentum transfer during rotational glitches in pulsars. Our emphasis is on pulsars with at least five glitches, of which there are 26 that exhibit 261 glitches in total. This paper identifies four pulsars in which the angular momentum transfer, after many glitches, is almost linear with time. The Lilliefore test on the cumulative distribution of glitch spin-up sizes in these glitching pulsars shows that glitch sizes in 12 pulsars are normally distributed, suggesting that their glitches originate from the same momentum reservoir. In addition, the distribution of the fractional moment of inertia (i.e., the ratio of the moment of inertia of neutron star components that are involved in the glitch process) have a single mode, unlike the distribution of fractional glitch size (Δ ν / ν ), which is usually bimodal. The mean fractional moment of inertia in the glitching pulsars we sampled has a very weak correlation with the pulsar spin properties, thereby supporting a neutron star interior mechanism for the glitch phenomenon.

Angular Momentum Transfer and Fractional Moment of Inertia in Pulsar Glitches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eya, I. O.; Urama, J. O.; Chukwude, A. E., E-mail: innocent.eya@unn.edu.ng, E-mail: innocent.eya@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State (Nigeria)

2017-05-01

We use the Jodrell Bank Observatory glitch database containing 472 glitches from 165 pulsars to investigate the angular momentum transfer during rotational glitches in pulsars. Our emphasis is on pulsars with at least five glitches, of which there are 26 that exhibit 261 glitches in total. This paper identifies four pulsars in which the angular momentum transfer, after many glitches, is almost linear with time. The Lilliefore test on the cumulative distribution of glitch spin-up sizes in these glitching pulsars shows that glitch sizes in 12 pulsars are normally distributed, suggesting that their glitches originate from the same momentum reservoir. In addition, the distribution of the fractional moment of inertia (i.e., the ratio of the moment of inertia of neutron star components that are involved in the glitch process) have a single mode, unlike the distribution of fractional glitch size (Δ ν / ν ), which is usually bimodal. The mean fractional moment of inertia in the glitching pulsars we sampled has a very weak correlation with the pulsar spin properties, thereby supporting a neutron star interior mechanism for the glitch phenomenon.

Demonstration of slot-waveguide structures on silicon nitride / silicon oxide platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrios, C A; Sánchez, B; Gylfason, K B; Griol, A; Sohlström, H; Holgado, M; Casquel, R

2007-05-28

We report on the first demonstration of guiding light in vertical slot-waveguides on silicon nitride/silicon oxide material system. Integrated ring resonators and Fabry-Perot cavities have been fabricated and characterized in order to determine optical features of the slot-waveguides. Group index behavior evidences guiding and confinement in the low-index slot region at O-band (1260-1370nm) telecommunication wavelengths. Propagation losses of <20 dB/cm have been measured for the transverse-electric mode of the slot-waveguides.

Spin-down of radio millisecond pulsars at genesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tauris, Thomas M

2012-02-03

Millisecond pulsars are old neutron stars that have been spun up to high rotational frequencies via accretion of mass from a binary companion star. An important issue for understanding the physics of the early spin evolution of millisecond pulsars is the impact of the expanding magnetosphere during the terminal stages of the mass-transfer process. Here, I report binary stellar evolution calculations that show that the braking torque acting on a neutron star, when the companion star decouples from its Roche lobe, is able to dissipate >50% of the rotational energy of the pulsar. This effect may explain the apparent difference in observed spin distributions between x-ray and radio millisecond pulsars and help account for the noticeable age discrepancy with their young white dwarf companions.

SEARCH FOR VERY HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM PULSAR-PULSAR WIND NEBULA SYSTEMS WITH THE MAGIC TELESCOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderhub, H.; Biland, A.; Antonelli, L. A.; Antoranz, P.; Balestra, S.; Barrio, J. A.; Bose, D.; Backes, M.; Becker, J. K.; Baixeras, C.; Bastieri, D.; Bock, R. K.; Gonzalez, J. Becerra; Bednarek, W.; Berger, K.; Bernardini, E.; Bonnoli, G.; Bordas, P.; Bosch-Ramon, V.; Tridon, D. Borla

2010-01-01

The MAGIC collaboration has searched for high-energy gamma-ray emission of some of the most promising pulsar candidates above an energy threshold of 50 GeV, an energy not reachable up to now by other ground-based instruments. Neither pulsed nor steady gamma-ray emission has been observed at energies of 100 GeV from the classical radio pulsars PSR J0205+6449 and PSR J2229+6114 (and their nebulae 3C58 and Boomerang, respectively) and the millisecond pulsar PSR J0218+4232. Here, we present the flux upper limits for these sources and discuss their implications in the context of current model predictions.

Listening in on Baby - Monitoring the Youngest Known Pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Gotthelf, Eric

We have discovered a most remarkable young pulsar, PSR J1846-0258, in the core of a Crab-like pulsar wind nebula at the center of the bright shell-type SNR Kes 75. Based on its spin-down rate and X-ray spectrum, PSR J1846-0258 is likely the youngest known rotation-powered pulsar. Compared to the Crab pulsar, however, its period, spin-down rate, and X-ray conversion efficiency are each an order of magnitude greater, likely the result of its extreme magnetic field, above the quantum critical threshold. We propose to continue our monitoring campaign of PSR~J1846-0258 to measure the braking index, characterize its timing noise, and search for evidence of timing glitches. Furthermore, an X- ray ephemeris contemporal with GLAST is critical to detecting the pulsar at higher energies.

Monitoring Baby - Listening in on the Youngest Known Pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Gotthelf, Eric

We have discovered a most remarkable young pulsar, PSR J1846-0258, in the core of a Crab-like pulsar wind nebula at the center of the bright shell-type supernova remnant Kes 75. Based on its spin-down rate and X- ray spectrum, PSR J1846-0258 is likely the youngest known rotation- powered pulsar. Compared to the Crab pulsar, however, its period, spin- down rate, and spin-down to X-ray luminosity conversion efficiency are each an order of magnitude greater, likely the result of its extreme magnetic field, above the quantum critical threshold. We propose to continue our monitoring campaign of PSR J1846-0258 to measure the braking index, characterize its timing noise, and search for evidence of glitches. This pulsar provides important insight into the evolution of the youngest NS-SNR systems.

Three Millisecond Pulsars in Fermi LAT Unassociated Bright Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Ransom, S. M.; Ray, P. S.; Camilo, F.; Roberts, M. S. E.; Celik, O.; Wolff, M. T.; Cheung, C. C.; Kerr, M.; Pennucci, T.; DeCesar, M. E.;

Pulsar Wind Bubble Blowout from a Supernova

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blondin, John M. [Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8202 (United States); Chevalier, Roger A., E-mail: blondin@ncsu.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325 (United States)

2017-08-20

For pulsars born in supernovae, the expansion of the shocked pulsar wind nebula is initially in the freely expanding ejecta of the supernova. While the nebula is in the inner flat part of the ejecta density profile, the swept-up, accelerating shell is subject to the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. We carried out two- and three-dimensional simulations showing that the instability gives rise to filamentary structure during this initial phase but does not greatly change the dynamics of the expanding shell. The flow is effectively self-similar. If the shell is powered into the outer steep part of the density profile, the shell is subject to a robust Rayleigh–Taylor instability in which the shell is fragmented and the shocked pulsar wind breaks out through the shell. The flow is not self-similar in this phase. For a wind nebula to reach this phase requires that the deposited pulsar energy be greater than the supernova energy, or that the initial pulsar period be in the ms range for a typical 10{sup 51} erg supernova. These conditions are satisfied by some magnetar models for Type I superluminous supernovae. We also consider the Crab Nebula, which may be associated with a low energy supernova for which this scenario applies.

Two possible approaches to form sub-millisecond pulsars

OpenAIRE

Du, Yuanjie; Xu, R. X.; Qiao, G. J.; Han, J. L.

2008-01-01

Pulsars have been recognized as normal neutron stars or quark stars. Sub-millisecond pulsars, if detected, would play an essential and important role in distinguishing quark stars from neutron stars. A key question is how sub-millisecond pulsars could form. Both sub-Keplerian (for neutron and quark stars) and super-Keplerian cases (only for quark stars, which are bound additionally by strong interaction) have been discussed in this paper in order to investigate possible ways of forming sub-mi...

High precision pulsar timing and spin frequency second derivatives

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, X. J.; Bassa, C. G.; Stappers, B. W.

2018-05-01

We investigate the impact of intrinsic, kinematic and gravitational effects on high precision pulsar timing. We present an analytical derivation and a numerical computation of the impact of these effects on the first and second derivative of the pulsar spin frequency. In addition, in the presence of white noise, we derive an expression to determine the expected measurement uncertainty of a second derivative of the spin frequency for a given timing precision, observing cadence and timing baseline and find that it strongly depends on the latter (∝t-7/2). We show that for pulsars with significant proper motion, the spin frequency second derivative is dominated by a term dependent on the radial velocity of the pulsar. Considering the data sets from three Pulsar Timing Arrays, we find that for PSR J0437-4715 a detectable spin frequency second derivative will be present if the absolute value of the radial velocity exceeds 33 km s-1. Similarly, at the current timing precision and cadence, continued timing observations of PSR J1909-3744 for about another eleven years, will allow the measurement of its frequency second derivative and determine the radial velocity with an accuracy better than 14 km s-1. With the ever increasing timing precision and observing baselines, the impact of the, largely unknown, radial velocities of pulsars on high precision pulsar timing can not be neglected.

THE GALACTIC POPULATION OF YOUNG γ-RAY PULSARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watters, Kyle P.; Romani, Roger W.

2011-01-01

We have simulated a Galactic population of young pulsars and compared with the Fermi LAT sample, constraining the birth properties, beaming and evolution of these spin-powered objects. Using quantitative tests of agreement with the distributions of observed spin and pulse properties, we find that short birth periods P 0 ∼ 50 ms and γ-ray beams arising in the outer magnetosphere, dominated by a single pole, are strongly preferred. The modeled relative numbers of radio-detected and radio-quiet objects agrees well with the data. Although the sample is local, extrapolation to the full Galaxy implies a γ-ray pulsar birthrate 1/(59 yr). This is shown to be in good agreement with the estimated Galactic core collapse rate and with the local density of OB star progenitors. We give predictions for the numbers of expected young pulsar detections if Fermi LAT observations continue 10 years. In contrast to the potentially significant contribution of unresolved millisecond pulsars, we find that young pulsars should contribute little to the Galactic γ-ray background.

Radio continua modulated by waves: Zebra patterns in solar and pulsar radio spectra?n in the 2001 June 15 flare

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Karlický, Marian

2013-01-01

Roč. 552, April (2013), A90/1-A90/6 ISSN 0004-6361 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/12/0103 Grant - others:EU(XE) PIRSES-GA-2011-295272 Institutional support: RVO:67985815 Keywords : Sun * radio radiation * pulsar s Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 4.479, year: 2013

How young the accretion-powered pulsars could be?

Science.gov (United States)

Kostina, M. V.; Ikhsanov, N. R.

2017-12-01

A question about the age of accretion-powered X-ray pulsars has recently been reopened by a discovery of the X-ray pulsar SXP 1062 in the SMC. This High Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB) contains a neutron star rotating with the period of 1062 s and is associated with a supernova remnant of the age ∼ 104 yr. An attempt to explain the origin of this young long-period X-ray pulsar within the traditional scenario of three basic states (ejector, propeller and accretor) encounters difficulties. Even if this pulsar were born as a magnetar the spin-down time during the propeller stage would exceed 104 yr. Here we explore a more circuitous way of the pulsar spin evolution in HMXBs, in which the propeller stage in the evolutionary track is avoided. We find this way to be possible if the stellar wind of the massive companion to the neutron star is magnetized. The geometry of plasma flow captured by the neutron star in this case differs from spherically symmetrical and the magnetospheric radius of the neutron star is smaller than that evaluated in the convention accretion scenarios. We show that the age of an accretion-powered pulsar in this case can be as small as ∼ 104 years without the need of invoking initial magnetic field in excess of 1013 G.

Pulsar Emission Spectrum

OpenAIRE

Gruzinov, Andrei

2013-01-01

Emission spectrum is calculated for a weak axisymmetric pulsar. Also calculated are the observed spectrum, efficiency, and the observed efficiency. The underlying flow of electrons and positrons turns out to be curiously intricate.

High-Energy Emission from Rotation-Powered Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, Alice K.

2007-01-01

Thirty-five years after the discovery of rotation-powered pulsars, we still do not understand their pulsed emission at any wavelength. In the last few years there have been some fundamental developments in acceleration and emission models. I will review both the basic physics of the models as well as the latest developments in understanding the high-energy emission of rotation-powered pulsars. Special and general relativistic effects play important roles in pulsar emission, from inertial frame-dragging near the stellar surface to aberration, time-of-flight and retardation of the magnetic field near the light cylinder. Understanding how these effects determine what we observe at different wavelengths is critical to unraveling the emission physics. Fortunately two new gamma-ray telescopes, AGILE and GLAST, with launches expected this year will detect many new gamma-ray pulsars and test the predictions of these models with unprecedented sensitivity and energy resolution for gamma-rays in the range of 30 MeV to 300 GeV.

FDTD Analysis of U-Slot Rectangular Patch Antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Luk, K. M.; Tong, K. F.; Shum, S. M.; Lee, K. F.; Lee, R. Q.

1997-01-01

The U-slot rectangular patch antenna (Figure I) has been found experimentally to provide impedance and gain bandwidths of about 300 without the need of stacked or coplanar parasitic elements [1,2]. In this paper, simulation results of the U-slot patch using FDTD analysis are presented. Comparison with measured results are given.

Binary and Millisecond Pulsars at the New Millennium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorimer Duncan R.

2001-01-01

Full Text Available We review the properties and applications of binary and millisecond pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1300. There are now 56 binary and millisecond pulsars in the Galactic disk and a further 47 in globular clusters. This review is concerned primarily with the results and spin-offs from these surveys which are of particular interest to the relativity community.

STRONG FIELD EFFECTS ON PULSAR ARRIVAL TIMES: GENERAL ORIENTATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yan; Creighton, Teviet; Price, Richard H.; Jenet, Frederick A.

2009-01-01

A pulsar beam passing close to a black hole can provide a probe of very strong gravitational fields even if the pulsar itself is not in a strong field region. In the case that the spin of the hole can be ignored, we have previously shown that all strong field effects on the beam can be understood in terms of two 'universal' functions: F(φ in ) and T(φ in ) of the angle of beam emission φ in ; these functions are universal in that they depend only on a single parameter, the pulsar/black hole distance from which the beam is emitted. Here we apply this formalism to general pulsar-hole-observer geometries, with arbitrary alignment of the pulsar spin axis and arbitrary pulsar beam direction and angular width. We show that the analysis of the observational problem has two distinct elements: (1) the computation of the location and trajectory of an observer-dependent 'keyhole' direction of emission in which a signal can be received by the observer; and (2) the determination of an annulus that represents the set of directions containing beam energy. Examples of each are given along with an example of a specific observational scenario.

The Crab pulsar at VHE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zanin Roberta

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The last six years have witnessed major revisions of our knowledge about the Crab Pulsar. The consensus scenario for the origin of the high-energy pulsed emission has been challenged with the discovery of a very-high-energy power law tail extending up to ~400 GeV, above the expected spectral cut off at a few GeV. Now, new measurements obtained by the MAGIC collaboration extend the energy spectrum of the Crab Pulsar even further, on the TeV regime. Above ~400 GeV the pulsed emission comes mainly from the interpulse, which becomes more prominent with energy due to a harder spectral index. These findings require γ -ray production via inverse Compton scattering close to or beyond the light cylinder radius by an underlying particle population with Lorentz factors greater than 5 × 106. We will present those new results and discuss the implications in our current knowledge concerning pulsar environments.

Mechanism Design for Multi-slot Ads Auction in Sponsored Search Markets

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Xiaotie; Sun, Yang; Yin, Ming; Zhou, Yunhong

In this paper, we study pricing models for multi-slot advertisements, where advertisers can bid to place links to their sales webpages at one or multiple slots on a webpage, called the multi-slot AD auction problem. We develop and analyze several important mechanisms, including the VCG mechanism for multi-slot ads auction, the optimal social welfare solution, as well as two weighted GSP-like protocols (mixed and hybrid). Furthermore, we consider that forward-looking Nash equilibrium and prove its existence in the weighted GSP-like pricing protocols.

The pulsar era

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hewish, A.

1986-01-01

The discovery of pulsars in 1967 initiated one of the most effervescent phases of astronomy since World War II and opened up a number of important new fields of research. In looking back at the history of this event it is useful to focus on three aspects. These are the prehistory because it reveals a fascinating relationship between theory and observation concerning an entirely new phenomenon - the neutron star; the discovery itself, which was totally unexpected, to see if anything can be learned which might have a bearing on serendipitous discoveries in the future. For example, would pulsars have been found if the sky survey had been recorded digitally and analysed by a computer; the astronomical impact of the discovery as seen eighteen years after the initial excitement. (author)

Pulsar timing arrays: the promise of gravitational wave detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Lommen, Andrea N

2015-12-01

We describe the history, methods, tools, and challenges of using pulsars to detect gravitational waves. Pulsars act as celestial clocks detecting gravitational perturbations in space-time at wavelengths of light-years. The field is poised to make its first detection of nanohertz gravitational waves in the next 10 years. Controversies remain over how far we can reduce the noise in the pulsars, how many pulsars should be in the array, what kind of source we will detect first, and how we can best accommodate our large bandwidth systems. We conclude by considering the important question of how to plan for a post-detection era, beyond the first detection of gravitational waves.

COBRA: a Bayesian approach to pulsar searching

Science.gov (United States)

Lentati, L.; Champion, D. J.; Kramer, M.; Barr, E.; Torne, P.

2018-02-01

We introduce COBRA, a GPU-accelerated Bayesian analysis package for performing pulsar searching, that uses candidates from traditional search techniques to set the prior used for the periodicity of the source, and performs a blind search in all remaining parameters. COBRA incorporates models for both isolated and accelerated systems, as well as both Keplerian and relativistic binaries, and exploits pulse phase information to combine search epochs coherently, over time, frequency or across multiple telescopes. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in a series of simulations that challenge typical search techniques, including highly aliased signals, and relativistic binary systems. In the most extreme case, we simulate an 8 h observation containing 24 orbits of a pulsar in a binary with a 30 M⊙ companion. Even in this scenario we show that we can build up from an initial low-significance candidate, to fully recovering the signal. We also apply the method to survey data of three pulsars from the globular cluster 47Tuc: PSRs J0024-7204D, J0023-7203J and J0024-7204R. This final pulsar is in a 1.6 h binary, the shortest of any pulsar in 47Tuc, and additionally shows significant scintillation. By allowing the amplitude of the source to vary as a function of time, however, we show that we are able to obtain optimal combinations of such noisy data. We also demonstrate the ability of COBRA to perform high-precision pulsar timing directly on the single pulse survey data, and obtain a 95 per cent upper limit on the eccentricity of PSR J0024-7204R of εb < 0.0007.

Slotted Blades Savonius Wind Turbine Analysis by CFD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Alaimo

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper a new bucket configuration for a Savonius wind generator is proposed. Numerical analyses are performed to estimate the performances of the proposed configuration by means of the commercial code COMSOL Multiphysics® with respect to Savonius wind turbine with overlap only. Parametric analyses are performed, for a fixed overlap ratio, by varying the slot position; the results show that for slot positioned near the blade root, the Savonius rotor improves performances at low tip speed ratio, evidencing a better starting torque. This circumstance is confirmed by static analyses performed on the slotted blades in order to investigate the starting characteristic of the proposed Savonius wind generator configuration.

Slots in dielectric image line as mode launchers and circuit elements

Science.gov (United States)

Solbach, K.

1981-01-01

A planar resonator model is used to investigate slots in the ground plane of dielectric image lines. An equivalent circuit representation of the slot discontinuity is obtained, and the launching efficiency of the slot as a mode launcher is analyzed. Slots are also shown to be useful in the realization of dielectric image line array antennas. It is found that the slot discontinuity can be shown as a T-junction of the dielectric image line and a metal waveguide. The launching efficiency is found to increase with the dielectric constant of the dielectric image line, exhibiting a maximum value for guides whose height is slightly less than half a wavelength in the dielectric medium. The measured launching efficiencies of low permittivity dielectric image lines are found to be in good agreement with calculated values

Crustal entrainment and pulsar glitches.

Science.gov (United States)

Chamel, N

2013-01-04

Large pulsar frequency glitches are generally interpreted as sudden transfers of angular momentum between the neutron superfluid permeating the inner crust and the rest of the star. Despite the absence of viscous drag, the neutron superfluid is strongly coupled to the crust due to nondissipative entrainment effects. These effects are shown to severely limit the maximum amount of angular momentum that can possibly be transferred during glitches. In particular, it is found that the glitches observed in the Vela pulsar require an additional reservoir of angular momentum.

Monitoring Baby - Listening in on the Youngest Known Pulsar (XTEAO11)

Science.gov (United States)

Gotthelf, Eric

We have discovered a most remarkable young pulsar, PSR~J1846-0258, in the core of a Crab-like pulsar wind nebula at the center of the bright shell-type supernova remnant Kes~75. Based on its spin-down rate and X- ray spectrum, PSR~J1846-0258 is likely the youngest known rotation- powered pulsar. Compared to the Crab pulsar, however, its period, spin- down rate, and spin-down to X-ray luminosity conversion efficiency are each an order of magnitude greater, likely the result of its extreme magnetic field, above the quantum critical threshold. We propose to continue our monitoring campaign to measure the pulsar's braking index, characterize its timing noise, and search for evidence of timing glitches. This pulsar provides important insight into the evolution of the youngest NS-SNR systems.

Search for optical millisecond pulsars in globular clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Middleditch, J.H.; Imamura, J.N.; Steiman-Cameron, T.Y.

1988-01-01

A search for millisecond optical pulsars in several bright, compact globular clusters was conducted. The sample included M28, and the X-ray clusters 47 Tuc, NGC 6441, NGC 6624, M22, and M15. The globular cluster M28 contains the recently discovered 327 Hz radio pulsar. Upper limits of 4 sigma to pulsed emission of (1-20) solar luminosities were found for the globular clusters tested, and 0.3 solar luminosity for the M28 pulsar for frequencies up to 500 Hz. 8 references

TIMING OF 29 PULSARS DISCOVERED IN THE PALFA SURVEY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyne, A. G.; Stappers, B. W. [Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophys., School of Phys. and Astr., Univ. of Manchester, Manch., M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Bogdanov, S. [Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia Univ., New York, NY 10027 (United States); Ferdman, R. D.; Kaspi, V. M.; Lynch, R. [Dept. of Physics and McGill Space Institute, McGill Univ., Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada); Freire, P. C. C.; Lazarus, P. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Knispel, B.; Allen, B. [Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Brazier, A.; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M. [Dept. of Astronomy, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Camilo, F. [SKA South Africa, Pinelands, 7405 (South Africa); Cardoso, F. [Physics Dept., Univ. of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, 3135 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53211 (United States); Crawford, F. [Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 17604-3003 (United States); Deneva, J. S. [National Research Council, resident at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Hessels, J. W. T.; Leeuwen, J. van [ASTRON, The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Postbus 2, 7990 AA, Dwingeloo (Netherlands); Jenet, F. A. [Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Univ. Texas—Brownsville, TX 78520 (United States); and others

2017-01-10

We report on the discovery and timing observations of 29 distant long-period pulsars found in the ongoing Arecibo L-band Feed Array pulsar survey. Following discovery with the Arecibo Telescope, confirmation and timing observations of these pulsars over several years at Jodrell Bank Observatory have yielded high-precision positions and measurements of rotation and radiation properties. We have used multi-frequency data to measure the interstellar scattering properties of some of these pulsars. Most of the pulsars have properties that mirror those of the previously known pulsar population, although four show some notable characteristics. PSRs J1907+0631 and J1925+1720 are young and are associated with supernova remnants or plerionic nebulae: J1907+0631 lies close to the center of SNR G40.5−0.5, while J1925+1720 is coincident with a high-energy Fermi γ -ray source. One pulsar, J1932+1500, is in a surprisingly eccentric, 199 day binary orbit with a companion having a minimum mass of 0.33 M {sub ⊙}. Several of the sources exhibit timing noise, and two, PSRs J0611+1436 and J1907+0631, have both suffered large glitches, but with very different post-glitch rotation properties. In particular, the rotational period of PSR J0611+1436 will not recover to its pre-glitch value for about 12 years, a far greater recovery timescale than seen following any other large glitches.

The LOFAR pilot surveys for pulsars and fast radio transient

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coenen, T.; van Leeuwen, J.; Hessels, J.W.T.; et al., [Unknown; Alexov, A.; van der Horst, A.; Law, C.; Rowlinson, A.; Swinbank, J.

2014-01-01

We have conducted two pilot surveys for radio pulsars and fast transients with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) around 140 MHz and here report on the first low-frequency fast-radio burst limit and the discovery of two new pulsars. The first survey, the LOFAR Pilot Pulsar Survey (LPPS), observed a

The LOFAR pilot surveys for pulsars and fast radio transients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coenen, T.J.; van Leeuwen, J.; Hessels, J.W.T.; Stappers, B.W.; Kondratiev, V.I.; Alexov, A.; Breton, R.P.; Bilous, A.; Cooper, S.; Falcke, H.; Fallows, R.A.; Gajjar, V.; Griessmeier, J.M.; Hassall, T.E.; Bentum, Marinus Jan

2014-01-01

We have conducted two pilot surveys for radio pulsars and fast transients with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) around 140 MHz and here report on the first low-frequency fast-radio burst limit and the discovery of two new pulsars. The first survey, the LOFAR Pilot Pulsar Survey (LPPS), observed a

An x-ray nebula associated with the millisecond pulsar B1957+20.

Science.gov (United States)

Stappers, B W; Gaensler, B M; Kaspi, V M; van der Klis, M; Lewin, W H G

2003-02-28

We have detected an x-ray nebula around the binary millisecond pulsar B1957+20. A narrow tail, corresponding to the shocked pulsar wind, is seen interior to the known Halpha bow shock and proves the long-held assumption that the rotational energy of millisecond pulsars is dissipated through relativistic winds. Unresolved x-ray emission likely represents the shock where the winds of the pulsar and its companion collide. This emission indicates that the efficiency with which relativistic particles are accelerated in the postshock flow is similar to that for young pulsars, despite the shock proximity and much weaker surface magnetic field of this millisecond pulsar.

PSR J1740-3052: a pulsar with a massive companion

Science.gov (United States)

Stairs, I. H.; Manchester, R. N.; Lyne, A. G.; Kaspi, V. M.; Camilo, F.; Bell, J. F.; D'Amico, N.; Kramer, M.; Crawford, F.; Morris, D. J.; Possenti, A.; McKay, N. P. F.; Lumsden, S. L.; Tacconi-Garman, L. E.; Cannon, R. D.; Hambly, N. C.; Wood, P. R.

2001-08-01

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

Discrete-Slots Models of Visual Working-Memory Response Times

Science.gov (United States)

Donkin, Christopher; Nosofsky, Robert M.; Gold, Jason M.; Shiffrin, Richard M.

2014-01-01

Much recent research has aimed to establish whether visual working memory (WM) is better characterized by a limited number of discrete all-or-none slots or by a continuous sharing of memory resources. To date, however, researchers have not considered the response-time (RT) predictions of discrete-slots versus shared-resources models. To complement the past research in this field, we formalize a family of mixed-state, discrete-slots models for explaining choice and RTs in tasks of visual WM change detection. In the tasks under investigation, a small set of visual items is presented, followed by a test item in 1 of the studied positions for which a change judgment must be made. According to the models, if the studied item in that position is retained in 1 of the discrete slots, then a memory-based evidence-accumulation process determines the choice and the RT; if the studied item in that position is missing, then a guessing-based accumulation process operates. Observed RT distributions are therefore theorized to arise as probabilistic mixtures of the memory-based and guessing distributions. We formalize an analogous set of continuous shared-resources models. The model classes are tested on individual subjects with both qualitative contrasts and quantitative fits to RT-distribution data. The discrete-slots models provide much better qualitative and quantitative accounts of the RT and choice data than do the shared-resources models, although there is some evidence for “slots plus resources” when memory set size is very small. PMID:24015956

A high-frequency survey of the southern Galactic plane for pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Simon; Lyne, A. G.; Manchester, R. N.; Kniffen, D. A.; D'Amico, N.; Lim, J.; Ashworth, M.

1992-01-01

Results of an HF survey designed to detect young, distant, and short-period pulsars are presented. The survey detected a total of 100 pulsars, 46 of which were previously unknown. The periods of the newly discovered pulsars range between 47 ms and 2.5 ms. One of the new discoveries, PSR 1259-63, is a member of a long-period binary system. At least three of the pulsars have ages less than 30,000 yr, bringing the total number of such pulsars to 12. The majority of the new discoveries are distant objects with high dispersion measures, which are difficult to detect at low frequencies. This demonstrates that the survey has reduced the severe selection effects of pulse scattering, high Galactic background temperature, and dispersion broadening, which hamper the detection of such pulsars at low radio frequencies. The pulsar distribution in the southern Galaxy is found to extend much further from the Galactic center than that in the north, probably due to two prominent spiral arms in the southern Galaxy.

Gamma-Ray Pulsar Light Curves as Probes of Magnetospheric Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, A. K.

2016-01-01

The large number of gamma-ray pulsars discovered by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope since its launch in 2008 dwarfs the handful that were previously known. The variety of observed light curves makes possible a tomography of both the ensemble-averaged field structure and the high-energy emission regions of a pulsar magnetosphere. Fitting the gamma-ray pulsar light curves with model magnetospheres and emission models has revealed that most of the high-energy emission, and the particles acceleration, takes place near or beyond the light cylinder, near the current sheet. As pulsar magnetosphere models become more sophisticated, it is possible to probe magnetic field structure and emission that are self-consistently determined. Light curve modeling will continue to be a powerful tool for constraining the pulsar magnetosphere physics.

Slotted Waveguide and Antenna Study for HPM and RF Applications

Science.gov (United States)

2017-07-25

conventional rectangular slot arrays. The proposed CSR-SW A provided higher peak gain than the conventional lambda /4 rectangu lar slot array and a...more compact s ize (55% size reductjon) compared to the lambda /2 rectangular slot array. Both the theoretic and measured results suggest a return loss...in terms of scattering matrix S is: (I-8) With the scattering matrix S, we can compute the scattering field at any position. The resonance of SCCR

ON THE POLAR CAP CASCADE PAIR MULTIPLICITY OF YOUNG PULSARS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Timokhin, A. N.; Harding, A. K., E-mail: andrey.timokhin@nasa.gov [Astrophysics Science Division, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2015-09-10

We study the efficiency of pair production in polar caps of young pulsars under a variety of conditions to estimate the maximum possible multiplicity of pair plasma in pulsar magnetospheres. We develop a semi-analytic model for calculation of cascade multiplicity which allows efficient exploration of the parameter space and corroborate it with direct numerical simulations. Pair creation processes are considered separately from particle acceleration in order to assess different factors affecting cascade efficiency, with acceleration of primary particles described by recent self-consistent non-stationary model of pair cascades. We argue that the most efficient cascades operate in the curvature radiation/synchrotron regime, the maximum multiplicity of pair plasma in pulsar magnetospheres is ∼few × 10{sup 5}. The multiplicity of pair plasma in magnetospheres of young energetic pulsars weakly depends on the strength of the magnetic field and the radius of curvature of magnetic field lines and has a stronger dependence on pulsar inclination angle. This result questions assumptions about very high pair plasma multiplicity in theories of pulsar wind nebulae.

Gravitational waves from pulsars in the context of magnetic ellipticity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, Jose C.N. de; Coelho, Jaziel G.; Costa, Cesar A. [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Divisao de Astrofisica, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil)

2017-05-15

In one of our previous articles we have considered the role of a time dependent magnetic ellipticity on the pulsars' braking indices and on the putative gravitational waves these objects can emit. Since only nine of more than 2000 known pulsars have accurately measured braking indices, it is of interest to extend this study to all known pulsars, in particular as regards gravitational wave generation. To do so, as shown in our previous article, we need to know some pulsars' observable quantities such as: periods and their time derivatives, and estimated distances to the Earth. Moreover, we also need to know the pulsars' masses and radii, for which we are adopting current fiducial values. Our results show that the gravitational wave amplitude is at best h ∝ 10{sup -28}. This leads to a pessimistic prospect for the detection of gravitational waves generated by these pulsars, even for Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, and the planned Einstein Telescope, if the ellipticity has a magnetic origin. (orig.)

Gravitational waves from pulsars in the context of magnetic ellipticity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Jose C.N. de; Coelho, Jaziel G.; Costa, Cesar A.

2017-01-01

In one of our previous articles we have considered the role of a time dependent magnetic ellipticity on the pulsars' braking indices and on the putative gravitational waves these objects can emit. Since only nine of more than 2000 known pulsars have accurately measured braking indices, it is of interest to extend this study to all known pulsars, in particular as regards gravitational wave generation. To do so, as shown in our previous article, we need to know some pulsars' observable quantities such as: periods and their time derivatives, and estimated distances to the Earth. Moreover, we also need to know the pulsars' masses and radii, for which we are adopting current fiducial values. Our results show that the gravitational wave amplitude is at best h ∝ 10 -28 . This leads to a pessimistic prospect for the detection of gravitational waves generated by these pulsars, even for Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, and the planned Einstein Telescope, if the ellipticity has a magnetic origin. (orig.)

Geothermal reservoirs. Position of slotted section of the tube casing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carotenuto, A.; Vanoli, L.; Casarosa, C.

1999-01-01

In the present work the authors have verified the influence of the position of slotted section casing on heat rate drawn by plants for exploitation of geothermal reservoirs that use heat exchangers placed at the bottom of the well (DHE). This study have been done modelling numerically the aquifer, by means of finite element method, evaluating the heat rate drawn by the heat exchanger at different position of the slotted section of the tube casing. Numerical calculations have allowed to show the influence of the main characteristics of the aquifer and of the main characteristics of the aquifer and of the plant on design of the slotted section of the tube casing. In particular, the authors have studied the influence of i) equivalent conductivity and permeability of the aquifer, ii) mass flow rate and the inlet and outlet aquifer temperature difference in the well, iii) the ratio between the length of the slotted section and the thickness of the geothermal layer, varying the position of the slotted section of the tube casing in the aquifer [it

Vertically Polarized Omnidirectional Printed Slot Loop AntennaPrinted Slot Loop Antenna (invited)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kammersgaard, Nikolaj Peter Iversen; Kvist, Søren Helstrup; Thaysen, Jesper

2015-01-01

and in-phase fields in the slot in order to obtain an omnidirectional radiation pattern. The antenna is designed for the 2.45 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical band. Applications of the antenna are many. One is for on-body applications since it is ideal for launching a creeping waves due...

Pulsars and cosmic rays in the dense supernova shells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berezinsky, V.S.; Prilutsky, O.F.

1977-01-01

Cosmic rays (c.r.) injected by a young pulsar in the dense supernova shell are considered. The maintenance of the Galactic c.r. pool by pulsar production is shown to have a difficulty: adiabatic energy losses of c.r. in the expanding shell demand a high initial c.r. luminosity of pulsar, which results in too high flux of γ-radiation produced through π 0 -decays (in excess over diffuse γ-ray background). (author)

Planets around pulsars - Implications for planetary formation

Science.gov (United States)

Bodenheimer, Peter

1993-01-01

Data on planets around pulsars are summarized, and different models intended to explain the formation mechanism are described. Both theoretical and observational evidence suggest that very special circumstances are required for the formation of planetary systems around pulsars, namely, the prior presence of a millisecond pulsar with a close binary companion, probably a low mass main-sequence star. It is concluded that the discovery of two planets around PSR 1257+12 is important for better understanding the problems of dynamics and stellar evolution. The process of planetary formation should be learned through intensive studies of the properties of disks near young objects and application of techniques for detection of planets around main-sequence solar-type stars.

Observations of Pulsars with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parent, D.

2009-11-01

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on Fermi, launched on 2008 June 11, is a space telescope to explore the high energy γ-ray universe. The instrument covers the energy range from 20 MeV to 300 GeV with greatly improved sensitivity and ability to localize γ-ray point sources. It detects γ-rays through conversion to electron-positron pairs and measurement of their direction in a tracker and their energy in a calorimeter. This thesis presents the γ-ray light curves and the phase-resolved spectral measurements of radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars detected by the LAT. The measurement of pulsar spectral parameters (i.e. integrated flux, spectral index, and energy cut-off) depends on the instrument response functions (IRFs). A method developed for the on-orbit validation of the effective area is presented using the Vela pulsar. The cut efficiencies between the real data and the simulated data are compared at each stage of the background rejection. The results are then propagated to the IRFs, allowing the systematic uncertainties of the spectral parameters to be estimated. The last part of this thesis presents the discoveries, using both the LAT observations and the radio and X ephemeris, of new individual γ-ray pulsars such as PSR J0205+6449, and the Vela-like pulsars J2229+6114 and J1048-5832. Timing and spectral analysis are investigated in order to constrain the γ-ray emission model. In addition, we discuss the properties of a large population of γ-ray pulsars detected by the LAT, including normal pulsars, and millisecond pulsars. (author)

Modeling of Slot Waveguide Sensors Based on Polymeric Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Bettotti, Paolo; Pitanti, Alessandro; Rigo, Eveline; De Leonardis, Francesco; Passaro, Vittorio M. N.; Pavesi, Lorenzo

2011-01-01

Slot waveguides are very promising for optical sensing applications because of their peculiar spatial mode profile. In this paper we have carried out a detailed analysis of mode confinement properties in slot waveguides realized in very low refractive index materials. We show that the sensitivity of a slot waveguide is not directly related to the refractive index contrast of high and low materials forming the waveguide. Thus, a careful design of the structures allows the realization of high sensitivity devices even in very low refractive index materials (e.g., polymers) to be achieved. Advantages of low index dielectrics in terms of cost, functionalization and ease of fabrication are discussed while keeping both CMOS compatibility and integrable design schemes. Finally, applications of low index slot waveguides as substitute of bulky fiber capillary sensors or in ring resonator architectures are addressed. Theoretical results of this work are relevant to well established polymer technologies. PMID:22164020

Modeling of Slot Waveguide Sensors Based on Polymeric Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenzo Pavesi

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Slot waveguides are very promising for optical sensing applications because of their peculiar spatial mode profile. In this paper we have carried out a detailed analysis of mode confinement properties in slot waveguides realized in very low refractive index materials. We show that the sensitivity of a slot waveguide is not directly related to the refractive index contrast of high and low materials forming the waveguide. Thus, a careful design of the structures allows the realization of high sensitivity devices even in very low refractive index materials (e.g., polymers to be achieved. Advantages of low index dielectrics in terms of cost, functionalization and ease of fabrication are discussed while keeping both CMOS compatibility and integrable design schemes. Finally, applications of low index slot waveguides as substitute of bulky fiber capillary sensors or in ring resonator architectures are addressed. Theoretical results of this work are relevant to well established polymer technologies.

Testing General Relativity with Pulsar Timing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stairs Ingrid H.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Pulsars of very different types, including isolated objects and binaries (with short- and long-period orbits, and white-dwarf and neutron-star companions provide the means to test both the predictions of general relativity and the viability of alternate theories of gravity. This article presents an overview of pulsars, then discusses the current status of and future prospects for tests of equivalence-principle violations and strong-field gravitational experiments.

Rapidly rotating pulsar radiation in vacuum nonlinear electrodynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denisov, V.I.; Pimenov, A.B.; Sokolov, V.A. [Moscow State University, Physics Department, Moscow (Russian Federation); Denisova, I.P. [Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University), Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-11-15

In this paper we investigate the corrections of vacuum nonlinear electrodynamics on rapidly rotating pulsar radiation and spin-down in the perturbative QED approach (post-Maxwellian approximation). An analytical expression for the pulsar's radiation intensity has been obtained and analyzed. (orig.)

Ghost supernova remnants : evidence for pulsar reactivation in dusty molecular clouds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heintzmann, H.; Novello, M.

1983-01-01

An evidence in favour of a new model for pulsar evolution is discussed, according to which pulsars may only function as regularly pulsed emitters if an accretion disc provides a sufficiently continuous return-current to the radio pulsar (neutron star). (L.C.) [pt

Investigation of slot discharge on a 239 MVA hydro generator stator winding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, S.; Hong, W. [BC Hydro and Power Authority, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2009-07-01

This paper discussed a slot discharge investigation conducted on a 239 MVA generator stator winding. The generator in which the winding was located had experienced core split distortion, stator winding phase-to-phase failures, winding failures during Hipot testing, and high partial discharge (PD) activity. The results of on-line PD testing data were evaluated. The stator winding was subjected to visual inspections, bar dissections, and failure mechanism analyses. Eleven winding bars were removed from the stator slots in order to assess groundwall insulation conditions and identify the cause of the slot discharge activity. It was determined that the root cause of the slot discharge was a loose, non-uniform bar in the slot. The vibrating bar caused the semi-conductive coating to wear out and degraded the armour tape. Results of the study demonstrated the importance of on-line PD monitoring for detecting slot PD activity. 4 refs., 3 tabs., 11 figs.

Collaborative en-route and slot allocation algorithm based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shangwen; Guo, Baohua; Xiao, Xuefei; Gao, Haichao

2018-01-01

To allocate the en-routes and slots to the flights with collaborative decision making, a collaborative en-route and slot allocation algorithm based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation was proposed. Evaluation indexes include flight delay costs, delay time and the number of turning points. Analytic hierarchy process is applied to determining index weights. Remark set for current two flights not yet obtained the en-route and slot in flight schedule is established. Then, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is performed, and the en-route and slot for the current two flights are determined. Continue selecting the flight not yet obtained an en-route and a slot in flight schedule. Perform fuzzy comprehensive evaluation until all flights have obtained the en-routes and slots. MatlabR2007b was applied to numerical test based on the simulated data of a civil en-route. Test results show that, compared with the traditional strategy of first come first service, the algorithm gains better effect. The effectiveness of the algorithm was verified.

GMRT Discovery of A Millisecond Pulsar in a Very Eccentric Binary System

OpenAIRE

Freire, Paulo C.; Gupta, Yashwant; Ransom, Scott M.; Ishwara-Chandra, C. H.

2004-01-01

We report the discovery of the binary millisecond pulsar J0514-4002A, which is the first known pulsar in the globular cluster NGC 1851 and the first pulsar discovered using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The pulsar has a rotational period of 4.99 ms, an orbital period of 18.8 days, and the most eccentric pulsar orbit yet measured (e = 0.89). The companion has a minimum mass of 0.9 M_sun and its nature is presently unclear. After accreting matter from a low-mass companion star whi...

The SUrvey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts - I. Survey description and overview

Science.gov (United States)

Keane, E. F.; Barr, E. D.; Jameson, A.; Morello, V.; Caleb, M.; Bhandari, S.; Petroff, E.; Possenti, A.; Burgay, M.; Tiburzi, C.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Eatough, R. P.; Flynn, C.; Jankowski, F.; Johnston, S.; Kramer, M.; Levin, L.; Ng, C.; van Straten, W.; Krishnan, V. Venkatraman

2018-01-01

We describe the Survey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts (SUPERB), an ongoing pulsar and fast transient survey using the Parkes radio telescope. SUPERB involves real-time acceleration searches for pulsars and single-pulse searches for pulsars and fast radio bursts. We report on the observational set-up, data analysis, multiwavelength/messenger connections, survey sensitivities to pulsars and fast radio bursts and the impact of radio frequency interference. We further report on the first 10 pulsars discovered in the project. Among these is PSR J1306-40, a millisecond pulsar in a binary system where it appears to be eclipsed for a large fraction of the orbit. PSR J1421-4407 is another binary millisecond pulsar; its orbital period is 30.7 d. This orbital period is in a range where only highly eccentric binaries are known, and expected by theory; despite this its orbit has an eccentricity of 10-5.

Detecting stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves with pulsar timing arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Siemens, Xavier

2016-03-01

For the past decade the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has been using the Green Bank Telescope and the Arecibo Observatory to monitor millisecond pulsars. NANOGrav, along with two other international collaborations, the European Pulsar Timing Array and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array in Australia, form a consortium of consortia: the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). The goal of the IPTA is to directly detect low-frequency gravitational waves which cause small changes to the times of arrival of radio pulses from millisecond pulsars. In this talk I will discuss the work of NANOGrav and the IPTA, as well as our sensitivity to stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves. I will show that a detection of the background produced by supermassive black hole binaries is possible by the end of the decade. Supported by the NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center.

Pulsar glitches in a strangeon star model

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, X. Y.; Yun, C. A.; Lu, J. G.; Lü, G. L.; Wang, Z. J.; Xu, R. X.

2018-05-01

Pulsar-like compact stars provide us a unique laboratory to explore properties of dense matter at supra-nuclear densities. One of the models for pulsar-like stars is that they are totally composed of "strangeons", and in this paper, we studied the pulsar glitches in a strangeon star model. Strangeon stars would be solidified during cooling, and the solid stars would be natural to have glitches as the result of starquakes. Based on the starquake model established before, we proposed that when the starquake occurs, the inner motion of the star which changes the moment of inertia and has impact on the glitch sizes, is divided into plastic flow and elastic motion. The plastic flow which is induced in the fractured part of the outer layer, would move tangentially to redistribute the matter of the star and would be hard to recover. The elastic motion, on the other hand, changes its shape and would recover significantly. Under this scenario, we could understand the behaviors of glitches without significant energy releasing, including the Crab and the Vela pulsars, in an uniform model. We derive the recovery coefficient as a function of glitch size, as well as the time interval between two successive glitches as the function of the released stress. Our results show consistency with observational data under reasonable ranges of parameters. The implications on the oblateness of the Crab and the Vela pulsars are discussed.

On The Origin Of Hyper-Fast Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Gvaramadze, V. V.

2006-08-01

Recent proper motion and parallax measurements for the pulsar PSR B1508+55 gave the highest (transverse) velocity (~1100 km/s) ever measured for a neutron star (Chatterjee et al. 2005). The spin-down characteristics of PSR B1508+55 (typical of non-recycled pulsars) imply that the high velocity of this pulsar cannot be solely due to disruption of a tight massive binary system. A possible way to account for the high velocity of PSR B1508+55 is to assume that at least a part of this velocity is due to a natal or post-natal kick (Chatterjee et al. 2005). We propose an alternative explanation for the origin of hyper-fast pulsars. We suggest that PSR B1508+55 could be the remnant of a (symmetric) supernova explosion of the helium core of a massive star expelled at high velocity from the dense core of a young massive stellar cluster by an intermediate-mass (binary) black hole. The maximum peculiar velocity of the helium core is limited by the parabolic velocity on its surface and could be as large as ~2000 km/s. Thus, one can account not only for the high velocity measured for PSR B1508+55, but also for the even higher velocity of ~1600 km/s inferred for the pulsar PSR B2224+65 (Guitar; Chatterjee & Cordes 2004) on the basis of its proper motion and the dispersion measure distance estimate.

Gravitational waves from pulsars with measured braking index

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, Jose C.N. de; Coelho, Jaziel G.; Costa, Cesar A. [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Divisao de Astrofisica, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil)

2016-09-15

We study the putative emission of gravitational waves (GWs) in particular for pulsars with measured braking index. We show that the appropriate combination of both GW emission and magnetic dipole brakes can naturally explain the measured braking index, when the surface magnetic field and the angle between the magnetic dipole and rotation axes are time dependent. Then we discuss the detectability of these very pulsars by aLIGO and the Einstein Telescope. We call attention to the realistic possibility that aLIGO can detect the GWs generated by at least some of these pulsars, such as Vela, for example. (orig.)

Asymmetric supernova explosions and the origin of binary pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutantyo, W.

1978-01-01

The author investigates the effect of asymmetric supernova explosions on the orbital parameters of binary systems with a compact component. Such explosions are related to the origin of binary pulsars. The degree of asymmetry of the explosion is represented by the kick velocity gained by the exploding star due to the asymmetric mass ejection. The required kick velocity to produce the observed parameters of the binary pulsar PSR 1913 + 16 should be larger than approximately 80 km s -1 if the mass of the exploding star is larger than approximately 4 solar masses. The mean survival probability of the binary system ( ) is examined for various degrees of asymmetry in the explosion. The rare occurrence of a binary pulsar does not neccessarily imply that such a probability is low since not all pulsars have originated in a binary system. Assuming the birth rate of pulsars by Taylor and Manchester (1977), it is derived that would be as high as 0.25. Such values of can be obtained if the mass of the exploding stars is, in general, not large (< approximately 10 solar masses). (Auth.)

A novel look at the pulsar force-free magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Petrova, S. A.; Flanchik, A. B.

2018-03-01

The stationary axisymmetric force-free magnetosphere of a pulsar is considered. We present an exact dipolar solution of the pulsar equation, construct the magnetospheric model on its basis and examine its observational support. The new model has toroidal rather than common cylindrical geometry, in line with that of the plasma outflow observed directly as the pulsar wind nebula at much larger spatial scale. In its new configuration, the axisymmetric magnetosphere consumes the neutron star rotational energy much more efficiently, implying re-estimation of the stellar magnetic field, B_{new}0=3.3×10^{-4}B/P, where P is the pulsar period. Then the 7-order scatter of the magnetic field derived from the rotational characteristics of the pulsars observed appears consistent with the \\cotχ-law, where χ is a random quantity uniformly distributed in the interval [0,π/2]. Our result is suggestive of a unique actual magnetic field strength of the neutron stars along with a random angle between the magnetic and rotational axes and gives insight into the neutron star unification on the geometrical basis.

Optimal Frequency Ranges for Sub-Microsecond Precision Pulsar Timing

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Michael Timothy; McLaughlin, Maura; Cordes, James; Chatterjee, Shami; Lazio, Joseph

2018-01-01

Precision pulsar timing requires optimization against measurement errors and astrophysical variance from the neutron stars themselves and the interstellar medium. We investigate optimization of arrival time precision as a function of radio frequency and bandwidth. We find that increases in bandwidth that reduce the contribution from receiver noise are countered by the strong chromatic dependence of interstellar effects and intrinsic pulse-profile evolution. The resulting optimal frequency range is therefore telescope and pulsar dependent. We demonstrate the results for five pulsars included in current pulsar timing arrays and determine that they are not optimally observed at current center frequencies. We also find that arrival-time precision can be improved by increases in total bandwidth. Wideband receivers centered at high frequencies can reduce required overall integration times and provide significant improvements in arrival time uncertainty by a factor of $\\sim$$\\sqrt{2}$ in most cases, assuming a fixed integration time. We also discuss how timing programs can be extended to pulsars with larger dispersion measures through the use of higher-frequency observations.

The Emerging Population of Pulsar Wind Nebulae in Hard X-rays

Science.gov (United States)

Mattana, F.; Götz, D.; Terrier, R.; Renaud, M.; Falanga, M.

2009-05-01

The hard X-ray synchrotron emission from Pulsar Wind Nebulae probes energetic particles, closely related to the pulsar injection power at the present time. INTEGRAL has disclosed the yet poorly known population of hard X-ray pulsar/PWN systems. We summarize the properties of the class, with emphasys on the first hard X-ray bow-shock (CTB 80 powered by PSR B1951+32), and highlight some prospects for the study of Pulsar Wind Nebulae with the Simbol-X mission.

Characterizing the nature of subpulse drifting in pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, Rahul; Mitra, Dipanjan

2018-04-01

We report a detailed study of subpulse drifting in four long-period pulsars. These pulsars were observed in the Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey and the presence of phase-modulated subpulse drifting was reported in each case. We carried out longer duration and more sensitive observations lasting 7000-12 000 periods in the frequency range 306-339 MHz. The drifting features were characterized in great detail, including the phase variations across the pulse window. For two pulsars, J0820-1350 and J1720-2933, the phases changed steadily across the pulse window. The pulsar J1034-3224 has five components. The leading component was very weak and was barely detectable in our single-pulse observations. The four trailing components showed subpulse drifting. The phase variations changed in alternate components with a reversal in the sign of the gradient. This phenomenon is known as bi-drifting. The pulsar J1555-3134 showed two distinct peak frequencies of comparable strengths in the fluctuation spectrum. The two peaks did not appear to be harmonically related and were most likely a result of different physical processes. Additionally, the long observations enabled us to explore the temporal variations of the drifting features. The subpulse drifting was largely constant with time but small fluctuations around a mean value were seen.

THE RADIATIVE X-RAY AND GAMMA-RAY EFFICIENCIES OF ROTATION-POWERED PULSARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vink, Jacco; Bamba, Aya; Yamazaki, Ryo

2011-01-01

We present a statistical analysis of the X-ray luminosity of rotation-powered pulsars and their surrounding nebulae using the sample of Kargaltsev and Pavlov, and we complement this with an analysis of the γ-ray emission of Fermi-detected pulsars. We report a strong trend in the efficiency with which spin-down power is converted to X-ray and γ-ray emission with characteristic age: young pulsars and their surrounding nebulae are efficient X-ray emitters, whereas in contrast old pulsars are efficient γ-ray emitters. We divided the X-ray sample in a young (τ c 4 yr) and old sample and used linear regression to search for correlations between the logarithm of the X-ray and γ-ray luminosities and the logarithms of the periods and period derivatives. The X-ray emission from young pulsars and their nebulae are both consistent with L X ∝ P-dot 3 /P 6 . For old pulsars and their nebulae the X-ray luminosity is consistent with a more or less constant efficiency η≡L X / E-dot rot ∼8x10 -5 . For the γ-ray luminosity we confirm that L γ ∝ √E-dot rot . We discuss these findings in the context of pair production inside pulsar magnetospheres and the striped wind model. We suggest that the striped wind model may explain the similarity between the X-ray properties of the pulsar wind nebulae and the pulsars themselves, which according to the striped wind model may both find their origin outside the light cylinder, in the pulsar wind zone.

Pulsars as the sources of high energy cosmic ray positrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooper, Dan; Blasi, Pasquale; Serpico, Pasquale Dario

2009-01-01

Recent results from the PAMELA satellite indicate the presence of a large flux of positrons (relative to electrons) in the cosmic ray spectrum between approximately 10 and 100 GeV. As annihilating dark matter particles in many models are predicted to contribute to the cosmic ray positron spectrum in this energy range, a great deal of interest has resulted from this observation. Here, we consider pulsars (rapidly spinning, magnetized neutron stars) as an alternative source of this signal. After calculating the contribution to the cosmic ray positron and electron spectra from pulsars, we find that the spectrum observed by PAMELA could plausibly originate from such sources. In particular, a significant contribution is expected from the sum of all mature pulsars throughout the Milky Way, as well as from the most nearby mature pulsars (such as Geminga and B0656+14). The signal from nearby pulsars is expected to generate a small but significant dipole anisotropy in the cosmic ray electron spectrum, potentially providing a method by which the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope would be capable of discriminating between the pulsar and dark matter origins of the observed high energy positrons

A multi-slot surface coil for MRI of dual-rat imaging at 4 T

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solis, S E; Rodriguez, A O; Wang, R; Tomasi, D

2011-01-01

A slotted surface coil inspired by the hole-and-slot cavity magnetron was developed for magnetic resonance imaging of obese rats at 4 T. Full-wave analysis of the magnetic field was carried out at 170 MHz for both the slotted and circular-shaped coils. The noise figure values of two coils were investigated via the numerical calculation of the quality factors. Fat simulated phantoms to mimic overweight rats were included in the analysis with weights ranging from 300 to 900 g. The noise figures were 1.2 dB for the slotted coil and 2.4 dB for the circular coil when loaded with 600 g of simulated phantom. A slotted surface coil with eight circular slots and a circular coil with similar dimensions were built and operated in the transceiver mode, and their performances were experimentally compared. The imaging tests in phantoms demonstrated that the slotted surface coil has a deeper RF-sensitivity and better field uniformity than the single-loop RF-coil. High quality images of two overweight Zucker rats were acquired simultaneously with the slotted surface coil using standard spin-echo pulse sequences. Experimental results showed that the slotted surface coil outperformed the circular coil for imaging considerably overweight rats. Thus, the slotted surface coil can be a good tool for MRI experiments in rats on a human whole-body 4 T scanner.

A multi-slot surface coil for MRI of dual-rat imaging at 4T

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solis, S.E.; Tomasi, D.; Solis, S.E.; Wang, R.; Tomasi, D.; Rodriguez, A.O.

2011-07-01

A slotted surface coil inspired by the hole-and-slot cavity magnetron was developed for magnetic resonance imaging of obese rats at 4 T. Full-wave analysis of the magnetic field was carried out at 170 MHz for both the slotted and circular-shaped coils. The noise figure values of two coils were investigated via the numerical calculation of the quality factors. Fat simulated phantoms to mimic overweight rats were included in the analysis with weights ranging from 300 to 900 g. The noise figures were 1.2 dB for the slotted coil and 2.4 dB for the circular coil when loaded with 600 g of simulated phantom. A slotted surface coil with eight circular slots and a circular coil with similar dimensions were built and operated in the transceiver mode, and their performances were experimentally compared. The imaging tests in phantoms demonstrated that the slotted surface coil has a deeper RF-sensitivity and better field uniformity than the single-loop RF-coil. High quality images of two overweight Zucker rats were acquired simultaneously with the slotted surface coil using standard spin-echo pulse sequences. Experimental results showed that the slotted surface coil outperformed the circular coil for imaging considerably overweight rats. Thus, the slotted surface coil can be a good tool for MRI experiments in rats on a human whole-body 4 T scanner.

A multi-slot surface coil for MRI of dual-rat imaging at 4 T

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solis, S E; Rodriguez, A O [Departamento de Ingenieria Electrica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Mexico, DF 09340 (Mexico); Wang, R; Tomasi, D, E-mail: arog@xanum.uam.mx [Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States)

2011-06-21

A slotted surface coil inspired by the hole-and-slot cavity magnetron was developed for magnetic resonance imaging of obese rats at 4 T. Full-wave analysis of the magnetic field was carried out at 170 MHz for both the slotted and circular-shaped coils. The noise figure values of two coils were investigated via the numerical calculation of the quality factors. Fat simulated phantoms to mimic overweight rats were included in the analysis with weights ranging from 300 to 900 g. The noise figures were 1.2 dB for the slotted coil and 2.4 dB for the circular coil when loaded with 600 g of simulated phantom. A slotted surface coil with eight circular slots and a circular coil with similar dimensions were built and operated in the transceiver mode, and their performances were experimentally compared. The imaging tests in phantoms demonstrated that the slotted surface coil has a deeper RF-sensitivity and better field uniformity than the single-loop RF-coil. High quality images of two overweight Zucker rats were acquired simultaneously with the slotted surface coil using standard spin-echo pulse sequences. Experimental results showed that the slotted surface coil outperformed the circular coil for imaging considerably overweight rats. Thus, the slotted surface coil can be a good tool for MRI experiments in rats on a human whole-body 4 T scanner.

Second Generation Dutch Pulsar Machine - PuMa-II

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karuppusamy, Ramesh; Stappers, Ben; Slump, Cornelis H.; van der Klis, Michiel

2004-01-01

The Second Generation Pulsar Machine (PuMa- II) is under development for the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. This is a summary of th e system design and architecture. We show that state of the art pulsar research is possible with commercially available hardware components. This approach

Coherent amplification and pulsar phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casperson, L.W.

1977-01-01

A modification of the rotating-star model has been developed to interpret the periodic energy bursts from pulsars. This new configuration involves theta-directed oscillation modes in the stellar atmosphere or magnetosphere, and most aspects of the typical pulse characteristics are well accounted for. Gain is provided by resonant interactions with particles trapped in the stellar magnetic field. The most significant feature is the fact that highly directional beaming of the output energy results as a natural consequence of coherence between the radiation fields emerging from various locations about the pulsar; and a localized radiation origin is not required. (Auth.)

On the nature of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radhakrishnan, V.

1982-01-01

Although neutron stars were predicted nearly half a century ago, their radiations have been received and studied for just over a decade. Called pulsars because of the pulsating nature of their signals, they exhibit a wide variety of periodic phenomena in their radio emission. This article begins with a historical introduction followed by a short review of their main characteristics. The major models proposed to explain these properties are then outlined. Finally, some very recent developments which promise to throw new light on the mechanism of pulsars and their relationship to supernova remnants are briefly described and discussed. (author)

Pulsar scintillation patterns and strangelets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pérez-García, M. Ángeles, E-mail: mperezga@usal.es [Department of Fundamental Physics and IUFFyM, University of Salamanca, Plaza de la Merced s/n, 37008 Salamanca (Spain); Silk, Joseph, E-mail: silk@iap.fr [Institut d' Astrophysique, UMR 7095, CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 98bis Blvd Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Homewood Campus, Baltimore MD 21218 (United States); Beecroft Institute of Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Pen, Ue-Li, E-mail: pen@cita.utoronto.ca [Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 0N M5S 3H8 (Canada)

2013-12-18

We propose that interstellar extreme scattering events, usually observed as pulsar scintillations, may be caused by a coherent agent rather than the usually assumed turbulence of H{sub 2} clouds. We find that the penetration of a flux of ionizing, positively charged strangelets or quark nuggets into a dense interstellar hydrogen cloud may produce ionization trails. Depending on the specific nature and energy of the incoming droplets, diffusive propagation or even capture in the cloud are possible. As a result, enhanced electron densities may form and constitute a lens-like scattering screen for radio pulsars and possibly for quasars.

Possible relation between pulsar rotation and evolution of magnetic inclination

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Jun

2018-05-01

The pulsar timing is observed to be different from predicted by a simple magnetic dipole radiation. We choose eight pulsars whose braking index was reliably determined. Assuming the smaller values of braking index are dominated by the secular evolution of the magnetic inclination, we calculate the increasing rate of the magnetic inclination for each pulsar. We find a possible relation between the rotation frequency of each pulsar and the inferred evolution of the magnetic inclination. Due to the model-dependent fit of the magnetic inclination and other effects, more observational indicators for the change rate of magnetic inclination are needed to test the relation.

Effects of phase transition induced density fluctuations on pulsar dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Partha Bagchi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available We show that density fluctuations during phase transitions in pulsar cores may have non-trivial effects on pulsar timings, and may also possibly account for glitches and anti-glitches. These density fluctuations invariably lead to non-zero off-diagonal components of the moment of inertia, leading to transient wobbling of star. Thus, accurate measurements of pulsar timing and intensity modulations (from wobbling may be used to identify the specific pattern of density fluctuations, hence the particular phase transition, occurring inside the pulsar core. Changes in quadrupole moment from rapidly evolving density fluctuations during the transition, with very short time scales, may provide a new source for gravitational waves.

Energy characteristics of the double slot in the narrow wall of a rectangular waveguide

OpenAIRE

Martynenko, S. A.

2005-01-01

Based on approximation of the half-wave field distribution in the slots, an expression is derived for internal mutual conductance of closely-spaced slots, which form a double inclined slot in the narrow wall of a rectangular waveguide. The narrow wall has cut-outs reaching the broad wall. With the use of the method of induced magnetomotive forces, a mathematical model is devised for calculating the energy characteristics of the double slot. The impact of angle of inclination of the slots, dim...

Implications of the Discovery of Millisecond Pulsar in SN 1987A

OpenAIRE

Nagataki, S.; Sato, K.

2000-01-01

From the observation of a millisecond pulsar in SN 1987A, the following implications are obtained. 1) The pulsar spindown in SN 1987A is caused by radiating gravitational waves rather than by magnetic dipole radiation and/or relativistic pulsar winds. 2) A mildly deformed shock wave would be formed at the core-collapse and explosion in SN 1987A, which is consistent with the conclusion given in Nagataki (2000). 3) The gravitational waves from the pulsar should be detected in several years usin...

Nanohertz gravitational wave searches with interferometric pulsar timing experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Tinto, Massimo

2011-05-13

We estimate the sensitivity to nano-Hertz gravitational waves of pulsar timing experiments in which two highly stable millisecond pulsars are tracked simultaneously with two neighboring radio telescopes that are referenced to the same timekeeping subsystem (i.e., "the clock"). By taking the difference of the two time-of-arrival residual data streams we can exactly cancel the clock noise in the combined data set, thereby enhancing the sensitivity to gravitational waves. We estimate that, in the band (10(-9)-10(-8))  Hz, this "interferometric" pulsar timing technique can potentially improve the sensitivity to gravitational radiation by almost 2 orders of magnitude over that of single-telescopes. Interferometric pulsar timing experiments could be performed with neighboring pairs of antennas of the NASA's Deep Space Network and the forthcoming large arraying projects.

Relativistic solitons and pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karpman, V I [Inst. of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio-Wave Propagation, Moscow; Norman, C A; ter Haar, D; Tsytovich, V N

1975-05-01

A production mechanism for stable electron bunches or sheets of localized electric fields is investigated which may account for pulsar radio emission. Possible soliton phenomena in a one-dimensional relativistic plasma are analyzed, and it is suggested that the motion of a relativistic soliton, or ''relaton'', along a curved magnetic-field line may produce radio emission with the correct polarization properties. A general MHD solution is obtained for relatons, the radiation produced by a relativistic particle colliding with a soliton is evaluated, and the emission by a soliton moving along a curved field line is estimated. It is noted that due to a number of severe physical restrictions, curvature radiation is not a very likely solution to the problem of pulsar radio emission. (IAA)

The Extended Pulsar Magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Constantinos, Kalapotharakos; Demosthenes, Kazanas; Ioannis, Contopoulos

2012-01-01

We present the structure of the 3D ideal MHD pulsar magnetosphere to a radius ten times that of the light cylinder, a distance about an order of magnitude larger than any previous such numerical treatment. Its overall structure exhibits a stable, smooth, well-defined undulating current sheet which approaches the kinematic split monopole solution of Bogovalov 1999 only after a careful introduction of diffusivity even in the highest resolution simulations. It also exhibits an intriguing spiral region at the crossing of two zero charge surfaces on the current sheet, which shows a destabilizing behavior more prominent in higher resolution simulations. We discuss the possibility that this region is physically (and not numerically) unstable. Finally, we present the spiral pulsar antenna radiation pattern.

NEW X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE GEMINGA PULSAR WIND NEBULA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pavlov, George G.; Bhattacharyya, Sudip; Zavlin, Vyacheslav E.

2010-01-01

Previous observations of the middle-aged pulsar Geminga with XMM-Newton and Chandra have shown an unusual pulsar wind nebula (PWN), with a 20'' long central (axial) tail directed opposite to the pulsar's proper motion and two 2' long, bent lateral (outer) tails. Here, we report on a deeper Chandra observation (78 ks exposure) and a few additional XMM-Newton observations of the Geminga PWN. The new Chandra observation has shown that the axial tail, which includes up to three brighter blobs, extends at least 50'' (i.e., 0.06d 250 pc) from the pulsar (d 250 is the distance scaled to 250 pc). It also allowed us to image the patchy outer tails and the emission in the immediate vicinity of the pulsar with high resolution. The PWN luminosity, L 0.3-8 k eV ∼ 3 x 10 29 d 2 250 erg s -1 , is lower than the pulsar's magnetospheric luminosity by a factor of 10. The spectra of the PWN elements are rather hard (photon index Γ ∼ 1). Comparing the two Chandra images, we found evidence of PWN variability, including possible motion of the blobs along the axial tail. The X-ray PWN is the synchrotron radiation from relativistic particles of the pulsar wind (PW); its morphology is connected with the supersonic motion of Geminga. We speculate that the outer tails are either a sky projection of the limb-brightened boundary of a shell formed in the region of contact discontinuity, where the wind bulk flow is decelerated by shear instability, or polar outflows from the pulsar bent by the ram pressure from the interstellar medium. In the former case, the axial tail may be a jet emanating along the pulsar's spin axis, perhaps aligned with the direction of motion. In the latter case, the axial tail may be the shocked PW collimated by ram pressure.

Broadcast Coded Slotted ALOHA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ivanov, Mikhail; Brännström, Frederik; Graell i Amat, Alexandre

2016-01-01

We propose an uncoordinated medium access control (MAC) protocol, called all-to-all broadcast coded slotted ALOHA (B-CSA) for reliable all-to-all broadcast with strict latency constraints. In B-CSA, each user acts as both transmitter and receiver in a half-duplex mode. The half-duplex mode gives ...

Results of pressurized-slot measurements in the G-Tunnel underground facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, R.M.; Mann, K.L.; Dodds, D.J.

1989-01-01

A rock-mechanics field-testing program is underway at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) as part of the YMP. SNL has the responsibility for assessing the repository design and performance as well as characterizing the geomechanical behavior of the rock. SNL has conducted field experiments in G-Tunnel in Rainier Mesa at the NTS, where tuffs similar to those at Yucca Mountain, the potential repository site, are found. Later experiments are planned as part of the YMP Exploratory Shaft investigations at Yucca Mountain. Major geomechanical factors in repository developments are determinations of the stress state and the deformability of the rock mass (described by the modulus of deformation). One feature of SNL's rock-mechanics program was the development of a testing program for cutting thin slots in a jointed welded tuff and utilizing flatjacks for pressurizing these thin-slots on a relatively, large scale. Objectives in the pressurized-slot testing in G-Tunnel have been to apply and possibly improve methods for (1) utilizing the flatjack cancellation (FC) method for measuring stresses normal to the slot and (2) measuring the modulus of deformation of the jointed rock surrounding the slot. This paper discusses the results of field measurements in and around a single slot and evaluates potential applications and limitations. 10 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs

Slot-dimer babinet metamaterials as polarization shapers for terahertz waves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhukovsky, Sergei; Chigrin, D. N.; Lavrinenko, Andrei

2013-01-01

We theoretically study optical properties of free-standing metallic membranes patterned with an array of two-slot elements (dimers) comprising two rectangular slots of different dimensions and orientation. It is shown that these structures feature extraordinary optical transmission with strong...

COHERENTLY DEDISPERSED GATED IMAGING OF MILLISECOND PULSARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Jayanta; Bhattacharyya, Bhaswati

2013-01-01

Motivated by the need for rapid localization of newly discovered faint millisecond pulsars (MSPs), we have developed a coherently dedispersed gating correlator. This gating correlator accounts for the orbital motions of MSPs in binaries while folding the visibilities with a best-fit topocentric rotational model derived from a periodicity search in a simultaneously generated beamformer output. Unique applications of the gating correlator for sensitive interferometric studies of MSPs are illustrated using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) interferometric array. We could unambiguously localize five newly discovered Fermi MSPs in the on-off gated image plane with an accuracy of ±1''. Immediate knowledge of such a precise position enables the use of sensitive coherent beams of array telescopes for follow-up timing observations which substantially reduces the use of telescope time (∼20× for the GMRT). In addition, a precise a priori astrometric position reduces the effect of large covariances in the timing fit (with discovery position, pulsar period derivative, and an unknown binary model), which in-turn accelerates the convergence to the initial timing model. For example, while fitting with the precise a priori position (±1''), the timing model converges in about 100 days, accounting for the effect of covariance between the position and pulsar period derivative. Moreover, such accurate positions allow for rapid identification of pulsar counterparts at other wave bands. We also report a new methodology of in-beam phase calibration using the on-off gated image of the target pulsar, which provides optimal sensitivity of the coherent array removing possible temporal and spacial decoherences.

COHERENTLY DEDISPERSED GATED IMAGING OF MILLISECOND PULSARS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roy, Jayanta; Bhattacharyya, Bhaswati [National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune 411007 (India)

2013-03-10

Motivated by the need for rapid localization of newly discovered faint millisecond pulsars (MSPs), we have developed a coherently dedispersed gating correlator. This gating correlator accounts for the orbital motions of MSPs in binaries while folding the visibilities with a best-fit topocentric rotational model derived from a periodicity search in a simultaneously generated beamformer output. Unique applications of the gating correlator for sensitive interferometric studies of MSPs are illustrated using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) interferometric array. We could unambiguously localize five newly discovered Fermi MSPs in the on-off gated image plane with an accuracy of {+-}1''. Immediate knowledge of such a precise position enables the use of sensitive coherent beams of array telescopes for follow-up timing observations which substantially reduces the use of telescope time ({approx}20 Multiplication-Sign for the GMRT). In addition, a precise a priori astrometric position reduces the effect of large covariances in the timing fit (with discovery position, pulsar period derivative, and an unknown binary model), which in-turn accelerates the convergence to the initial timing model. For example, while fitting with the precise a priori position ({+-}1''), the timing model converges in about 100 days, accounting for the effect of covariance between the position and pulsar period derivative. Moreover, such accurate positions allow for rapid identification of pulsar counterparts at other wave bands. We also report a new methodology of in-beam phase calibration using the on-off gated image of the target pulsar, which provides optimal sensitivity of the coherent array removing possible temporal and spacial decoherences.

Discovery of an optical bow-shock around pulsar B0740-28

OpenAIRE

Jones, D.H.; Stappers, B.W.; Gaensler, B.M.

2002-01-01

We report the discovery of a faint H-alpha pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by the radio pulsar B0740-28. The characteristic bow-shock morphology of the PWN implies a direction of motion consistent with the previously measured velocity vector for the pulsar. The PWN has a flux density more than an order of magnitude lower than for the PWNe seen around other pulsars, but, for a distance 2 kpc, it is consistent with propagation through a medium of atomic density n_H ~ 0.25 cm^{-3}, and neutral ...

The Radiative X-ray and Gamma-ray Efficiencies of Rotation-powered Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Vink, Jacco; Bamba, Aya; Yamazaki, Ryo

2011-02-01

We present a statistical analysis of the X-ray luminosity of rotation-powered pulsars and their surrounding nebulae using the sample of Kargaltsev & Pavlov, and we complement this with an analysis of the γ-ray emission of Fermi-detected pulsars. We report a strong trend in the efficiency with which spin-down power is converted to X-ray and γ-ray emission with characteristic age: young pulsars and their surrounding nebulae are efficient X-ray emitters, whereas in contrast old pulsars are efficient γ-ray emitters. We divided the X-ray sample in a young (τ c < 1.7 × 104 yr) and old sample and used linear regression to search for correlations between the logarithm of the X-ray and γ-ray luminosities and the logarithms of the periods and period derivatives. The X-ray emission from young pulsars and their nebulae are both consistent with L_X ∝ \\dot{P}^3/P^6. For old pulsars and their nebulae the X-ray luminosity is consistent with a more or less constant efficiency η ≡ L_X/\\dot{E}_{rot} ≈ 8× 10^{-5}. For the γ-ray luminosity we confirm that L_γ ∝ √{\\dot{E}_{rot}}. We discuss these findings in the context of pair production inside pulsar magnetospheres and the striped wind model. We suggest that the striped wind model may explain the similarity between the X-ray properties of the pulsar wind nebulae and the pulsars themselves, which according to the striped wind model may both find their origin outside the light cylinder, in the pulsar wind zone.

Crossed-Slot Cavity-Backed Antenna with Improved Hemispherical Coverage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Oleksiy S.; Breinbjerg, Olav; Østergaard, Allan

2005-01-01

The paper presents the results of the investigation of the crossed-slot cavity-backed antenna with the complementary crossed electric dipoles added to compensate the circularly polarized (CP) radiation pattern degradation near the horizon. Dependences of the radiation characteristics...... of the modified crossed-slot cavity-backed antenna on the length, width and height of the crossed electric dipoles are shown. Effects of a finite size ground plane are taken into account due to a full wave electromagnetic analysis software utilized in the parametrical investigations. Simulated and measured...... results for a selected antenna configuration prove that the properly adjusted crossed electric dipoles are able to improve the coverage and CP polarization characteristics of the crossed-slot cavity-backed antenna....

X-ray counterpart candidates for six new γ-ray pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Zyuzin, Dmitry A.; Karpova, Anna V.; Shibanov, Yuriy A.

2018-05-01

Using archival X-ray data, we have found point-like X-ray counterpart candidates positionally coincident with six γ-ray pulsars discovered recently in the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope data by the Einstein@Home project. The candidates for PSRs J0002+6216, J0554+3107, J1844-0346, and J1105-6037 are detected with Swift, and those for PSRs J0359+5414 and J2017+3625 are detected with Chandra. Despite a low count statistics for some candidates, assuming plausible constraints on the absorbing column density towards the pulsars, we show that X-ray spectral properties for all of them are consistent with those observed for other pulsars. J0359+5414 is the most reliably identified object. We detect a nebula around it, whose spectrum and extent suggest that this is a pulsar wind nebula powered by the pulsar. Associations of J0002+6216 and J1844-0346 with supernova remnants CTB 1 and G28.6-0.1 are proposed.

Measurement of the depth of narrow slotted sections in eddy current reference standards

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young-Joo; Kim, Young-gil; Ahn, Bongyoung; Yoon, Dong-Jin

2007-02-01

The dimensions of the slots in eddy current (EC) reference standards are too narrow to be measured by general depth measurement methods such as the optical (laser) or stylus methods. However, measurement of the dimensions of the machined slots is a prerequisite to using the blocks as references. The present paper suggests a measurement method for the slotted section using an ultrasonic test. The width and depth of the slots measured in our study are roughly 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. The time of flight (TOF) of the ultrasonic wave was measured precisely. The ultrasonic velocity in the material of the EC reference standard was calculated with the measured values of the TOF and its thickness. Reflected waves from the tip of the slot and the bottom surface of the EC standard were successfully classified. Using this method we have successfully determined the depth of the slotted section.

Pulsars in binary systems: probing binary stellar evolution and general relativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Stairs, Ingrid H

2004-04-23

Radio pulsars in binary orbits often have short millisecond spin periods as a result of mass transfer from their companion stars. They therefore act as very precise, stable, moving clocks that allow us to investigate a large set of otherwise inaccessible astrophysical problems. The orbital parameters derived from high-precision binary pulsar timing provide constraints on binary evolution, characteristics of the binary pulsar population, and the masses of neutron stars with different mass-transfer histories. These binary systems also test gravitational theories, setting strong limits on deviations from general relativity. Surveys for new pulsars yield new binary systems that increase our understanding of all these fields and may open up whole new areas of physics, as most spectacularly evidenced by the recent discovery of an extremely relativistic double-pulsar system.

The past, present and future of pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Bell Burnell, Jocelyn

2017-12-01

On the 50th anniversary of the accidental discovery of pulsars (pulsating radio stars, also known as neutron stars) I reflect on the process of their detection and how our understanding of these stars gradually grew. Fifty years on, we have a much better (but still incomplete) understanding of these extreme objects, which I summarize here. The study of pulsars is advancing several areas of fundamental physics, including general relativity, particle physics, condensed-matter physics, and radiation processes in extreme electric and magnetic fields. New observational facilities coming online in the radio regime (such as the Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array precursors) will revolutionize the search for pulsars by accessing thousands more, thus ushering in a new era of discovery for the field.

Ensemble candidate classification for the LOTAAS pulsar survey

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, C. M.; Lyon, R. J.; Stappers, B. W.; Cooper, S.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Michilli, D.; Sanidas, S.

2018-03-01

One of the biggest challenges arising from modern large-scale pulsar surveys is the number of candidates generated. Here, we implemented several improvements to the machine learning (ML) classifier previously used by the LOFAR Tied-Array All-Sky Survey (LOTAAS) to look for new pulsars via filtering the candidates obtained during periodicity searches. To assist the ML algorithm, we have introduced new features which capture the frequency and time evolution of the signal and improved the signal-to-noise calculation accounting for broad profiles. We enhanced the ML classifier by including a third class characterizing RFI instances, allowing candidates arising from RFI to be isolated, reducing the false positive return rate. We also introduced a new training data set used by the ML algorithm that includes a large sample of pulsars misclassified by the previous classifier. Lastly, we developed an ensemble classifier comprised of five different Decision Trees. Taken together these updates improve the pulsar recall rate by 2.5 per cent, while also improving the ability to identify pulsars with wide pulse profiles, often misclassified by the previous classifier. The new ensemble classifier is also able to reduce the percentage of false positive candidates identified from each LOTAAS pointing from 2.5 per cent (˜500 candidates) to 1.1 per cent (˜220 candidates).

DISCOVERY OF FIVE NEW PULSARS IN ARCHIVAL DATA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mickaliger, M. B.; Collins, A.; Hough, L.; Tehrani, N.; Tenney, C.; Liska, A.; Swiggum, J.; Lorimer, D. R.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Boyles, J.

2012-01-01

Reprocessing of the Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey has resulted in the discovery of five previously unknown pulsars and several as-yet-unconfirmed candidates. PSR J0922–52 has a period of 9.68 ms and a dispersion measure (DM) of 122.4 pc cm –3 . PSR J1147–66 has a period of 3.72 ms and a DM of 133.8 pc cm –3 . PSR J1227–6208 has a period of 34.53 ms, a DM of 362.6 pc cm –3 , is in a 6.7 day binary orbit, and was independently detected in an ongoing high-resolution Parkes survey by Thornton et al. and also in independent processing by Einstein-Home volunteers. PSR J1546–59 has a period of 7.80 ms and a DM of 168.3 pc cm –3 . PSR J1725–3853 is an isolated 4.79 ms pulsar with a DM of 158.2 pc cm –3 . These pulsars were likely missed in earlier processing efforts due to the fact that they have both high DMs and short periods, and also due to the large number of candidates that needed to be looked through. These discoveries suggest that further pulsars are awaiting discovery in the multibeam survey data.

Slot-type pickup/kicker for AA stochastic cooling

CERN Multimedia

CERN PhotoLab

1979-01-01

A "slotted transmission line" was used for both pickups and kickers of the cooling systems of the AA. They served for the cooling of the high-density antiproton stack, in momentum and both transverse planes. In the beginning in a single band, 1-2 GHz, later in 2 bands, 2-4 and 4-8 GHz. Here we see the slotted electrodes partly pulled out of the outer casing. See also 7906189, 7906581X, 7896193.

On the mean profiles of radio pulsars - II. Reconstruction of complex pulsar light curves and other new propagation effects

Science.gov (United States)

Hakobyan, H. L.; Beskin, V. S.; Philippov, A. A.

2017-08-01

Our previous paper outlined the general aspects of the theory of radio light curve and polarization formation for pulsars. We predicted the one-to-one correspondence between the tilt of the linear polarization position angle of the the circular polarization. However, some of the radio pulsars indicate a clear deviation from that correlation. In this paper, we apply the theory of the radio wave propagation in the pulsar magnetosphere for the analysis of individual effects leading to these deviations. We show that within our theory the circular polarization of a given mode can switch its sign, without the need to introduce a new radiation mode or other effects. Moreover, we show that the generation of different emission modes on different altitudes can explain pulsars, that presumably have the X-O-X light-curve pattern, different from what we predict. General properties of radio emission within our propagation theory are also discussed. In particular, we calculate the intensity patterns for different radiation altitudes and present light curves for different observer viewing angles. In this context we also study the light curves and polarization profiles for pulsars with interpulses. Further, we explain the characteristic width of the position angle curves by introducing the concept of a wide emitting region. Another important feature of radio polarization profiles is the shift of the position angle from the centre, which in some cases demonstrates a weak dependence on the observation frequency. Here we demonstrate that propagation effects do not necessarily imply a significant frequency-dependent change of the position angle curve.

ASSESSING THE ROLE OF SPIN NOISE IN THE PRECISION TIMING OF MILLISECOND PULSARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shannon, Ryan M.; Cordes, James M.

2010-01-01

We investigate rotational spin noise (referred to as timing noise) in non-accreting pulsars: millisecond pulsars, canonical pulsars, and magnetars. Particular attention is placed on quantifying the strength and non-stationarity of timing noise in millisecond pulsars because the long-term stability of these objects is required to detect nanohertz gravitational radiation. We show that a single scaling law is sufficient to characterize timing noise in millisecond and canonical pulsars while the same scaling law underestimates the levels of timing noise in magnetars. The scaling law, along with a detailed study of the millisecond pulsar B1937+21, leads us to conclude that timing noise is latent in most millisecond pulsars and will be measurable in many objects when better arrival time estimates are obtained over long data spans. The sensitivity of a pulsar timing array to gravitational radiation is strongly affected by any timing noise. We conclude that detection of proposed gravitational wave backgrounds will require the analysis of more objects than previously suggested over data spans that depend on the spectra of both the gravitational wave background and of the timing noise. It is imperative to find additional millisecond pulsars in current and future surveys in order to reduce the effects of timing noise.

Effect of air gap on uniformity of large-scale surface-wave plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lan Chaohui; Hu Xiwei; Jiang Zhonghe; Liu Minghai

2009-01-01

The effect of air gap on the uniformity of large-scale surface-wave plasma (SWP) in a rectangular chamber device is studied by using three-dimensional numerical analyses based on the finite difference time-domain (FDTD) approximation to Maxwell's equations and plasma fluid model. The spatial distributions of surface wave excited by slot-antenna array and the plasma parameters such as electron density and temperature are presented. For different air gap thicknesses, the results show that the existence of air gap would severely weaken the excitations of the surface wave and thereby the SWP. Thus the air gap should be eliminated completely in the design of the SWP source, which is opposite to the former research results. (authors)

Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Cosmic Rays: A Bedtime Story

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weinstein, A.

2014-11-15

The role pulsar wind nebulae play in producing our locally observed cosmic ray spectrum remains murky, yet intriguing. Pulsar wind nebulae are born and evolve in conjunction with SNRs, which are favored sites of Galactic cosmic ray acceleration. As a result they frequently complicate interpretation of the gamma-ray emission seen from SNRs. However, pulsar wind nebulae may also contribute directly to the local cosmic ray spectrum, particularly the leptonic component. This paper reviews the current thinking on pulsar wind nebulae and their connection to cosmic ray production from an observational perspective. It also considers how both future technologies and new ways of analyzing existing data can help us to better address the relevant theoretical questions. A number of key points will be illustrated with recent results from the VHE (E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray observatory VERITAS.

Delayed pulsar kicks from the emission of sterile neutrinos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusenko, Alexander; Mandal, Bhabani Prasad; Mukherjee, Alok

2008-01-01

The observed velocities of pulsars suggest the possibility that sterile neutrinos with mass of several keV are emitted from a cooling neutron star. The same sterile neutrinos could constitute all or part of cosmological dark matter. The neutrino-driven kicks can exhibit delays depending on the mass and the mixing angle, which can be compared with the pulsar data. We discuss the allowed ranges of sterile neutrino parameters, consistent with the latest cosmological and x-ray bounds, which can explain the pulsar kicks for different delay times

Magnetohydrodynamic calculations on pulsar magnetospheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brinkmann, W.

1976-01-01

In this paper, the relativistic magnetohydrodynamic is presented in covariant form and applied to some problems in the field of pulsar magnetospheres. In addition, numerical methods to solve the resulting equations of motion are investigated. The theory of relativistic magnetohydrodynamic presented here is valid in the framework of the theory of general relativity, describing the interaction of electromagnetic fields with an ideal fluid. In the two-dimensional case, a Lax-Wendroff method is studied which should be optimally stable with the operator splitting of Strang. In the framework of relativistic magnetohydrodynamic also the model of a stationary aequatorial stellar pulsar wind as well as the parallel rotator is investigated. (orig.) [de

Congestion Pricing for Aircraft Pushback Slot Allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yaping

2017-01-01

In order to optimize aircraft pushback management during rush hour, aircraft pushback slot allocation based on congestion pricing is explored while considering monetary compensation based on the quality of the surface operations. First, the concept of the “external cost of surface congestion” is proposed, and a quantitative study on the external cost is performed. Then, an aircraft pushback slot allocation model for minimizing the total surface cost is established. An improved discrete differential evolution algorithm is also designed. Finally, a simulation is performed on Xinzheng International Airport using the proposed model. By comparing the pushback slot control strategy based on congestion pricing with other strategies, the advantages of the proposed model and algorithm are highlighted. In addition to reducing delays and optimizing the delay distribution, the model and algorithm are better suited for use for actual aircraft pushback management during rush hour. Further, it is also observed they do not result in significant increases in the surface cost. These results confirm the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed model and algorithm. PMID:28114429

Congestion Pricing for Aircraft Pushback Slot Allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lihua; Zhang, Yaping; Liu, Lan; Xing, Zhiwei

2017-01-01

In order to optimize aircraft pushback management during rush hour, aircraft pushback slot allocation based on congestion pricing is explored while considering monetary compensation based on the quality of the surface operations. First, the concept of the "external cost of surface congestion" is proposed, and a quantitative study on the external cost is performed. Then, an aircraft pushback slot allocation model for minimizing the total surface cost is established. An improved discrete differential evolution algorithm is also designed. Finally, a simulation is performed on Xinzheng International Airport using the proposed model. By comparing the pushback slot control strategy based on congestion pricing with other strategies, the advantages of the proposed model and algorithm are highlighted. In addition to reducing delays and optimizing the delay distribution, the model and algorithm are better suited for use for actual aircraft pushback management during rush hour. Further, it is also observed they do not result in significant increases in the surface cost. These results confirm the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed model and algorithm.

Congestion Pricing for Aircraft Pushback Slot Allocation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lihua Liu

Full Text Available In order to optimize aircraft pushback management during rush hour, aircraft pushback slot allocation based on congestion pricing is explored while considering monetary compensation based on the quality of the surface operations. First, the concept of the "external cost of surface congestion" is proposed, and a quantitative study on the external cost is performed. Then, an aircraft pushback slot allocation model for minimizing the total surface cost is established. An improved discrete differential evolution algorithm is also designed. Finally, a simulation is performed on Xinzheng International Airport using the proposed model. By comparing the pushback slot control strategy based on congestion pricing with other strategies, the advantages of the proposed model and algorithm are highlighted. In addition to reducing delays and optimizing the delay distribution, the model and algorithm are better suited for use for actual aircraft pushback management during rush hour. Further, it is also observed they do not result in significant increases in the surface cost. These results confirm the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed model and algorithm.

The Fastest Rotating Pulsar: a Strange Star?

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

徐仁新; 徐轩彬; 吴鑫基

2001-01-01

According to the observational limits on the radius and mass, the fastest rotating pulsar (PSR 1937+21) is probably a strange star, or at least some neutron star equations of state should be ruled out, if we suggest that a dipole magnetic field is relevant to its radio emission. We presume that the millisecond pulsar is a strange star with much low mass, small radius and weak magnetic moment.

On the velocity of the Vela pulsar

OpenAIRE

Gvaramadze, Vasilii

2000-01-01

It is shown that if the shell of the Vela supernova remnant is responsible for nearly all the scattering of the Vela pulsar, then the scintillation and proper motion velocities of the pulsar can only be reconciled with each other in the case of nonzero transverse velocity of the scattering material. A possible origin of large-scale transverse motions in the shell of the Vela supernova remnant is discussed.

On the velocity of the Vela pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Gvaramadze, V.

2001-04-01

It is shown that if the shell of the Vela supernova remnant is responsible for nearly all the scattering of the Vela pulsar, then the scintillation and proper motion velocities of the pulsar can only be reconciled with each other in the case of nonzero transverse velocity of the scattering material. A possible origin of large-scale transverse motions in the shell of the Vela supernova remnant is discussed.

THE BRAKING INDEX OF A RADIO-QUIET GAMMA-RAY PULSAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.; Beer, C.; Bock, O.; Cuéllar, A.; Eggenstein, H. B.; Fehrmann, H.; Machenschalk, B.; Nieder, L. [Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Wu, J.; Guillemot, L.; Kramer, M. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Camilo, F. [SKA South Africa, Pinelands, 7405 (South Africa); Johnson, T. J. [College of Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 (United States); Kerr, M., E-mail: colin.clark@aei.mpg.de [CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia)

2016-11-20

We report the discovery and timing measurements of PSR J1208−6238, a young and highly magnetized gamma-ray pulsar, with a spin period of 440 ms. The pulsar was discovered in gamma-ray photon data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) during a blind-search survey of unidentified LAT sources, running on the distributed volunteer computing system Einstein@Home . No radio pulsations were detected in dedicated follow-up searches with the Parkes radio telescope, with a flux density upper limit at 1369 MHz of 30 μ Jy. By timing this pulsar’s gamma-ray pulsations, we measure its braking index over five years of LAT observations to be n = 2.598 ± 0.001 ± 0.1, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second estimates the bias due to timing noise. Assuming its braking index has been similar since birth, the pulsar has an estimated age of around 2700 years, making it the youngest pulsar to be found in a blind search of gamma-ray data and the youngest known radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar. Despite its young age, the pulsar is not associated with any known supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula. The pulsar’s inferred dipolar surface magnetic field strength is 3.8 × 10{sup 13} G, almost 90% of the quantum-critical level. We investigate some potential physical causes of the braking index deviating from the simple dipole model but find that LAT data covering a longer time interval will be necessary to distinguish between these.

THE BRAKING INDEX OF A RADIO-QUIET GAMMA-RAY PULSAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.; Beer, C.; Bock, O.; Cuéllar, A.; Eggenstein, H. B.; Fehrmann, H.; Machenschalk, B.; Nieder, L.; Wu, J.; Guillemot, L.; Kramer, M.; Camilo, F.; Johnson, T. J.; Kerr, M.

2016-01-01

We report the discovery and timing measurements of PSR J1208−6238, a young and highly magnetized gamma-ray pulsar, with a spin period of 440 ms. The pulsar was discovered in gamma-ray photon data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) during a blind-search survey of unidentified LAT sources, running on the distributed volunteer computing system Einstein@Home . No radio pulsations were detected in dedicated follow-up searches with the Parkes radio telescope, with a flux density upper limit at 1369 MHz of 30 μ Jy. By timing this pulsar’s gamma-ray pulsations, we measure its braking index over five years of LAT observations to be n = 2.598 ± 0.001 ± 0.1, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second estimates the bias due to timing noise. Assuming its braking index has been similar since birth, the pulsar has an estimated age of around 2700 years, making it the youngest pulsar to be found in a blind search of gamma-ray data and the youngest known radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar. Despite its young age, the pulsar is not associated with any known supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula. The pulsar’s inferred dipolar surface magnetic field strength is 3.8 × 10 13 G, almost 90% of the quantum-critical level. We investigate some potential physical causes of the braking index deviating from the simple dipole model but find that LAT data covering a longer time interval will be necessary to distinguish between these.

Arecibo pulsar survey using ALFA: probing radio pulsar intermittency and transients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deneva, J.S.; Cordes, J.M.; McLaughlin, M.A.; Nice, D.J.; Lorimer, D.R.; Crawford, F.; Bhat, N.D.R.; Camilo, F.; Champion, D.J.; Freire, P.C.C.; Edel, S.; Kondratiev, V.I.; Hessels, J.W.T.; Jenet, F.A.; Kasian, L.; Kaspi, V.M.; Kramer, M.; Lazarus, P.; Ransom, S.M.; Stairs, I.H.; Stappers, B.W.; van Leeuwen, J.; Brazier, A.; Venkataraman, A.; Zollweg, J.A.; Bogdanov, S.

2009-01-01

We present radio transient search algorithms, results, and statistics from the ongoing Arecibo Pulsar ALFA (PALFA) survey of the Galactic plane. We have discovered seven objects through a search for isolated dispersed pulses. All of these objects are Galactic and have measured periods between 0.4

Movement of the pulsars and neutrino oscillations; Movimiento de los pulsares y oscilaciones de neutrinos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barkovich, M.A

2005-07-01

The astronomical observations show that the pulsars are not in the center of the remainder of the supernovae that gave its origin, but rather are displaced of the same one and moving to a speed of about 500 km/s, which is much bigger that of the progenitor star. This fact constitutes a strong evidence that the pulsars is accelerated in the moment of its birth and by this it is denominated to this phenomenon 'pulsars kick'. They exist numerous and varied mechanisms to explain this effect, but none makes it in way completely satisfactory. In this thesis we will study in detail a mechanism proposed originally by Kusenko and Segre and that is based on an asymmetric emission of the neutrinos flow induced by the oscillations of the same ones when its spread in a magnetized media. For this end we will develop, in first instance, the Eddington model. This is based on the transport of the neutrino flux and it describes in a reasonable way the atmosphere of a neutron protostar, place where take place the oscillations. Next we will study the problem of the emission of a neutrino gas from a resonance volume. These results will be applied to the study of the kick in the cases of oscillations among active neutrinos and actives with sterile to determine the magnetic field and the oscillation parameters (difference of the square of the masses of those neutrinos and mixture angle in vacuum) required. Finally we will analyze those neutrino oscillations induced by a possible violation of the Equivalence principle and it implication in the pulsars dynamics. (Author)

Slotted cage resonator for high-field magnetic resonance imaging of rodents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marrufo, O; Vasquez, F; Solis, S E; Rodriguez, A O, E-mail: arog@xanum.uam.mx [Departamento de Ingenieria Electrica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Mexico, DF 09340 (Mexico)

2011-04-20

A variation of the high-frequency cavity resonator coil was experimentally developed according to the theoretical frame proposed by Mansfield in 1990. Circular slots were used instead of cavities to form the coil endplates and it was called the slotted cage resonator coil. The theoretical principles were validated via a coil equivalent circuit and also experimentally with a coil prototype. The radio frequency magnetic field, B1, produced by several coil configurations was numerically simulated using the finite-element approach to investigate their performances. A transceiver coil, 8 cm long and 7.6 cm in diameter, and composed of 4 circular slots with a 15 mm diameter on both endplates, was built to operate at 300 MHz and quadrature driven. Experimental results obtained with the slotted cage resonator coil were presented and showed very good agreement with the theoretical expectations for the resonant frequency as a function of the coil dimensions and slots. A standard birdcage coil was also built for performance comparison purposes. Phantom images were then acquired to compute the signal-to-noise ratio of both coils showing an important improvement of the slotted cage coil over the birdcage coil. The whole-body images of the mouse were also obtained showing high-quality images. Volume resonator coils can be reliably built following the physical principles of the cavity resonator design for high-field magnetic resonance imaging applications of rodents.

Prospects for high-precision pulsar timing with the new Effelsberg PSRIX backend

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarus, P.; Karuppusamy, R.; Graikou, E.; Caballero, R. N.; Champion, D. J.; Lee, K. J.; Verbiest, J. P. W.; Kramer, M.

2016-05-01

The PSRIX backend is the primary pulsar timing instrument of the Effelsberg 100 m radio telescope since early 2011. This new ROACH-based system enables bandwidths up to 500 MHz to be recorded, significantly more than what was possible with its predecessor, the Effelsberg-Berkeley Pulsar Processor (EBPP). We review the first four years of PSRIX timing data for 33 pulsars collected as part of the monthly European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) observations. We describe the automated data analysis pipeline, COASTGUARD, that we developed to reduce these observations. We also introduce TOASTER, the EPTA timing data base, used to store timing results, processing information and observation metadata. Using these new tools, we measure the phase-averaged flux densities at 1.4 GHz of all 33 pulsars. For seven of these pulsars, our flux density measurements are the first values ever reported. For the other 26 pulsars, we compare our flux density measurements with previously published values. By comparing PSRIX data with EBPP data, we find an improvement of ˜2-5 times in signal-to-noise ratio, which translates to an increase of ˜2-5 times in pulse time-of-arrival (TOA) precision. We show that such an improvement in TOA precision will improve the sensitivity to the stochastic gravitational wave background. Finally, we showcase the flexibility of the new PSRIX backend by observing several millisecond-period pulsars (MSPs) at 5 and 9 GHz. Motivated by our detections, we discuss the potential for complementing existing pulsar timing array data sets with MSP monitoring campaigns at these higher frequencies.

Effects of gravitational lensing and companion motion on the binary pulsar timing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafikov, Roman R.; Lai Dong

2006-01-01

The measurement of the Shapiro time delay in binary pulsar systems with highly-inclined orbit can be affected both by the motion of the pulsar's companion because of the finite time it takes a photon to cross the binary, and by the gravitational light bending if the orbit is sufficiently edge-on relative to the line of sight. Here we calculate the effect of retardation due to the companion's motion on various time delays in pulsar binaries, including the Shaipro delay, the geometric lensing delay, and the lens-induced delays associated with the pulsar rotation. Our results can be applied to systems so highly inclined that near conjunction gravitational lensing of the pulsar radiation by the companion becomes important (the recently discovered double pulsar system J0737-3039 may exemplify such a system). To the leading order, the effect of retardation is to shift all the delay curves backward in time around the orbit conjunction, without affecting the shape and amplitude of the curves. The time shift is of order the photon orbit crossing time, and ranges from a second to a few minutes for the observed binary pulsar systems. In the double pulsar system J0737-3039, the motion of the companion may also affect the interpretation of the recent correlated interstellar scintillation measurements. Finally, we show that lensing sets an upper limit on the magnitude of the frame-dragging time delay caused by the companion's spin, and makes this delay unobservable in stellar-mass binary pulsar systems

Efficiency of Synchrotron Radiation from Rotation-powered Pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kisaka, Shota [Department of Physics and Mathematics, Aoyama Gakuin University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5258 (Japan); Tanaka, Shuta J., E-mail: kisaka@phys.aoyama.ac.jp, E-mail: sjtanaka@center.konan-u.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Konan University, Kobe, Hyogo, 658-8501 (Japan)

2017-03-01

Synchrotron radiation is widely considered to be the origin of the pulsed non-thermal emissions from rotation-powered pulsars in optical and X-ray bands. In this paper, we study the synchrotron radiation emitted by the created electron and positron pairs in the pulsar magnetosphere to constrain the energy conversion efficiency from the Poynting flux to the particle energy flux. We model two pair creation processes, two-photon collision, which efficiently works in young γ -ray pulsars (≲10{sup 6} year), and magnetic pair creation, which is the dominant process to supply pairs in old pulsars (≳10{sup 6} year). Using the analytical model, we derive the maximum synchrotron luminosity as a function of the energy conversion efficiency. From the comparison with observations, we find that the energy conversion efficiency to the accelerated particles should be an order of unity in the magnetosphere, even though we make a number of the optimistic assumptions to enlarge the synchrotron luminosity. In order to explain the luminosity of the non-thermal X-ray/optical emission from pulsars with low spin-down luminosity L {sub sd} ≲ 10{sup 34} erg s{sup −1}, non-dipole magnetic field components should be dominant at the emission region. For the γ -ray pulsars with L {sub sd} ≲ 10{sup 35} erg s{sup −1}, observed γ -ray to X-ray and optical flux ratios are much higher than the flux ratio between curvature and the synchrotron radiations. We discuss some possibilities such as the coexistence of multiple accelerators in the magnetosphere as suggested from the recent numerical simulation results. The obtained maximum luminosity would be useful to select observational targets in X-ray and optical bands.

The spatial distribution and birth-rate of pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guseinov, O.H.; Kasumov, F.K.

1978-01-01

The distribution of pulsars in the wide range of observed luminosities has been obtained. It is shown that the function of luminosity (FL) within 3 x 10 26 30 erg s -1 conforms to the power law dN/dL - c 1 Lsup(-γ), where γ = 1.76 +- 0.06. For L 26 erg s -1 , FL changes its inclination and may be approximated as dN/dL approximately Lsup(-γ 1 ), where γ 1 = 0.7 +- 0.2. On the basis of statistical selection, including all pulsars with L > 3 x 10 28 erg s -1 , the distribution of pulsars has been investigated as a function of the distance to the centre R and galactic plane Z. The obtained laws of the radial and Z-distribution of pulsars and galactic supernova remnants and also the radial distribution of types I and II supernovae in the models Sb and Sc support the hypothesis of their origin from the objects of the flat subsystem of Population I. Since there are some arguments in favour of a possible connection between supernovae I and the objects of the intermediate component of the Galaxy, one cannot exclude the possibility of supernovae explosions at the end of the evolution of stars with masses of 1.5-2 Msub(sun). It is also shown that pulsars and supernovae are evidently objects that are connected genetically, and, within the limits of statistical error, they have a similar birth-rate. The empirical law of the evolution of a pulsar's luminosity as a function of its true age has been obtained, according to which L = c 2 tsup(-β), where c 2 = (3.69+- 3.4) x 10 35 ,β = 1.32 +- 0.11. (Auth.)

Listening in on Baby - Monitoring the Youngest Known Pulsar (core Program)

Science.gov (United States)

We have discovered a most remarkable young pulsar, PSR J1846-0258, in the core of a Crab-like pulsar wind nebula at the center of the bright shell-type SNR Kes 75. Based on its spin-down rate and X-ray spectrum, PSR J1846-0258 is likely the youngest known rotation-powered pulsar. Compared to the Crab pulsar, however, its period, spin-down rate, and X-ray conversion efficiency are each an order of magnitude greater, likely the result of its extreme magnetic field, above the quantum critical threshold. We propose to continue our monitoring campaign of PSR~J1846-0258 to measure the braking index, characterize its timing noise, and search for evidence of timing glitches. Furthermore, an X- ray ephemeris contemporal with GLAST is critical to detecting the pulsar at higher energies.

Confirming the nature of the knot near the pulsar B1951+32

Science.gov (United States)

Zyuzin, D. A.; Shibanov, Yu A.; Pavlov, G. G.; Danilenko, A. A.

2017-12-01

The energetic and fast-moving radio and γ-ray pulsar B1951+32 is associated with the supernova remnant CTB 80. It powers a complex pulsar wind nebula detected in the radio, Hα and X-rays (Moon et al 2004 ApJ 610 L33). A puzzling optical knot was detected about 0″.5 from the pulsar in the optical and near-IR (Moon et al 2004 ApJ 610 L33; Hester 2000 Bulletin of the AAS 32 1542). It is reminiscent of the unique “inner optical knot” located 0″.6 from the Crab pulsar. Until now there has been no evidence that B1951+32 knot is indeed associated with the pulsar. We observed the pulsar field with the Gemini-North telescope in 2016 to check the association. We performed first near-IR high spatial resolution imaging in the K s band using the NIRI+Altair instrument and deep optical imaging in the gr bands using the GMOS instrument. Our observations showed that the current knot position is shifted by ≈ 0″.6 from the position measured with the HST in 1997. This is consistent with the known pulsar proper motion and is direct evidence of the pulsar-knot connection. We compared the spectral energy distribution of the knot emission with that of the Crab knot. Possible implications of the results are discussed.

Evaluation of two styles of slotted, flat-head screws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reeves, C.A. Jr.; Johnson, W.B.

1979-01-01

A series of torque tests were performed to evaluate the relative merits of two different flat-head screws fabricated from a uranium--6% niobium alloy. The screws tested were machined with both normal, straight-through slots in the head and with slots having radiused bottoms. Test results indicate that both designs easily surpass the required 20-inch-pound-proof torque

The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: High-precision Timing of 45 Millisecond Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Arzoumanian, Zaven; Brazier, Adam; Burke-Spolaor, Sarah; Chamberlin, Sydney; Chatterjee, Shami; Christy, Brian; Cordes, James M.; Cornish, Neil J.; Crawford, Fronefield; Thankful Cromartie, H.; Crowter, Kathryn; DeCesar, Megan E.; Demorest, Paul B.; Dolch, Timothy; Ellis, Justin A.; Ferdman, Robert D.; Ferrara, Elizabeth C.; Fonseca, Emmanuel; Garver-Daniels, Nathan; Gentile, Peter A.; Halmrast, Daniel; Huerta, E. A.; Jenet, Fredrick A.; Jessup, Cody; Jones, Glenn; Jones, Megan L.; Kaplan, David L.; Lam, Michael T.; Lazio, T. Joseph W.; Levin, Lina; Lommen, Andrea; Lorimer, Duncan R.; Luo, Jing; Lynch, Ryan S.; Madison, Dustin; Matthews, Allison M.; McLaughlin, Maura A.; McWilliams, Sean T.; Mingarelli, Chiara; Ng, Cherry; Nice, David J.; Pennucci, Timothy T.; Ransom, Scott M.; Ray, Paul S.; Siemens, Xavier; Simon, Joseph; Spiewak, Renée; Stairs, Ingrid H.; Stinebring, Daniel R.; Stovall, Kevin; Swiggum, Joseph K.; Taylor, Stephen R.; Vallisneri, Michele; van Haasteren, Rutger; Vigeland, Sarah J.; Zhu, Weiwei; The NANOGrav Collaboration

2018-04-01

We present high-precision timing data over time spans of up to 11 years for 45 millisecond pulsars observed as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project, aimed at detecting and characterizing low-frequency gravitational waves. The pulsars were observed with the Arecibo Observatory and/or the Green Bank Telescope at frequencies ranging from 327 MHz to 2.3 GHz. Most pulsars were observed with approximately monthly cadence, and six high-timing-precision pulsars were observed weekly. All were observed at widely separated frequencies at each observing epoch in order to fit for time-variable dispersion delays. We describe our methods for data processing, time-of-arrival (TOA) calculation, and the implementation of a new, automated method for removing outlier TOAs. We fit a timing model for each pulsar that includes spin, astrometric, and (for binary pulsars) orbital parameters; time-variable dispersion delays; and parameters that quantify pulse-profile evolution with frequency. The timing solutions provide three new parallax measurements, two new Shapiro delay measurements, and two new measurements of significant orbital-period variations. We fit models that characterize sources of noise for each pulsar. We find that 11 pulsars show significant red noise, with generally smaller spectral indices than typically measured for non-recycled pulsars, possibly suggesting a different origin. A companion paper uses these data to constrain the strength of the gravitational-wave background.

Development of high power models of four-slot Annular Coupled Structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kageyama, T.; Morozumi, Y.; Yoshino, K.; Yamazaki, Y.

1994-01-01

A π/2-mode standing-wave linac (f=1.296 GHz) of an Annular Coupled Structure (ACS) has been developed for the 1-GeV proton linac of the Japanese Hadron Project (JHP). This ACS has four coupling slots between accelerating and coupling cells in order to suppress higher order mode mixing with the π/2 coupling mode. High-β(β=v/c=0.78) and low-β(0.52) prototypes were constructed and tested up to each design RF power. Concerning the effect of the coupling slots on the fields of a coupled-cavity linac, it was found that the slot configuration of the side-coupled structure (SCS) tilts the accelerating field. On the other hand, the four-slot configuration of the ACS gives an almost axially symmetric accelerating field to the beam. (author)

Magnetar-like X-Ray Bursts Suppress Pulsar Radio Emission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Archibald, R. F.; Lyutikov, M.; Kaspi, V. M.; Tendulkar, S. P. [Department of Physics and McGill Space Institute, McGill University, 3600 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada); Burgay, M.; Possenti, A. [INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius (Italy); Esposito, P.; Rea, N. [Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam (Netherlands); Israel, G. [INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monteporzio Catone, Roma (Italy); Kerr, M. [Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375-5352 (United States); Sarkissian, J. [CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Parkes Observatory, P.O. Box 276, Parkes, NSW 2870 (Australia); Scholz, P., E-mail: archibald@astro.utoronto.ca [National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, P.O. Box 248, Penticton, BC V2A 6J9 (Canada)

2017-11-10

Rotation-powered pulsars and magnetars are two different observational manifestations of neutron stars: rotation-powered pulsars are rapidly spinning objects that are mostly observed as pulsating radio sources, while magnetars, neutron stars with the highest known magnetic fields, often emit short-duration X-ray bursts. Here, we report simultaneous observations of the high-magnetic-field radio pulsar PSR J1119−6127 at X-ray, with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR , and at radio energies with the Parkes radio telescope, during a period of magnetar-like bursts. The rotationally powered radio emission shuts off coincident with the occurrence of multiple X-ray bursts and recovers on a timescale of ∼70 s. These observations of related radio and X-ray phenomena further solidify the connection between radio pulsars and magnetars and suggest that the pair plasma produced in bursts can disrupt the acceleration mechanism of radio-emitting particles.

High slot utilization systems for electric machines

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, John S

2009-06-23

Two new High Slot Utilization (HSU) Systems for electric machines enable the use of form wound coils that have the highest fill factor and the best use of magnetic materials. The epoxy/resin/curing treatment ensures the mechanical strength of the assembly of teeth, core, and coils. In addition, the first HSU system allows the coil layers to be moved inside the slots for the assembly purpose. The second system uses the slided-in teeth instead of the plugged-in teeth. The power density of the electric machine that uses either system can reach its highest limit.

Physical conditions in the reconnection layer in pulsar magnetospheres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uzdensky, Dmitri A. [Center for Integrated Plasma Studies, Physics Department, University of Colorado, UCB 390, Boulder, CO 80309-0390 (United States); Spitkovsky, Anatoly, E-mail: uzdensky@colorado.edu, E-mail: anatoly@astro.princeton.edu [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

2014-01-01

The magnetosphere of a rotating pulsar naturally develops a current sheet (CS) beyond the light cylinder (LC). Magnetic reconnection in this CS inevitably dissipates a nontrivial fraction of the pulsar spin-down power within a few LC radii. We develop a basic physical picture of reconnection in this environment and discuss its implications for the observed pulsed gamma-ray emission. We argue that reconnection proceeds in the plasmoid-dominated regime, via a hierarchical chain of multiple secondary islands/flux ropes. The inter-plasmoid reconnection layers are subject to strong synchrotron cooling, leading to significant plasma compression. Using the conditions of pressure balance across these current layers, the balance between the heating by magnetic energy dissipation and synchrotron cooling, and Ampere's law, we obtain simple estimates for key parameters of the layers—temperature, density, and layer thickness. In the comoving frame of the relativistic pulsar wind just outside of the equatorial CS, these basic parameters are uniquely determined by the strength of the reconnecting upstream magnetic field. For the case of the Crab pulsar, we find them to be of order 10 GeV, 10{sup 13} cm{sup –3}, and 10 cm, respectively. After accounting for the bulk Doppler boosting due to the pulsar wind, the synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission from the reconnecting CS can explain the observed pulsed high-energy (GeV) and very high energy (∼100 GeV) radiation, respectively. Also, we suggest that the rapid relative motions of the secondary plasmoids in the hierarchical chain may contribute to the production of the pulsar radio emission.

Chandra Phase-resolved Spectroscopy of the High Magnetic Field Pulsar B1509−58

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Chin-Ping; Ng, C.-Y. [Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong); Takata, J. [School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Shannon, R. M. [International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102 (Australia); Johnston, S., E-mail: cphu@hku.hk, E-mail: ncy@bohr.physics.hku.hk [CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia)

2017-04-01

We report on a timing and spectral analysis of the young, high magnetic field rotation-powered pulsar (RPP) B1509−58 using Chandra continuous-clocking mode observation. The pulsar’s X-ray light curve can be fit by the two Gaussian components and the pulsed fraction shows moderate energy dependence over the Chandra band. The pulsed X-ray spectrum is well described by a power law with a photon index 1.16(4), which is harder than the values measured with RXTE /PCA and NuSTAR . This result supports the log-parabolic model for the broadband X-ray spectrum. With the unprecedented angular resolution of Chandra , we clearly identified off-pulse X-ray emission from the pulsar, and its spectrum is best fit by a power law plus blackbody model. The latter component has a temperature of ∼0.14 keV with a bolometric luminosity comparable to the luminosities of other young and high magnetic field RPPs, and it lies between the temperature of magnetars and typical RPPs. In addition, we found that the nonthermal X-ray emission of PSR B1509−58 is significantly softer in the off-pulse phase than in the pulsed phase, with the photon index varying between 1.0 and 1.8 and anticorrelated with the flux. This is similar to the behavior of three other young pulsars. We interpreted it as different contributions of pair-creation processes at different altitudes from the neutron star surface according to the outer-gap model.

Pulsar bi-drifting: implications for polar cap geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Geoff; Weltevrede, Patrick

2017-01-01

For many years it has been considered puzzling how pulsar radio emission, supposedly created by a circulating carousel of sub-beams, can produce the drift bands demonstrated by PSR J0815+0939, and more recently PSR B1839-04, which simultaneously drifts in opposing directions. Here, we suggest that the carousels of these pulsars, and hence their beams, are not circular but elliptical with axes tilted with respect to the fiducial plane. We show that certain relatively unusual lines of sight can cause bi-drifting to be observed, and a simulation of the two known exemplars is presented. Although bi-drifting is rare, non-circular beams may be common among pulsars and reveal themselves by having profile centroids displaced from the fiducial plane identified by polarization position angle swings. They may also result in profiles with asymmetric- and frequency-dependent component evolution. It is further suggested that the carousels may change their tilt by specific amounts and later reverse them. This may occur suddenly, accompanying a mode change (e.g. PSR B0943+10), or more gradually and short lived as in `flare' pulsars (e.g. PSR B1859+07). A range of pulsar behaviour (e.g. the shifting drift patterns of PSRs B0818-41 and B0826-34) may also be the result of non-circular carousels with varying orientation. The underlying nature of these carousels - whether they are exclusively generated by polar cap physics or driven by magnetospheric effects - is briefly discussed.

Abrupt acceleration of a 'cold' ultrarelativistic wind from the Crab pulsar.

Science.gov (United States)

Aharonian, F A; Bogovalov, S V; Khangulyan, D

2012-02-15

Pulsars are thought to eject electron-positron winds that energize the surrounding environment, with the formation of a pulsar wind nebula. The pulsar wind originates close to the light cylinder, the surface at which the pulsar co-rotation velocity equals the speed of light, and carries away much of the rotational energy lost by the pulsar. Initially the wind is dominated by electromagnetic energy (Poynting flux) but later this is converted to the kinetic energy of bulk motion. It is unclear exactly where this takes place and to what speed the wind is accelerated. Although some preferred models imply a gradual acceleration over the entire distance from the magnetosphere to the point at which the wind terminates, a rapid acceleration close to the light cylinder cannot be excluded. Here we report that the recent observations of pulsed, very high-energy γ-ray emission from the Crab pulsar are explained by the presence of a cold (in the sense of the low energy of the electrons in the frame of the moving plasma) ultrarelativistic wind dominated by kinetic energy. The conversion of the Poynting flux to kinetic energy should take place abruptly in the narrow cylindrical zone of radius between 20 and 50 light-cylinder radii centred on the axis of rotation of the pulsar, and should accelerate the wind to a Lorentz factor of (0.5-1.0) × 10(6). Although the ultrarelativistic nature of the wind does support the general model of pulsars, the requirement of the very high acceleration of the wind in a narrow zone not far from the light cylinder challenges current models.

Magnetic Pair Creation Attenuation Altitude Constraints in Gamma-Ray Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Baring, Matthew; Story, Sarah

The Fermi gamma-ray pulsar database now exceeds 150 sources and has defined an important part of Fermi's science legacy, providing rich information for the interpretation of young energetic pulsars and old millisecond pulsars. Among the well established population characteristics is the common occurrence of exponential turnovers in the 1-10 GeV range. These turnovers are too gradual to arise from magnetic pair creation in the strong magnetic fields of pulsar inner magnetospheres, so their energy can be used to provide lower bounds to the typical altitude of GeV band emission. We explore such constraints due to single-photon pair creation transparency at and below the turnover energy. Our updated computations span both domains when general relativistic influences are important and locales where flat spacetime photon propagation is modified by rotational aberration effects. The altitude bounds, typically in the range of 2-5 stellar radii, provide key information on the emission altitude in radio quiet pulsars that do not possess double-peaked pulse profiles. However, the exceptional case of the Crab pulsar provides an altitude bound of around 20% of the light cylinder radius if pair transparency persists out to 350 GeV, the maximum energy detected by MAGIC. This is an impressive new physics-based constraint on the Crab's gamma-ray emission locale.

Tests of general relativity from timing the double pulsar.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, M; Stairs, I H; Manchester, R N; McLaughlin, M A; Lyne, A G; Ferdman, R D; Burgay, M; Lorimer, D R; Possenti, A; D'Amico, N; Sarkissian, J M; Hobbs, G B; Reynolds, J E; Freire, P C C; Camilo, F

2006-10-06

The double pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B is unique in that both neutron stars are detectable as radio pulsars. They are also known to have much higher mean orbital velocities and accelerations than those of other binary pulsars. The system is therefore a good candidate for testing Einstein's theory of general relativity and alternative theories of gravity in the strong-field regime. We report on precision timing observations taken over the 2.5 years since its discovery and present four independent strong-field tests of general relativity. These tests use the theory-independent mass ratio of the two stars. By measuring relativistic corrections to the Keplerian description of the orbital motion, we find that the "post-Keplerian" parameter s agrees with the value predicted by general relativity within an uncertainty of 0.05%, the most precise test yet obtained. We also show that the transverse velocity of the system's center of mass is extremely small. Combined with the system's location near the Sun, this result suggests that future tests of gravitational theories with the double pulsar will supersede the best current solar system tests. It also implies that the second-born pulsar may not have formed through the core collapse of a helium star, as is usually assumed.

Improvement The Transmission Efficiency For Wireless Packet Communication Systems Using Automatic Control for power And Time Slot Width Of Slotted Non persistent ISMA Protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saad M. Hardan

2013-05-01

Full Text Available In packed communication systems which use a protocol, the protocol should perform the allocation of channels such that the transmission channel is used efficiently. Efficiency is usually measured in terms of channel throughput and the average transmission  delay. The Slotted Nonpersistent ISMA protocol is one of random access protocols used in packed communication systems. In this research a Slotted Nonpersistent ISMA protocol Model with automatic control for power and time slot is proposed. the suggested algorithm enable the base station(access point to control  the protocol time slot length and  transmission power in a dynamic way to control the normalized propagation delay d and to maintain all the uplink signals in the limit of captured power threshold (capture ratio in order to control the  throughput and the average transmission delay of the communication system by an automatic method. the computer simulation results  confirm the activity of the  proposed algorithm for increasing the  throughput and decreasing the average transmission delay by an accepted ratios.

Determination of the Flux-distance Relationship for Pulsars in the Parkes Multibeam Survey: Violation of the Inverse Square Law Gives Support for a New Model of Pulsar Emission

Science.gov (United States)

Singleton, John; Sengupta, P.; Middleditch, J.; Graves, T.; Schmidt, A.; Perez, M.; Ardavan, H.; Ardavan, A.; Fasel, J.

2010-01-01

Soon after the discovery of pulsars, it was realized that their unique periodic emissions must be associated with a source that rotates. Despite this insight and forty one years of subsequent effort, a detailed understanding of the pulsar emission mechanism has proved elusive. Here, using data for 983 pulsars taken from the Parkes Multibeam Survey, we show that their fluxes at 1400 MHz (S(1400)) decay with distance d according to a non-standard power-law; we suggest that S(1400) is proportional to 1/d. This distance dependence is revealed by two independent statistical techniques, (i) the Maximum Likelihood Method and (ii) analysis of the distance evolution of the cumulative distribution functions of pulsar flux. Moreover, the derived power law is valid for both millisecond and longer-period pulsars, and is robust against possible errors in the NE2001 method for obtaining pulsar distances from dispersion measure. This observation provides strong support for a mechanism of pulsar emission due to superluminal (faster than light in vacuo) polarization currents. Such superluminal polarization currents have been extensively studied by Bolotovskii, Ginzburg and others, who showed both that they do not violate Special Relativity (since the oppositely-charged particles that make them move relatively slowly) and that they form a bona-fide source term in Maxwell's equations. Subsequently, emission of radiation by superluminal polarization currents was demonstrated in laboratory experiments. By extending these ideas to a superluminal polarization current whose distribution pattern follows a circular orbit, we can explain the 1/d dependence of the flux suggested by our analyses of the observational data. In addition, we show that a model of pulsar emission due to such a rotating superluminal polarization current can predict the the frequency spectrum of nine pulsars over 16 orders of magnitude of frequency quantitatively. This work is supported by the DoE LDRD program at Los

An extremely bright gamma-ray pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-13

Pulsars are rapidly spinning, highly magnetized neutron stars, created in the gravitational collapse of massive stars. We report the detection of pulsed giga-electron volt gamma rays from the young pulsar PSR J0540-6919 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. This is the first gamma-ray pulsar detected in another galaxy. It has the most luminous pulsed gamma-ray emission yet observed, exceeding the Crab pulsar's by a factor of 20. PSR J0540-6919 presents an extreme test case for understanding the structure and evolution of neutron star magnetospheres. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Bead beavior in a non-continues slot die coating regime

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langen, A.; Senes, A.; Vries, I. de; Groen, P.

2015-01-01

Sheet-to-sheet slot die coating is a crucial intermediate technique to bring organic and large area electronics (e.g. OLED and Flexible OPV) towards mass roll-to-roll productions. The coating on substrate has to be uniform within nanometers. Additional settings are added to the slot die coater for a

Polarimetry of the millisecond pulsar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stinebring, D R

1983-04-21

Polarization observations of the millisecond pulsar PSR1937+21 at 1415 and 2380 MHz were made with the 305-m telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in January 1983. The main pulse is found to depolarize substantially, while the interpulse polarization almost doubles. Evidence for orthogonally polarized radiation was detected on the edges facing across the 173 deg of longitude separating the main pulse from the interpulse, accounting for the approximately 90-deg difference in position angle. From the spectral-index difference (close to 1.0 over the frequency range observed) it is inferred that the interpulse may dominate the main pulse below 700 MHz; such behavior is noted to be similar to that of the physically different Crab pulsar.

Development of an economical and ecological optimized multi slot fish bypass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tauber, M.; Mader, H.

2009-01-01

The European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD), which came into force in 2000, represents a new framework governing water policies. The ecological objectives of the directive are sometimes in conflict with the historical use of waterbodies for hydropower generation. This paper discussed the mitigation of negative economical effects caused by outfitting hydropower plants with fish migration facilities claimed by the WFD. In particular, it reviewed the new modified version of the Vertical Slot Fishpass which reduces water discharge while maintaining or even enhancing the biological migration of aquatic species. Reducing the flow rate in the fish bypass results in more available water for hydropower generation, which is economically advantageous for operators. The available water resource is simply used more efficiently. The bypass was modified by adding additional slot baffles and guide walls in order to induce intended losses at roughness obstacles and to obtain isolated roughness current in the multi slot area. A Froude similarity model was used to obtain the results of the first phase of this project. Different arrangements of the slot baffles and locations were measured. The results of all trials revealed that the newly developed multi slot variants have clear advantages over conventional vertical slot fish passages. Discharge was reduced by up to 34 per cent while still maintaining the same water levels in the pools. As such, the general flow velocities were also reduced by about 10 per cent, thereby achieving the primary objective of the project. 7 refs., 18 figs

A model of gas flow with friction in a slotted seal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachimiak Damian

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses thermodynamic phenomena accompanying the flow of gas in a slotted seal. The analysis of the gas flow has been described based on an irreversible adiabatic transformation. A model based on the equation of total enthalpy balance has been proposed. The iterative process of the model aims at obtaining such a gas temperature distribution that will fulfill the continuity equation. The model allows for dissipation of the kinetic energy into friction heat by making use of the Blasius equation to determine the friction coefficient. Within the works, experimental research has been performed of the gas flow in a slotted seal of slot height 2 mm. Based on the experimental data, the equation of local friction coefficient was modified with a correction parameter. This parameter was described with the function of pressure ratio to obtain a mass flow of the value from the experiment. The reason for taking up of this problem is the absence of high accuracy models for calculating the gas flow in slotted seals. The proposed model allows an accurate determination of the mass flow in a slotted seal based on the geometry and gas initial and final parameters.

Ginga observations of the 50 millisecond pulsar PSR 0540 - 69

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagase, F.; Deeter, J.; Lewis, W.; Dotani, T.; Makino, F.

1990-01-01

Extensive Ginga observations of PSR 0540 - 69, the Crab-like 50-msec pulsar in the LMC, have been obtained as a side benefit of a pulsar search project for SN 1987A. Through a coherent pulse-timing analysis of data from 46 separate days between July 1987 and October 1988, precise values have been obtained for the pulse frequency and its first and second derivatives. From these values, a braking index of n = 2.02 + or = 0.01 is obtained for PSR 0540 - 69. This is the first accurate measurement of a pulsar braking index from X-ray observations and the third overall. The braking index is much smaller than those previously determined for the Crab pulsar (n = 2.51) and PSR 1509 - 58 (n = 2.83). 24 refs

EINSTEIN@HOME DISCOVERY OF FOUR YOUNG GAMMA-RAY PULSARS IN FERMI LAT DATA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pletsch, H. J.; Allen, B.; Aulbert, C.; Bock, O.; Eggenstein, H. B.; Fehrmann, H.; Machenschalk, B.; Papa, M. A. [Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Guillemot, L.; Champion, D. J.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kramer, M.; Ng, C. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Anderson, D. [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Hammer, D.; Siemens, X. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201 (United States); Keith, M. [CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility (Australia); Ray, P. S., E-mail: holger.pletsch@aei.mpg.de, E-mail: lucas.guillemot@cnrs-orleans.fr [Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375-5352 (United States)

2013-12-10

We report the discovery of four gamma-ray pulsars, detected in computing-intensive blind searches of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The pulsars were found using a novel search approach, combining volunteer distributed computing via Einstein@Home and methods originally developed in gravitational-wave astronomy. The pulsars PSRs J0554+3107, J1422–6138, J1522–5735, and J1932+1916 are young and energetic, with characteristic ages between 35 and 56 kyr and spin-down powers in the range 6 × 10{sup 34}—10{sup 36} erg s{sup –1}. They are located in the Galactic plane and have rotation rates of less than 10 Hz, among which the 2.1 Hz spin frequency of PSR J0554+3107 is the slowest of any known gamma-ray pulsar. For two of the new pulsars, we find supernova remnants coincident on the sky and discuss the plausibility of such associations. Deep radio follow-up observations found no pulsations, suggesting that all four pulsars are radio-quiet as viewed from Earth. These discoveries, the first gamma-ray pulsars found by volunteer computing, motivate continued blind pulsar searches of the many other unidentified LAT gamma-ray sources.

Spectral Properties, Generation Order Parameters, and Luminosities for Spin-powered X-Ray Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Zhao, Yongheng

2004-02-01

We show the spectral properties of 15 spin-powered X-ray pulsars, and the correlation between the average power-law photon index and spin-down rate. Generation order parameters (GOPs) based on polar cap models are introduced to characterize the X-ray pulsars. We calculate three definitions of generation order parameters arising from the different effects of magnetic and electric fields on photon absorption during cascade processes, and study the relations between the GOPs and spectral properties of X-ray pulsars. There exists a possible correlation between the photon index and GOP in our pulsar sample. Furthermore, we present a method stemming from the concept of GOPs to estimate the nonthermal X-ray luminosity for spin-powered pulsars. Then X-ray luminosity is calculated in the context of our polar cap accelerator model, which is consistent with most observed X-ray pulsar data. The ratio between the X-ray luminosity estimated by our method and the pulsar's spin-down power is consistent with the LX~10-3Lsd feature.

Crab Flares and Magnetic Reconnection in Pulsar Winds

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, Alice K.

2012-01-01

The striped winds of rotation-powered pulsars are ideal sites for magnetic reconnection. The magnetic fields of the wind near the current sheet outside the light cylinder alternate polarity every pulsar period and eventually encounter a termination shock. Magnetic reconnection in the wind has been proposed as a mechanism for transferring energy from electromagnetic fields to particles upstream of the shock (the "sigma" problem), but it is not clear if, where and how this occurs. Fermi and AGILE have recently observed powerful gamma-ray flares from the Crab nebula, which challenge traditional models of acceleration at the termination shock. New simulations are revealing that magnetic reconnection may be instrumental in understanding the Crab flares and in resolving the "sigma" problem in pulsar wind nebulae.

Detection of 16 Gamma-Ray Pulsars Through Blind Frequency Searches Using the Fermi LAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, B.; Atwood, W.B.; Dormody, M.; Johnson, R.P.; Porter, T.A.; Primack, J.R.; Sadrozinski, H.F.W.; Parkinson, P.M.S.; Ziegler, M.; Abdo, A.A.; Dermer, C.D.; Grove, J.E.; Gwon, C.; Johnson, W.N.; Lovellette, M.N.; Makeev, A.; Ray, P.S.; Strickman, M.S.; Wolff, M.T.; Wood, K.S.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Bechtol, K.; Berenji, B.; Blandford, R.D.; Borgland, A.W.; Cameron, R.A.; Chiang, J.; Claus, R.; Digel, S.W.; Silva, E.D.E.; Drell, P.S.; Dubois, R.; Funk, S.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Hayashida, M.; Johannesson, G.; Kamae, T.; Kocian, M.L.; Lande, J.; Madejski, G.M.; Michelson, P.F.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Monzani, M.E.; Moskalenko, I.V.; Murgia, S.; Nolan, P.L.; Paneque, D.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Rochester, L.S.; Romani, R.W.; Tajima, H.; Tanaka, T.; Thayer, J.G.; Tramacere, A.; Uchiyama, Y.; Usher, T.L.; Van Etten, A.; Waite, A.P.; Wang, P.; Watters, K.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Bechtol, K.; Berenji, B.; Bloom, E.D.; Borgland, A.W.; Cameron, R.A.; Chiang, J.; Claus, R.; Digel, S.W.; Silva, E.D.E.; Drell, P.S.; Dubois, R.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Hayashida, M.; Johannesson, G.; Kamae, T.; Kocian, M.L.; Lande, J.; Madejski, G.M.; Michelson, P.F.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Monzani, M.E.; Moskalenko, I.V.; Murgia, S.; Nolan, P.L.; Paneque, D.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Rochester, L.S.; Romani, R.W.; Tajima, H.; Tanaka, T.; Thayer, J.G.; Tramacere, A.; Uchiyama, Y.; Usher, T.L.; Van Etten, A.; Waite, A.P.; Wang, P.; Watters, K.; Axelsson, M.; Conrad, J.; Meurer, C.; Ryde, F.; Ylinen, T.; Axelsson, M.; Baldini, L.; Bellazzini, R.; Bregeon, J.; Brez, A.; Kuss, M.; Latronico, L.; Omodei, N.; Pesce-Rollins, M.; Razzano, M.; Sgro, C.; Spandre, G.; Ballet, J.; Casandjian, J.M.; Grenier, I.A.; Pierbattista, M.; Starck, J.L.

2009-01-01

Pulsars are rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars emitting radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. Although there are more than 1800 known radio pulsars, until recently only seven were observed to pulse in gamma rays, and these were all discovered at other wavelengths. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) makes it possible to pinpoint neutron stars through their gamma-ray pulsations. We report the detection of 16 gamma-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches using the LAT. Most of these pulsars are coincident with previously unidentified gamma-ray sources, and many are associated with supernova remnants. Direct detection of gamma-ray pulsars enables studies of emission mechanisms, population statistics, and the energetics of pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants. (authors)

THREE-DIMENSIONAL NON-VACUUM PULSAR OUTER-GAP MODEL: LOCALIZED ACCELERATION ELECTRIC FIELD IN THE HIGHER ALTITUDES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirotani, Kouichi [Academia Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA), P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei, Taiwan (China)

2015-01-10

We investigate the particle accelerator that arises in a rotating neutron-star magnetosphere. Simultaneously solving the Poisson equation for the electro-static potential, the Boltzmann equations for relativistic electrons and positrons, and the radiative transfer equation, we demonstrate that the electric field is substantially screened along the magnetic field lines by pairs that are created and separated within the accelerator. As a result, the magnetic-field-aligned electric field is localized in higher altitudes near the light cylinder and efficiently accelerates the positrons created in the lower altitudes outward but does not accelerate the electrons inward. The resulting photon flux becomes predominantly outward, leading to typical double-peak light curves, which are commonly observed from many high-energy pulsars.

Sampling the Radio Transient Universe: Studies of Pulsars and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Chennamangalam, Jayanth

The transient radio universe is a relatively unexplored area of astronomy, offering a variety of phenomena, from solar and Jovian bursts, to flare stars, pulsars, and bursts of Galactic and potentially even cosmological origin. Among these, perhaps the most widely studied radio transients, pulsars are fast-spinning neutron stars that emit radio beams from their magnetic poles. In spite of over 40 years of research on pulsars, we have more questions than answers on these exotic compact objects, chief among them the nature of their emission mechanism. Nevertheless, the wealth of phenomena exhibited by pulsars make them one of the most useful astrophysical tools. With their high densities, pulsars are probes of the nature of ultra-dense matter. Characterized by their high timing stability, pulsars can be used to verify the predictions of general relativity, discover planets around them, study bodies in the solar system, and even serve as an interplanetary (and possibly some day, interstellar) navigation aid. Pulsars are also used to study the nature of the interstellar medium, much like a flashlight illuminating airborne dust in a dark room. Studies of pulsars in the Galactic center can help answer questions about the massive black hole in the region and the star formation history in its vicinity. Millisecond pulsars in globular clusters are long-lived tracers of their progenitors, low-mass X-ray binaries, and can be used to study the dynamical history of those clusters. Another source of interest in radio transient astronomy is the hitherto undetected engineered signal from extraterrestrial intelligence. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is an ongoing attempt at discovering the presence of technological life elsewhere in the Galaxy. In this work, I present my forays into two aspects of the study of the radio transient universe---pulsars and SETI. Firstly, I describe my work on the luminosity function and population size of pulsars in the globular

Modeling fiber motion in a pulp pressure screen: the effect of slot shape

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, S.; Salcudean, M.; Gartshore, I.

2003-01-01

A pressure screen is a piece of equipment in the pulp and paper industry used either to remove contaminants from the pulp suspension or to separate fibers having different properties. Contaminants such as fiber bundles, bark and plastic specks are introduced when fibers are separated from the wood by mechanical or chemical pulping processes. Contaminants significantly affect the strength and smoothness of the paper and must be removed before the final paper is produced. The screen plate is a critical part of the pressure screen and its design is the key to screen performance. This paper uses a new and comprehensive CFD simulation tool to examine the flow and fiber behavior in a single slot screen having any reasonable slot shape. -This simulation tool includes three coupled models: first, the flow model solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation using the standard k - ε turbulence model to predict the flow field in the equipment. Second, a three-dimensional flexible fiber model is used to track the fiber trajectory in the screen. Third, a very general wall model is used to deal with the case when a fiber touches the equipment wall. The simulated results show that the slot shape has a critical influence on fiber behavior and screen performance. Three general slot shapes were investigated: the smooth slot, the step-step contour slot and slope-slope contour slot. Of these the slope-slope contour slot provides the best passage for the fibers with a length of 1mm and 3mm. (author)

GMRT Galactic Plane Pulsar and Transient Survey and the Discovery of PSR J1838+1523

Science.gov (United States)

Surnis, Mayuresh P.; Joshi, Bhal Chandra; McLaughlin, Maura A.; Lorimer, Duncan R.; M A, Krishnakumar; Manoharan, P. K.; Naidu, Arun

2018-05-01

We report the results of a blind pulsar survey carried out with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at 325 MHz. The survey covered about 10% of the region between Galactic longitude 45° pulsars. One of these, PSR J1838+1523, was previously unknown and has a period of 549 ms and a dispersion measure of 68 pc cm-3. We also present the timing solution of this pulsar obtained from multi-frequency timing observations carried out with the GMRT and the Ooty Radio Telescope. The measured flux density of this pulsar is 4.3±1.8 and 1.2±0.7 mJy at 325 and 610 MHz, respectively. This implies a spectral index of -2 ±0.8, thus making the expected flux density at 1.4 GHz to be about 0.2 mJy, which would be just detectable in the high frequency pulsar surveys like the Northern High Time Resolution Universe pulsar survey. This discovery underlines the importance of low frequency pulsar surveys in detecting steep spectrum pulsars, thus providing complementary coverage of the pulsar population.

High energy radiation from neutron stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruderman, M.

1985-04-01

Topics covered include young rapidly spinning pulsars; static gaps in outer magnetospheres; dynamic gaps in pulsar outer magnetospheres; pulse structure of energetic radiation sustained by outer gap pair production; outer gap radiation, Crab pulsar; outer gap radiation, the Vela pulsar; radioemission; and high energy radiation during the accretion spin-up of older neutron stars. 26 refs., 10 figs

Nanosecond radio bursts from strong plasma turbulence in the Crab pulsar.

Science.gov (United States)

Hankins, T H; Kern, J S; Weatherall, J C; Eilek, J A

2003-03-13

The Crab pulsar was discovered by the occasional exceptionally bright radio pulses it emits, subsequently dubbed 'giant' pulses. Only two other pulsars are known to emit giant pulses. There is no satisfactory explanation for the occurrence of giant pulses, nor is there a complete theory of the pulsar emission mechanism in general. Competing models for the radio emission mechanism can be distinguished by the temporal structure of their coherent emission. Here we report the discovery of isolated, highly polarized, two-nanosecond subpulses within the giant radio pulses from the Crab pulsar. The plasma structures responsible for these emissions must be smaller than one metre in size, making them by far the smallest objects ever detected and resolved outside the Solar System, and the brightest transient radio sources in the sky. Only one of the current models--the collapse of plasma-turbulent wave packets in the pulsar magnetosphere--can account for the nanopulses we observe.

Soft X-ray emission from the radio pulsar PSR 0656 + 14

Science.gov (United States)

Cordova, F. A.; Middleditch, J.; Hjellming, R. M.; Mason, K. O.

1989-01-01

A radio source with a flux density of a few mJy was found in the error region of the soft X-ray source E0656 + 14, and identified as the radio pulsar PSR 0656 + 14. The radio source has a steep, nonthermal spectrum and a high degree of linear (62 percent) and circular (19 percent) polarization. The X-ray spectrum of the pulsar is among the softest sources observed with the Einstein Observatory. The X-ray data taken with the Einstein imaging proportional counter (IPC) permit a range of blackbody temperatures of 3-6 x 10 to the 5th K, and an equivalent column density of hydrogen smaller than 4 x 10 to the 20th/sq cm. If the assumption is made that the X-ray flux is thermal radiation from surface of the neutron star, then the pulsar must be at a distance smaller than 550 pc, consistent with the low dispersion measure of PSR 0656 + 14. The X-ray timing data suggest that the X-ray emission is modulated at the pulsar's 0.385-s spin period with an amplitude of 18 percent + or - 6 percent, and that there is a 0.0002 probability that this is spurious. It was noted that PSR 0656 + 14 is close to the geometric center of a 20-deg diameter soft X-ray emitting ring called the Gemini-Monoceros enhancement. The close distance of the pulsar, together with its relatively young age of 1.1 x 10 to the 5th yr, makes it possible that the ring is a supernova remnant from the explosion of the pulsar's progenitor. A radio source extending over a region 1.2 to 3.3 arcmin south of the pulsar is a candidate for association with the pulsar.

Soft X-ray emission from the radio pulsar PSR 0656 + 14

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordova, F.A.; Middleditch, J.; Hjellming, R.M.; Mason, K.O.

1989-01-01

A radio source with a flux density of a few mJy was found in the error region of the soft X-ray source E0656 + 14, and identified as the radio pulsar PSR 0656 + 14. The radio source has a steep, nonthermal spectrum and a high degree of linear (62%) and circular (19%) polarization. The X-ray spectrum of the pulsar is among the softest sources observed with the Einstein Observatory. The X-ray data taken with the Einstein imaging proportional counter (IPC) permit a range of blackbody temperatures of 3-6 x 10 to the 5th K, and an equivalent column density of hydrogen smaller than 4 x 10 to the 20th/sq cm. If the assumption is made that the X-ray flux is thermal radiation from surface of the neutron star, then the pulsar must be at a distance smaller than 550 pc, consistent with the low dispersion measure of PSR 0656 + 14. The X-ray timing data suggest that the X-ray emission is modulated at the pulsar's 0.385-s spin period with an amplitude of 18% + or - 6%, and that there is a 0.0002 probability that this is spurious. It was noted that PSR 0656 + 14 is close to the geometric center of a 20-deg diameter soft X-ray emitting ring called the Gemini-Monoceros enhancement. The close distance of the pulsar, together with its relatively young age of 1.1 x 10 to the 5th yr, makes it possible that the ring is a supernova remnant from the explosion of the pulsar's progenitor. A radio source extending over a region 1.2 to 3.3 arcmin south of the pulsar is a candidate for association with the pulsar. 46 refs

Study on wake structure characteristics of a slotted micro-ramp with large-eddy simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, Xiangrui; Chen, Yaohui; Dong, Gang; Liu, Yixin, E-mail: cyh873@163.com [National Key Laboratory of Transient Physics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094 (China)

2017-06-15

In this paper, a novel slotted ramp-type micro vortex generator (slotted micro-ramp) for flow separation control is simulated in the supersonic flow of Ma = 1.5, based on large eddy simulation combined with the finite volume method. The wake structure characteristics and control mechanisms of both slotted and standard micro-ramps are presented and discussed. The results show that the wake of standard micro-ramp includes a primary counter-rotating streamwise vortex pair, a train of vortex rings, and secondary vortices. The slotted micro-ramp has more complicated wake structures, which contain a confluent counter-rotating streamwise vortex pair and additional streamwise vortices, with the same rotation generated by slot and the vortex rings enveloping the vortex pair. The additional vortices generated by the slot of the micro-ramp can mix with the primary counter-rotating vortex pair, extend the life time, and strengthen the vortex intensity of primary vortex pair. Moreover, the slot can effectively alleviate, or even eliminate the backflow and decrease the profile drag induced by the standard micro-ramp, therefore improving the efficiency of separation control. (paper)

Slot technique - an alternative method of scatter reduction in radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panzer, W.; Widenmann, L.

1983-01-01

The most common method of scatter reduction in radiography is the use of an antiscatter grid. Its disadvantage is the absorption of a certain percentage of primary radiation in the lead strips of the grid and the fact that due to the limited thickness of the lead strips their scatter absorption is also limited. A possibility for avoiding this disadvantage is offered by the so-called slot technique, ie, the successive exposure of the subject with a narrow fan beam provided by slots in rather thick lead plates. The results of a comparison between grid and slot technique regarding dose to the patient, scatter reduction, image quality and the effect of automatic exposure control are reported. (author)

SYSTEMATIC AND STOCHASTIC VARIATIONS IN PULSAR DISPERSION MEASURES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lam, M. T.; Cordes, J. M.; Chatterjee, S.; Jones, M. L.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Armstrong, J. W.

2016-01-01

We analyze deterministic and random temporal variations in the dispersion measure (DM) from the full three-dimensional velocities of pulsars with respect to the solar system, combined with electron-density variations over a wide range of length scales. Previous treatments have largely ignored pulsars’ changing distances while favoring interpretations involving changes in sky position from transverse motion. Linear trends in pulsar DMs observed over 5–10 year timescales may signify sizable DM gradients in the interstellar medium (ISM) sampled by the changing direction of the line of sight to the pulsar. We show that motions parallel to the line of sight can also account for linear trends, for the apparent excess of DM variance over that extrapolated from scintillation measurements, and for the apparent non-Kolmogorov scalings of DM structure functions inferred in some cases. Pulsar motions through atomic gas may produce bow-shock ionized gas that also contributes to DM variations. We discuss the possible causes of periodic or quasi-periodic changes in DM, including seasonal changes in the ionosphere, annual variations of the solar elongation angle, structure in the heliosphere and ISM boundary, and substructure in the ISM. We assess the solar cycle’s role on the amplitude of ionospheric and solar wind variations. Interstellar refraction can produce cyclic timing variations from the error in transforming arrival times to the solar system barycenter. We apply our methods to DM time series and DM gradient measurements in the literature and assess their consistency with a Kolmogorov medium. Finally, we discuss the implications of DM modeling in precision pulsar timing experiments

Glitches: The Exact Quantum Signatures of Pulsars Metamorphosis

Science.gov (United States)

Hujeirat, A. A.

2018-03-01

The observed recurrence of glitches in pulsars and neutron stars carries rich information about the evolution of their internal structures. In this article, I show that the glitch-events observed in pulsars are exact quantum signatures for their metamorphosis into dark super-baryons (SBs), whose interiors are made of purely incompressible superconducting gluon-quark superfluids. Here the quantum nuclear shell model is adopted to describe the permitted energy levels of the SB, which are assumed to be identical to the discrete spinning rates Ω_{SB} that SBs are allowed to rotate with. Accordingly, a glitch-event corresponds to a prompt spin-down of the superconducting SB from one energy level to the next, thereby expelling a certain number of vortices, which in turn spins up the ambient medium. The process is provoked mainly by the negative torque of the ambient dissipative nuclear fluid and by a universal scalar field φ at the background of a supranuclear dense matter. As dictated by the Onsager-Feynman equation, the prompt spin-down must be associated with increase of the dimensions of the embryonic SB to finally convert the entire pulsar into SB-Objects on the scale of Gyrs. Based on our calculations, a Vela-like pulsar should display billions of glitches during its lifetime, before it metamorphoses entirely into a maximally compact SB-object and disappears from our observational windows. The present model predicts the mass of SBs and ΔΩ/Ω in young pulsars to be relatively lower than their older counterparts

Inferring the Composition of Super-Jupiter Mass Companions of Pulsars with Radio Line Spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ray, Alak; Loeb, Abraham, E-mail: akr@tifr.res.in, E-mail: aloeb@cfa.harvard.edu [Institute of Theory and Computation, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-02-10

We propose using radio line spectroscopy to detect molecular absorption lines (such as OH at 1.6–1.7 GHz) before and after the total eclipse of black widow and other short orbital period binary pulsars with low-mass companions. The companion in such a binary may be ablated away by energetic particles and high-energy radiation produced by the pulsar wind. The observations will probe the eclipsing wind being ablated by the pulsar and constrain the nature of the companion and its surroundings. Maser emission from the interstellar medium stimulated by a pulsar beam might also be detected from the intrabinary medium. The short temporal resolution allowed by the millisecond pulsars can probe this medium with the high angular resolution of the pulsar beam.

Comparison of pulsar positions from timing and very long baseline astrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J. B.; Coles, W. A.; Hobbs, G.; Shannon, R. M.; Manchester, R. N.; Kerr, M.; Yuan, J. P.; Wang, N.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Dai, S.; Dempsey, J.; Keith, M. J.; Lasky, P. D.; Levin, Y.; Osłowski, S.; Ravi, V.; Reardon, D. J.; Rosado, P. A.; Russell, C. J.; Spiewak, R.; van Straten, W.; Toomey, L.; Wen, L.; You, X.-P.; Zhu, X.-J.

2017-07-01

Pulsar positions can be measured with high precision using both pulsar timing methods and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). Pulsar timing positions are referenced to a solar-system ephemeris, whereas VLBI positions are referenced to distant quasars. Here, we compare pulsar positions from published VLBI measurements with those obtained from pulsar timing data from the Nanshan and Parkes radio telescopes in order to relate the two reference frames. We find that the timing positions differ significantly from the VLBI positions (and also differ between different ephemerides). A statistically significant change in the obliquity of the ecliptic of 2.16 ± 0.33 mas is found for the JPL ephemeris DE405, but no significant rotation is found in subsequent JPL ephemerides. The accuracy with which we can relate the two frames is limited by the current uncertainties in the VLBI reference source positions and in matching the pulsars to their reference source. Not only do the timing positions depend on the ephemeris used in computing them, but also different segments of the timing data lead to varying position estimates. These variations are mostly common to all ephemerides, but slight changes are seen at the 10 μas level between ephemerides.

Radio emission from Sgr A*: pulsar transits through the accretion disc

Science.gov (United States)

Christie, I. M.; Petropoulou, M.; Mimica, P.; Giannios, D.

2017-06-01

Radiatively inefficient accretion flow models have been shown to accurately account for the spectrum and luminosity observed from Sgr A* in the X-ray regime down to mm wavelengths. However, observations at a few GHz cannot be explained by thermal electrons alone but require the presence of an additional non-thermal particle population. Here, we propose a model for the origin of such a population in the accretion flow via means of a pulsar orbiting the supermassive black hole in our Galaxy. Interactions between the relativistic pulsar wind with the disc lead to the formation of a bow shock in the wind. During the pulsar's transit through the accretion disc, relativistic pairs, accelerated at the shock front, are injected into the disc. The radio-emitting particles are long lived and remain within the disc long after the pulsar's transit. Periodic pulsar transits through the disc result in regular injection episodes of non-thermal particles. We show that for a pulsar with spin-down luminosity Lsd ˜ 3 × 1035 erg s-1 and a wind Lorentz factor of γw ˜ 104 a quasi-steady synchrotron emission is established with luminosities in the 1-10 GHz range comparable to the observed one.

Millisecond Pulsars at Gamma-Ray Energies: Fermi Detections and Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, Alice K.

2011-01-01

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has revolutionized the study of pulsar physics with the discovery of new populations of radio quiet and millisecond gamma-ray pulsars. The Fermi Large Area Telescope has so far discovered approx.20 new gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs) by both folding at periods of known radio MSPs or by detecting them as gamma-ray sources that are followed up by radio pulsar searches. The second method has resulted in a phenomenally successful synergy, with -30 new radio MSPs (to date) having been discovered at Fermi unidentified source locations and the gamma-ray pulsations having then been detected in a number of these using the radio timing solutions. Many of the newly discovered MSPs may be suitable for addition to the collection of very stable MSPs used for gravitational wave detection. Detection of such a large number of MSPs was surprising, given that most have relatively low spin-down luminosity and surface field strength. I will discuss their properties and the implications for pulsar particle acceleration and emission, as well as their potential contribution to gamma-ray backgrounds and Galactic cosmic rays.

NEW DISCOVERIES FROM THE ARECIBO 327 MHz DRIFT PULSAR SURVEY RADIO TRANSIENT SEARCH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deneva, J. S. [National Research Council, resident at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Stovall, K. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (United States); McLaughlin, M. A.; Bagchi, M.; Garver-Daniels, N. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506 (United States); Bates, S. D. [The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, 600113 (India); Freire, P. C. C.; Martinez, J. G. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn (Germany); Jenet, F. [Center for Advanced Radio Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX 78520 (United States)

2016-04-10

We present Clusterrank, a new algorithm for identifying dispersed astrophysical pulses. Such pulses are commonly detected from Galactic pulsars and rotating radio transients (RRATs), which are neutron stars with sporadic radio emission. More recently, isolated, highly dispersed pulses dubbed fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been identified as the potential signature of an extragalactic cataclysmic radio source distinct from pulsars and RRATs. Clusterrank helped us discover 14 pulsars and 8 RRATs in data from the Arecibo 327 MHz Drift Pulsar Survey (AO327). The new RRATs have DMs in the range 23.5–86.6 pc cm{sup −3} and periods in the range 0.172–3.901 s. The new pulsars have DMs in the range 23.6–133.3 pc cm{sup −3} and periods in the range 1.249–5.012 s, and include two nullers and a mode-switching object. We estimate an upper limit on the all-sky FRB rate of 10{sup 5} day{sup −1} for bursts with a width of 10 ms and flux density ≳83 mJy. The DMs of all new discoveries are consistent with a Galactic origin. In comparing statistics of the new RRATs with sources from the RRATalog, we find that both sets are drawn from the same period distribution. In contrast, we find that the period distribution of the new pulsars is different from the period distributions of canonical pulsars in the ATNF catalog or pulsars found in AO327 data by a periodicity search. This indicates that Clusterrank is a powerful complement to periodicity searches and uncovers a subset of the pulsar population that has so far been underrepresented in survey results and therefore in Galactic pulsar population models.

NEW DISCOVERIES FROM THE ARECIBO 327 MHz DRIFT PULSAR SURVEY RADIO TRANSIENT SEARCH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deneva, J. S.; Stovall, K.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Bagchi, M.; Garver-Daniels, N.; Bates, S. D.; Freire, P. C. C.; Martinez, J. G.; Jenet, F.

2016-01-01

We present Clusterrank, a new algorithm for identifying dispersed astrophysical pulses. Such pulses are commonly detected from Galactic pulsars and rotating radio transients (RRATs), which are neutron stars with sporadic radio emission. More recently, isolated, highly dispersed pulses dubbed fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been identified as the potential signature of an extragalactic cataclysmic radio source distinct from pulsars and RRATs. Clusterrank helped us discover 14 pulsars and 8 RRATs in data from the Arecibo 327 MHz Drift Pulsar Survey (AO327). The new RRATs have DMs in the range 23.5–86.6 pc cm −3 and periods in the range 0.172–3.901 s. The new pulsars have DMs in the range 23.6–133.3 pc cm −3 and periods in the range 1.249–5.012 s, and include two nullers and a mode-switching object. We estimate an upper limit on the all-sky FRB rate of 10 5  day −1 for bursts with a width of 10 ms and flux density ≳83 mJy. The DMs of all new discoveries are consistent with a Galactic origin. In comparing statistics of the new RRATs with sources from the RRATalog, we find that both sets are drawn from the same period distribution. In contrast, we find that the period distribution of the new pulsars is different from the period distributions of canonical pulsars in the ATNF catalog or pulsars found in AO327 data by a periodicity search. This indicates that Clusterrank is a powerful complement to periodicity searches and uncovers a subset of the pulsar population that has so far been underrepresented in survey results and therefore in Galactic pulsar population models

Cusp-Gun Sixth-Harmonic Slotted Gyrotron

Science.gov (United States)

Stutzman, R. C.; McDermott, D. B.; Hirata Luhmann, Y., Jr.; Gallagher, D. A.; Spencer, T. A.

2000-10-01

A high-harmonic slotted gyrotron has been constructed at UC Davis to be driven by a 70 kV, 3.5 A, axis-encircling electron beam from a Northrop Grumman Cusp gun. The 94 GHz, slotted sixth-harmonic gyrotron is predicted to generate 50 kW with an efficiency of 20%. Using the profile of the adiabatic field reversal from the UC Davis superconducting test-magnet, EGUN simulations predict that an axis-encircling electron beam will be generated with an axial velocity spread of Δ v_z/v_z=10% for the desired velocity ratio of α =v_z/v_z=1.5. The design will also be presented for an 8th-harmonic W-band gyrotron whose magnetic field can be supplied by a lightweight permanent magnet.

Tri-Band CPW-Fed Stub-Loaded Slot Antenna Design for WLAN/WiMAX Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jianxing; Guo, Jianying; He, Bin; Zhang, Anxue; Liu, Qing Huo

2016-11-01

A novel uniplanar CPW-fed tri-band stub-loaded slot antenna is proposed for wireless local area network (WLAN) and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) applications. Dual resonant modes were effectively excited in the upper band by using two identical pairs of slot stubs and parasitic slots symmetrically along the arms of a traditional CPW-fed slot dipole, achieving a much wider bandwidth. The middle band was realized by the fundamental mode of the slot dipole. To obtain the lower band, two identical inverted-L-shaped open-ended slots were symmetrically etched in the ground plane. A prototype was fabricated and measured, showing that tri-band operation with 10-dB return loss bandwidths of 150 MHz from 2.375 to 2.525 GHz, 725 MHz from 3.075 to 3.8 GHz, and 1.9 GHz from 5.0 to 6.9 GHz has been achieved. Details of the antenna design as well as the measured and simulated results are presented and discussed.

On the interpretation of pulsar braking indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blandford, R.D.; Romani, R.W.

1988-01-01

Timing observations of the Crab pulsar rotation frequency of sufficient accuracy and duration to allow a 10 per cent estimate of the third frequency derivative have been reported (Lyne et al. 1988. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc., 233, 667). This measurement is consistent with both non-dipolar electromagnetic models and a secular change in the dipole moment. A more accurate determination may discriminate between these two possibilities. Measurements of braking indices in other young pulsars may reveal similar variations. (author)

Resolving discrete pulsar spin-down states with current and future instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, B.; Stappers, B. W.; Weltevrede, P.

2018-04-01

An understanding of pulsar timing noise offers the potential to improve the timing precision of a large number of pulsars as well as facilitating our understanding of pulsar magnetospheres. For some sources, timing noise is attributable to a pulsar switching between two different spin-down rates (\\dot{ν }). Such transitions may be common but difficult to resolve using current techniques. In this work, we use simulations of \\dot{ν }-variable pulsars to investigate the likelihood of resolving individual \\dot{ν } transitions. We inject step changes in the value of \\dot{ν } with a wide range of amplitudes and switching time-scales. We then attempt to redetect these transitions using standard pulsar timing techniques. The pulse arrival-time precision and the observing cadence are varied. Limits on \\dot{ν } detectability based on the effects such transitions have on the timing residuals are derived. With the typical cadences and timing precision of current timing programmes, we find that we are insensitive to a large region of Δ \\dot{ν } parameter space that encompasses small, short time-scale switches. We find, where the rotation and emission states are correlated, that using changes to the pulse shape to estimate \\dot{ν } transition epochs can improve detectability in certain scenarios. The effects of cadence on Δ \\dot{ν } detectability are discussed, and we make comparisons with a known population of intermittent and mode-switching pulsars. We conclude that for short time-scale, small switches, cadence should not be compromised when new generations of ultra-sensitive radio telescopes are online.

TeV Gamma Rays From Galactic Center Pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hooper, Dan [Fermilab; Cholis, Ilias [Johns Hopkins U.; Linden, Tim [Ohio State U., CCAPP

2017-05-25

Measurements of the nearby pulsars Geminga and B0656+14 by the HAWC and Milagro telescopes have revealed the presence of bright TeV-emitting halos surrounding these objects. If young and middle-aged pulsars near the Galactic Center transfer a similar fraction of their energy into TeV photons, then these sources could dominate the emission that is observed by HESS and other ground-based telescopes from the innermost ~10^2 parsecs of the Milky Way. In particular, both the spectral shape and the angular extent of this emission is consistent with TeV halos produced by a population of pulsars. The overall flux of this emission requires a birth rate of ~100-1000 neutron stars per Myr near the Galactic Center, in good agreement with recent estimates.

A massive pulsar in a compact relativistic binary.

Science.gov (United States)

Antoniadis, John; Freire, Paulo C C; Wex, Norbert; Tauris, Thomas M; Lynch, Ryan S; van Kerkwijk, Marten H; Kramer, Michael; Bassa, Cees; Dhillon, Vik S; Driebe, Thomas; Hessels, Jason W T; Kaspi, Victoria M; Kondratiev, Vladislav I; Langer, Norbert; Marsh, Thomas R; McLaughlin, Maura A; Pennucci, Timothy T; Ransom, Scott M; Stairs, Ingrid H; van Leeuwen, Joeri; Verbiest, Joris P W; Whelan, David G

2013-04-26

Many physically motivated extensions to general relativity (GR) predict substantial deviations in the properties of spacetime surrounding massive neutron stars. We report the measurement of a 2.01 ± 0.04 solar mass (M⊙) pulsar in a 2.46-hour orbit with a 0.172 ± 0.003 M⊙ white dwarf. The high pulsar mass and the compact orbit make this system a sensitive laboratory of a previously untested strong-field gravity regime. Thus far, the observed orbital decay agrees with GR, supporting its validity even for the extreme conditions present in the system. The resulting constraints on deviations support the use of GR-based templates for ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Additionally, the system strengthens recent constraints on the properties of dense matter and provides insight to binary stellar astrophysics and pulsar recycling.

Observations of Accreting Pulsars with the FERMI-GBM

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen

2012-01-01

The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on-board Fermi comprises 12 NaI detectors spanning the 8-1000 keV band and 2 BGO detectors spanning the 100 keV to 40 MeV band. These detectors view the entire unocculted sky, providing long (approximately 40 ks/day) observations of accreting pulsars daily, which allow long-term monitoring of spin-frequencies and pulsed uxes via epoch-folded searches plus daily blind searches for new pulsars. Phase averaged uxes can be measured using the Earth occultation technique. In this talk I will present highlights of GBM accretion-powered pulsar monitoring such as the discovery of a torque reversal in 4U1626-67, a high-energy QPO in A0535+26, and evidence for a stable accretion disk in OAO 1657-415.

Black Hole/Pulsar Binaries in the Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yong; Li, Xiang-Dong

2018-04-01

We have performed population synthesis calculation on the formation of binaries containing a black hole (BH) and a neutron star (NS) in the Galactic disk. Some of important input parameters, especially for the treatment of common envelope evolution, are updated in the calculation. We have discussed the uncertainties from the star formation rate of the Galaxy and the velocity distribution of NS kicks on the birthrate (˜ 0.6-13 Myr^{-1}) of BH/NS binaries. From incident BH/NS binaries, by modelling the orbital evolution duo to gravitational wave radiation and the NS evolution as radio pulsars, we obtain the distributions of the observable parameters such as the orbital period, eccentricity and pulse period of the BH/pulsar binaries. We estimate that there may be ˜3 - 80 BH/pulsar binaries in the Galactic disk and around 10% of them could be detected by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope.

Black hole/pulsar binaries in the Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Yong; Li, Xiang-Dong

2018-06-01

We have performed population synthesis calculation on the formation of binaries containing a black hole (BH) and a neutron star (NS) in the Galactic disc. Some of important input parameters, especially for the treatment of common envelope evolution, are updated in the calculation. We have discussed the uncertainties from the star formation rate of the Galaxy and the velocity distribution of NS kicks on the birthrate (˜ 0.6-13 M yr^{-1}) of BH/NS binaries. From incident BH/NS binaries, by modelling the orbital evolution due to gravitational wave radiation and the NS evolution as radio pulsars, we obtain the distributions of the observable parameters such as the orbital period, eccentricity, and pulse period of the BH/pulsar binaries. We estimate that there may be ˜3-80 BH/pulsar binaries in the Galactic disc and around 10 per cent of them could be detected by the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope.

EFFECTS OF SLOTTED BLADING ON SECONDARY FLOW IN HIGHLY LOADED COMPRESSOR CASCADE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

RAMZI MDOUKI

2013-10-01

Full Text Available With the aim to increase allowable blade loadings and enlarge stable operating range in highly loaded compressor, this work is carried out in order to explore the potential of passive control via slotted bladings in linear cascade configurations under both design and stall conditions. Through an extensive 2D-numerical study, the effects of location, width and slope of slots were analysed and the best configuration was identified. Based on the optimal slot, the 3D aerodynamic performances of cascade were studied and the influence of slotted blading to control endwall flow was investigated. Both 2D and 3D calculations are performed on steady RANS solver with standard k-epsilon turbulence model and low Mach number regime. The total loss coefficient, turning angle and flow visualizations on the blade and end-wall surfaces are adopted to describe the different configurations. The obtained results show, for 2D situation, that a maximum of 28.3% reduction in loss coefficient had been reached and the flow turning was increased with approximately 5°. Concerning 3D flow fields the slots marked their benefit at large incoming flow angles which delays the separation on both end wall and blade suction surface at mid span. However, at design conditions, the slotted blades are not able to control secondary flows near the wall and so, lose their potential.

FLOW VISUALIZATION OF RECTANGULAR SLOT AIR JET IMPINGEMENT ON FLAT SURFACES

OpenAIRE

Satheesha V *1, B. K. Muralidhra2, Abhilash N3, C. K. Umesh4

2018-01-01

Jet impingement near the mid-chord of the gas turbine blade is treated as a flat plate. Experimental and numerical investigations are carried out for a single slot air jet impinging on flat surface for two different rectangular slots of dimension (3mm x 65 mm) and (5mm x 65 mm). Experimentation is done to study the flow pattern topography on the flat target plate, with varying the flow rate from 20 LPM to 50 LPM by varying the nozzle to plate distance from 9 mm to 24 mm for slot jet of 3mm an...

CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS OF THE HIGH-MAGNETIC-FIELD RADIO PULSAR J1718-3718

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, W. W.; Kaspi, V. M.; Ng, C.-Y.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Pavlov, G. G.; Manchester, R. N.; Gaensler, B. M.; Woods, P. M.

2011-01-01

High-magnetic-field pulsars represent an important class of objects for studying the relationship between magnetars and radio pulsars. Here we report on four Chandra observations of the high-magnetic-field pulsar J1718-3718 (B = 7.4 x 10 13 G) taken in 2009 as well as a reanalysis of 2002 Chandra observations of the region. We also report an improved radio position for this pulsar based on ATCA observations. We detect X-ray pulsations at the pulsar's period in the 2009 data, with a pulsed fraction of 52% ± 13% in the 0.8-2.0 keV band. We find that the X-ray pulse is aligned with the radio pulse. The data from 2002 and 2009 show consistent spectra and fluxes: a merged overall spectrum is well fit by a blackbody of temperature 186 +19 -18 eV, slightly higher than predicted by standard cooling models; however, the best-fit neutron star atmosphere model is consistent with standard cooling. We find the bolometric luminosity L ∞ bb = 4 +5 -2 x 10 32 erg s -1 ∼0.3 E-dot for a distance of 4.5 kpc. We compile measurements of the temperatures of all X-ray-detected high-B pulsars as well as those of low-B radio pulsars and find evidence for the former being hotter on average than the latter.

PSRPOPPy: an open-source package for pulsar population simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, S. D.; Lorimer, D. R.; Rane, A.; Swiggum, J.

2014-04-01

We have produced a new software package for the simulation of pulsar populations, PSRPOPPY, based on the PSRPOP package. The codebase has been re-written in Python (save for some external libraries, which remain in their native Fortran), utilizing the object-oriented features of the language, and improving the modularity of the code. Pre-written scripts are provided for running the simulations in `standard' modes of operation, but the code is flexible enough to support the writing of personalised scripts. The modular structure also makes the addition of experimental features (such as new models for period or luminosity distributions) more straightforward than with the previous code. We also discuss potential additions to the modelling capabilities of the software. Finally, we demonstrate some potential applications of the code; first, using results of surveys at different observing frequencies, we find pulsar spectral indices are best fitted by a normal distribution with mean -1.4 and standard deviation 1.0. Secondly, we model pulsar spin evolution to calculate the best fit for a relationship between a pulsar's luminosity and spin parameters. We used the code to replicate the analysis of Faucher-Giguère & Kaspi, and have subsequently optimized their power-law dependence of radio luminosity, L, with period, P, and period derivative, Ṗ. We find that the underlying population is best described by L ∝ P-1.39±0.09 Ṗ0.48±0.04 and is very similar to that found for γ-ray pulsars by Perera et al. Using this relationship, we generate a model population and examine the age-luminosity relation for the entire pulsar population, which may be measurable after future large-scale surveys with the Square Kilometre Array.

Radio search for pulsed emission from X-ray pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

delli Santi, F S; Delpino, F [Bologna Univ. (Italy). Ist. di Astronomia; Inzani, P; Sironi, G [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan (Italy). Lab. di Fisica Cosmica e Tecnologie Relative; Mandolesi, N; Morigi, G [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Bologna (Italy). Lab. TESRE

1981-05-01

An experiment has been performed at 325 MHz, with a 10 m tracking dish, for the search of pulsed radio emission associated with X-ray pulsars. No evidence of radio pulses has been found in the four sources investigated, although the radio pulsar PSR 0329 + 54, used a testing object, has been detected successfully.

Modelling gamma-ray light curves of phase-aligned millisecond pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shan; Zhang, Li; Li, Xiang; Jiang, Zejun

2018-04-01

Three gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs), PSR J1939+2134, PSR J1959+2048, and PSR J0034-0534, have been confirmed to have a common feature of phase-aligned in radio and gamma-ray bands. With a geometric (two-pole caustic) model and a physical outer gap model (revised 3D outer gap model) in a three dimensional (3D) retarded magnetic dipole with a perturbation magnetic field, the observed features of these MSPs are studied. In order to obtained the best-fitting model parameters, the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique is used and reasonable GeV band light curves for three MSPs are given. Our calculations indicate that MSPs emit high energy photons with smaller inclination angles (α ≈ 10°-50°), larger view angles (ζ ≈ 65°-100°), and smaller perturbation factor (ɛ ≈ -0.15-0.1). Note that the factor ɛ, describing the strength of the perturbed magnetic field, is all less than zero in these two models, so the magnetic field caused by current-induced play a leading role in the pulsed location of MSPs.

Gravitational wave detection and data analysis for pulsar timing arrays

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haasteren, Rutger van

2011-01-01

Long-term precise timing of Galactic millisecond pulsars holds great promise for measuring long-period (months-to-years) astrophysical gravitational waves. In this work we develop a Bayesian data analysis method for projects called pulsar timing arrays; projects aimed to detect these gravitational

The Highly Relativistic Binary Pulsar PSR J0737-3039A: Discovery and Implications

OpenAIRE

Burgay, M.; D'Amico, N.; Possenti, A.; Manchester, R. N.; Lyne, A. G.; Joshi, B. C.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Kramer, M.; Sarkissian, J. M.; Camilo, F.; Kalogera, V.; Kim, C.; Lorimer, D. R.

2004-01-01

PSR J0737-3039A is a millisecond pulsar with a spin period of 22.7 ms included in a double-neutron star system with an orbital period of 2.4 hrs. Its companion has also been detected as a radio pulsar, making this binary the first known double-pulsar system. Its discovery has important implications for relativistic gravity tests, gravitational wave detection and plasma physics. Here we will shortly describe the discovery of the first pulsar in this unique system and present the first results ...

Three Dozen Pulsars Over a Dozen+ Years in Terzan 5

Science.gov (United States)

Ransom, Scott M.; Stairs, Ingrid; Hessels, Jason W. T.; Freire, Paulo; Bilous, Anna; Prager, Brian; Ho, Anna; Cadelano, Mario; Wang, David; Scott Ransom

2018-01-01

The massive and rich globular cluster Terzan 5 contains at least 37 millisecond pulsars -- the most of any globular cluster. We have been timing these pulsars in the radio since 2004 using the Green Bank Telescope, and the individual and combined properties have provided a wealth of science. We have measured long-term accelerations and "jerks" of almost all of the pulsars, allowing a unique probe of the physical parameters of the cluster, completely independent from optical/IR measurements. We have directly measured the absolute proper motion of cluster and see evidence for internal velocity dispersion. Numerous post-Keplerian (i.e. relativistic) orbital parameters are significant, allowing measurements or constraints on the neutron star masses for nine systems. Ensemble flux density, dispersion measure, and polarization measurements constrain the pulsar luminosity function and the interstellar medium. Finally, we observe many interesting properties of and long-term variabilty from several eclipsing systems.

The surprising Crab pulsar and its nebula: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bühler, R; Blandford, R

2014-06-01

The Crab nebula and its pulsar (referred to together as 'the Crab') have historically played a central role in astrophysics. True to this legacy, several unique discoveries have been made recently. The Crab was found to emit gamma-ray pulsations up to energies of 400 GeV, beyond what was previously expected from pulsars. Strong gamma-ray flares, of durations of a few days, were discovered from within the nebula, while the source was previously expected to be stable in flux on these time scales. Here we review these intriguing and suggestive developments. In this context we give an overview of the observational properties of the Crab and our current understanding of pulsars and their nebulae.

Small angle slot divertor concept for long pulse advanced tokamaks

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, H. Y.; Sang, C. F.; Stangeby, P. C.; Lao, L. L.; Taylor, T. S.; Thomas, D. M.

2017-04-01

SOLPS-EIRENE edge code analysis shows that a gas-tight slot divertor geometry with a small-angle (glancing-incidence) target, named the small angle slot (SAS) divertor, can achieve cold, dissipative/detached divertor conditions at relatively low values of plasma density at the outside midplane separatrix. SAS exhibits the following key features: (1) strong enhancement of the buildup of neutral density in a localized region near the plasma strike point on the divertor target; (2) spreading of the cooling front across the divertor target with the slot gradually flaring out from the strike point, thus effectively reducing both heat flux and erosion on the entire divertor target surface. Such a divertor may potentially provide a power and particle handling solution for long pulse advanced tokamaks.

An image-based search for pulsars among Fermi unassociated LAT sources

Science.gov (United States)

Frail, D. A.; Ray, P. S.; Mooley, K. P.; Hancock, P.; Burnett, T. H.; Jagannathan, P.; Ferrara, E. C.; Intema, H. T.; de Gasperin, F.; Demorest, P. B.; Stovall, K.; McKinnon, M. M.

2018-03-01

We describe an image-based method that uses two radio criteria, compactness, and spectral index, to identify promising pulsar candidates among Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) unassociated sources. These criteria are applied to those radio sources from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope all-sky survey at 150 MHz (TGSS ADR1) found within the error ellipses of unassociated sources from the 3FGL catalogue and a preliminary source list based on 7 yr of LAT data. After follow-up interferometric observations to identify extended or variable sources, a list of 16 compact, steep-spectrum candidates is generated. An ongoing search for pulsations in these candidates, in gamma rays and radio, has found 6 ms pulsars and one normal pulsar. A comparison of this method with existing selection criteria based on gamma-ray spectral and variability properties suggests that the pulsar discovery space using Fermi may be larger than previously thought. Radio imaging is a hitherto underutilized source selection method that can be used, as with other multiwavelength techniques, in the search for Fermi pulsars.

Spatially-resolved Spectroscopy of the IC443 Pulsar Wind Nebula and Environs

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, Douglas A.; Weisskopf, M. C.; Zavlin, V.; Bucciantini, N.; Clarke, T. E.; Karovska, M.; Pavlov, G. G.; van der Horst, A.; Yukita, M.

2013-04-01

Deep Chandra ACIS observations of the region around the putative pulsar, CXO J061705.3+222127, in the supernova remnant IC443 confirm that (1) the spectrum and flux of the central object are consistent with a rotation-powered pulsar interpretation, (2) the non-thermal surrounding nebula is likely powered by a pulsar wind, and (3) the thermal-dominated spectrum at greater distances is consistent with emission from the supernova remnant. The observations further reveal, for the first time, a ring-like morphology surrounding the pulsar and a jet-like structure oriented roughly north-south across the ring and through the pulsar location. The cometary shape of the nebula, suggesting motion towards the southwest, appears to be subsonic; there is no evidence for a strong bow shock and the ring, presumably formed at a wind termination shock, is not distorted by motion through the ambient medium.

Spatially-resolved Spectroscopy of the IC443 Pulsar Wind Nebula and Environs

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, D. A.; Weisskopf, M. C.; Zavlin, V. E.; Bucciantini, N.; Clarke, T. E.; Karovska, M.; Pavlov, G. G.; O'Dell, S. L.; vanderHorst, A J.; Yukita, M.

2013-01-01

Deep Chandra ACIS observations of the region around the putative pulsar, CXOU J061705.3+222117, in the supernova remnant IC443 reveal, for the first time, a ring-like morphology surrounding the pulsar and a jet-like structure oriented roughly north-south across the ring and through the pulsar location. The observations further confirm that (1) the spectrum and flux of the central object are consistent with a rotation-powered pulsar interpretation, (2) the non-thermal surrounding nebula is likely powered by the pulsar wind, and (3) the thermal-dominated spectrum at greater distances is consistent with emission from the supernova remnant. The cometary shape of the nebula, suggesting motion towards the southwest (or, equivalently, flow of ambient medium to the northeast), appears to be subsonic; there is no evidence for a strong bow shock, and the circular ring is not distorted by motion through the ambient medium.

PROSPECTS FOR PROBING THE SPACETIME OF Sgr A* WITH PULSARS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, K.; Wex, N.; Kramer, M. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Cordes, J. M. [Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Lazio, T. J. W. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, M/S 138-308, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)

2012-03-01

The discovery of radio pulsars in compact orbits around Sgr A* would allow an unprecedented and detailed investigation of the spacetime of this supermassive black hole. This paper shows that pulsar timing, including that of a single pulsar, has the potential to provide novel tests of general relativity, in particular its cosmic censorship conjecture and no-hair theorem for rotating black holes. These experiments can be performed by timing observations with 100 {mu}s precision, achievable with the Square Kilometre Array for a normal pulsar at frequency above 15 GHz. Based on the standard pulsar timing technique, we develop a method that allows the determination of the mass, spin, and quadrupole moment of Sgr A*, and provides a consistent covariance analysis of the measurement errors. Furthermore, we test this method in detailed mock data simulations. It seems likely that only for orbital periods below {approx}0.3 yr is there the possibility of having negligible external perturbations. For such orbits, we expect a {approx}10{sup -3} test of the frame dragging and a {approx}10{sup -2} test of the no-hair theorem within five years, if Sgr A* is spinning rapidly. Our method is also capable of identifying perturbations caused by distributed mass around Sgr A*, thus providing high confidence in these gravity tests. Our analysis is not affected by uncertainties in our knowledge of the distance to the Galactic center, R{sub 0}. A combination of pulsar timing with the astrometric results of stellar orbits would greatly improve the measurement precision of R{sub 0}.

FEM Analysis of Brushless DC Servomotor with Fractional Number of Slots per Pole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BALUTA, G.

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The authors present in this paper the analysis with Finite Element Method (FEM of the magnetic circuit for a Brushless DC servomotor with fractional number of slots/pole (9 slots and 10 poles. For this purpose, FEMM 4.2 software package was used for the analysis. To obtain the waveforms of Back-ElectroMotive Forces (BEMFs, electromagnetic and cogging torque for servomotor a program in LUA scripting language (integrated into interactive shell of FEMM4.2 has been created. A comparation with a structure with integer number of slots/pole (18 slots and 6 poles was also realized. The analysis results prove that the structure chosen is an optimal solution: sinusoidal waveforms of BEMFs, improved electromagnetic torque and reduced cogging torque. Therefore, the operating characteristics of the servomotor with 9/10 slots/poles manufactured by Sistem Euroteh Company and included in an integrated electrical drives system are presented in this paper.

Inverse Compton gamma-rays from pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morini, M.

1983-01-01

A model is proposed for pulsar optical and gamma-ray emission where relativistic electrons beams: (i) scatter the blackbody photons from the polar cap surface giving inverse Compton gamma-rays and (ii) produce synchrotron optical photons in the light cylinder region which are then inverse Compton scattered giving other gamma-rays. The model is applied to the Vela pulsar, explaining the first gamma-ray pulse by inverse Compton scattering of synchrotron photons near the light cylinder and the second gamma-ray pulse partly by inverse Compton scattering of synchrotron photons and partly by inverse Compton scattering of the thermal blackbody photons near the star surface. (author)

Cogging Torque Reduction by Slot-Opening Shift for Permanent Magnet Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Ting; Huang, Shoudao; Gao, Jian

2013-01-01

In this paper, an effective cogging torque reduction method based on shifting the slot-openings is presented. Stator teeth are divided into groups and proper slot-opening shift is applied for each group. The cogging torque can then be greatly reduced while the back-EMF waveforms remain symmetrical...

The largest glitch observed in the Crab pulsar

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, B.; Lyne, A. G.; Stappers, B. W.; Weltevrede, P.; Bassa, C. G.; Lien, A. Y.; Mickaliger, M. B.; Breton, R. P.; Jordan, C. A.; Keith, M. J.; Krimm, H. A.

2018-05-01

We have observed a large glitch in the Crab pulsar (PSR B0531+21). The glitch occurred around MJD 58064 (2017 November 8) when the pulsar underwent an increase in the rotation rate of Δν = 1.530 × 10-5 Hz, corresponding to a fractional increase of Δν/ν = 0.516 × 10-6 making this event the largest glitch ever observed in this source. Due to our high-cadence and long-dwell time observations of the Crab pulsar we are able to partially resolve a fraction of the total spin-up of the star. This delayed spin-up occurred over a timescale of ˜1.7 days and is similar to the behaviour seen in the 1989 and 1996 large Crab pulsar glitches. The spin-down rate also increased at the glitch epoch by Δ \\dot{ν } / \\dot{ν } = 7 × 10^{-3}. In addition to being the largest such event observed in the Crab, the glitch occurred after the longest period of glitch inactivity since at least 1984 and we discuss a possible relationship between glitch size and waiting time. No changes to the shape of the pulse profile were observed near the glitch epoch at 610 MHz or 1520 MHz, nor did we identify any changes in the X-ray flux from the pulsar. The long-term recovery from the glitch continues to progress as \\dot{ν } slowly rises towards pre-glitch values. In line with other large Crab glitches, we expect there to be a persistent change to \\dot{ν }. We continue to monitor the long-term recovery with frequent, high quality observations.

Possible Evolution of the Pulsar Braking Index from Larger than Three to About One

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tong, H. [School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Guangzhou University, 510006 Guangzhou (China); Kou, F. F., E-mail: htong_2005@163.com [Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011 (China)

2017-03-10

The coupled evolution of pulsar rotation and inclination angle in the wind braking model is calculated. The oblique pulsar tends to align. The pulsar alignment affects its spin-down behavior. As a pulsar evolves from the magneto-dipole radiation dominated case to the particle wind dominated case, the braking index first increases and then decreases. In the early time, the braking index may be larger than three. During the following long time, the braking index is always smaller than three. The minimum braking index is about one. This can explain the existence of a high braking index larger than three and a low braking index simultaneously. The pulsar braking index is expected to evolve from larger than three to about one. The general trend is for the pulsar braking index to evolve from the Crab-like case to the Vela-like case.

Possible Evolution of the Pulsar Braking Index from Larger than Three to About One

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong, H.; Kou, F. F.

2017-01-01

The coupled evolution of pulsar rotation and inclination angle in the wind braking model is calculated. The oblique pulsar tends to align. The pulsar alignment affects its spin-down behavior. As a pulsar evolves from the magneto-dipole radiation dominated case to the particle wind dominated case, the braking index first increases and then decreases. In the early time, the braking index may be larger than three. During the following long time, the braking index is always smaller than three. The minimum braking index is about one. This can explain the existence of a high braking index larger than three and a low braking index simultaneously. The pulsar braking index is expected to evolve from larger than three to about one. The general trend is for the pulsar braking index to evolve from the Crab-like case to the Vela-like case.

A Fast Detection Algorithm for the X-Ray Pulsar Signal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Liang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The detection of the X-ray pulsar signal is important for the autonomous navigation system using X-ray pulsars. In the condition of short observation time and limited number of photons for detection, the noise does not obey the Gaussian distribution. This fact has been little considered extant. In this paper, the model of the X-ray pulsar signal is rebuilt as the nonhomogeneous Poisson distribution and, in the condition of a fixed false alarm rate, a fast detection algorithm based on maximizing the detection probability is proposed. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed detection algorithm.

SEXTANT X-Ray Pulsar Navigation Demonstration: Initial On-Orbit Results

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Jason W.; Winternitz, Luke B.; Hassouneh, Munther A.; Price, Samuel R.; Semper, Sean R.; Yu, Wayne H.; Ray, Paul S.; Wolf, Michael T.; Kerr, Matthew; Wood, Kent S.;

Algorithms for searching Fast radio bursts and pulsars in tight binary systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Zackay, Barak

2017-01-01

Fast radio bursts (FRB's) are an exciting, recently discovered, astrophysical transients which their origins are unknown.Currently, these bursts are believed to be coming from cosmological distances, allowing us to probe the electron content on cosmological length scales. Even though their precise localization is crucial for the determination of their origin, radio interferometers were not extensively employed in searching for them due to computational limitations.I will briefly present the Fast Dispersion Measure Transform (FDMT) algorithm,that allows to reduce the operation count in blind incoherent dedispersion by 2-3 orders of magnitude.In addition, FDMT enables to probe the unexplored domain of sub-microsecond astrophysical pulses.Pulsars in tight binary systems are among the most important astrophysical objects as they provide us our best tests of general relativity in the strong field regime.I will provide a preview to a novel algorithm that enables the detection of pulsars in short binary systems using observation times longer than an orbital period.Current pulsar search programs limit their searches for integration times shorter than a few percents of the orbital period.Until now, searching for pulsars in binary systems using observation times longer than an orbital period was considered impossible as one has to blindly enumerate all options for the Keplerian parameters, the pulsar rotation period, and the unknown DM.Using the current state of the art pulsar search techniques and all computers on the earth, such an enumeration would take longer than a Hubble time. I will demonstrate that using the new algorithm, it is possible to conduct such an enumeration on a laptop using real data of the double pulsar PSR J0737-3039.Among the other applications of this algorithm are:1) Searching for all pulsars on all sky positions in gamma ray observations of the Fermi LAT satellite.2) Blind searching for continuous gravitational wave sources emitted by pulsars with

Hydraulic performance of a low specific speed centrifugal pump with Spanwise-Slotted Blades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye, D X; Li, H; Wang, Y

2013-01-01

The hydraulic efficiency of a low specific speed centrifugal pump is low because of the long and narrow meridian flow passage, and the severe disk friction. Spanwise slotted blade flow control technology has been applied to the low specific speed centrifugal pump. This paper concluded that spanwise slotted blades can improve the pump performance in both experiments and simulations. In order to study the influence to the impeller and volute by spanwise slotted blade, impeller efficiency and volute efficiency were defined. The minimum volute efficiency and the maximum pump efficiency appear at the same time in the design flow condition in the unsteady simulation. The mechanism of spanwise slotted blade flow control technology should be researched furthermore

Discovery of Three New Millisecond Pulsars in Terzan 5

Science.gov (United States)

Cadelano, M.; Ransom, S. M.; Freire, P. C. C.; Ferraro, F. R.; Hessels, J. W. T.; Lanzoni, B.; Pallanca, C.; Stairs, I. H.

2018-03-01

We report on the discovery of three new millisecond pulsars (MSPs; namely J1748‑2446aj, J1748‑2446ak, and J1748‑2446al) in the inner regions of the dense stellar system Terzan 5. These pulsars have been discovered thanks to a method, alternative to the classical search routines, that exploited the large set of archival observations of Terzan 5 acquired with the Green Bank Telescope over five years (from 2010 to 2015). This technique allowed the analysis of stacked power spectra obtained by combining ∼206 hr of observation. J1748‑2446aj has a spin period of ∼2.96 ms, J1748‑2446ak of ∼1.89 ms (thus it is the fourth fastest pulsar in the cluster) and J1748‑2446al of ∼5.95 ms. All three MSPs are isolated, and currently we have timing solutions only for J1748‑2446aj and J1748‑2446ak. For these two systems, we evaluated the contribution to the measured spin-down rate of the acceleration due to the cluster potential field, thus estimating the intrinsic spin-down rates, which are in agreement with those typically measured for MSPs in globular clusters (GCs). Our results increase the number of pulsars known in Terzan 5 to 37, which now hosts 25% of the entire pulsar population identified, so far, in GCs.

Modelling pulsar wind nebulae

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

In view of the current and forthcoming observational data on pulsar wind nebulae, this book offers an assessment of the theoretical state of the art of modelling them. The expert authors also review the observational status of the field and provide an outlook for future developments. During the last few years, significant progress on the study of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) has been attained both from a theoretical and an observational perspective, perhaps focusing on the closest, more energetic, and best studied nebula: the Crab, which appears in the cover. Now, the number of TeV detected PWNe is similar to the number of characterized nebulae observed at other frequencies over decades of observations. And in just a few years, the Cherenkov Telescope Array will increase this number to several hundreds, actually providing an essentially complete account of TeV emitting PWNe in the Galaxy. At the other end of the multi-frequency spectrum, the SKA and its pathfinder instruments, will reveal thousands of new pulsa...

Coherent radiation from pulsars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, J.L. Jr.

1979-01-01

Interaction between a relativistic electrom stream and a plasma under conditions believed to exist in pulsar magnetospheres is shown to result in the simultaneous emission of coherent curvature radiation at radio wavelengths and incoherent curvature radiation at X-ray wavelengths from the same spatial volume. It is found that such a stream can propagate through a plasma parallel to a very strong magnetic field only if its length is less than a critical length L/sub asterisk/ic. Charge induced in the plasma by the stream co-moves with the stream and has the same limitation in longitudinal extent. The resultant charge bunching is sufficient to cause the relatively low energy plasma particles to radiate at radio wavelengths coherently while the relatively high energy stream particles radiate at X-ray wavelengths incoherently as the stream-plasma system moves along curved magnetic field lines. The effective number of coherently radiating particles per bunch is estimated to be approx.10 14 --10 15 for a tupical pulsar

Realistic Free-Spins Features Increase Preference for Slot Machines.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Lorance F; Macaskill, Anne C; Hunt, Maree J

2017-06-01

Despite increasing research into how the structural characteristics of slot machines influence gambling behaviour there have been no experimental investigations into the effect of free-spins bonus features-a structural characteristic that is commonly central to the design of slot machines. This series of three experiments investigated the free-spins feature using slot machine simulations to determine whether participants allocate more wagers to a machine with free spins, and, which components of free-spins features drive this preference. In each experiment, participants were exposed to two computer-simulated slot machines-one with a free-spins feature or similar bonus feature and one without. Participants then completed a testing phase where they could freely switch between the two machines. In Experiment 1, participants did not prefer the machine with a simple free-spins feature. In Experiment 2 the free-spins feature incorporated additional elements such as sounds, animations, and an increased win frequency; participants preferred to gamble on this machine. The Experiment 3 "bonus feature" machine resembled the free spins machine in Experiment 2 except spins were not free; participants showed a clear preference for this machine also. These findings indicate that (1) free-spins features have a major influence over machine choice and (2) the "freeness" of the free-spins bonus features is not an important driver of preference, contrary to self-report and interview research with gamblers.

14 CFR 93.226 - Allocation of slots in low-demand periods.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Allocation of slots in low-demand periods. 93.226 Section 93.226 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... low-demand periods. (a) If there are available slots in the following time periods and there are no...

Elevated CPW-Fed Slotted Microstrip Antenna for Ultra-Wideband Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandan Kumar Ghosh

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Elevated-coplanar-waveguide- (ECPW- fed microstrip antenna with inverted “G” slots in the back conductor is presented. It is modeled and analyzed for the application of multiple frequency bands. The changes in radiation and the transmission characteristics are investigated by the introduction of the slots in two different positions at the ground plane (back conductor. The proposed antenna without slots exhibits a stop band from 2.55 GHz to 4.25 GHz while introducing two slots on the back conductor, two adjacent poles appear at central frequencies of 3.0 GHz and 3.9 GHz, respectively, and the antenna shows the ultra-wideband (UWB characteristics. The first pole appears at the central frequency of 3.0 GHz and covers the band width of 950 MHz, and the second pole exists at a central frequency of 3.90 GHz covering a bandwidth of 750 MHz. Experimental result shows that impedance bandwidth of 129% (S11<-10 dB is well achieved when the antenna is excited with both slots. Compared to most of the previously reported ECPW structures, the impedance bandwidth of this antenna is increased and also the size of the antenna becomes smaller and more suitable for many wireless applications like PCS (1850–1990 MHz, WLAN (2.4–2.484 GHz, WiMAX (2.5–2.69 GHz and 5.15–5.85 GHz, and also X-band communication.

Meter-wavelength observations of pulsars using very long baseline interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vandenberg, N.R.

1974-07-01

The results of an investigation of the angular structure imposed on pulsar radiation due to scattering in the interstellar medium are presented. The technique of very-long-baseline interferometry was used to obtain the necessary high angular resolution. The interferometers formed by the Arecibo, NRAO, and Sugar Grove telescopes were used at radio frequencies of 196, 111, and 74 MHz during seven separate observing sessions between November 1971 and February 1973. A crude visibility function for the Crab nebular pulsar was obtained along with the correlated pulse profile. The technique of differential fringe phase was used to show that the pulsar and the compact source in the Crab nebula are coincident to within 0.001 arcsec which corresponds to approximately 2 a.u. at the distance to the nebula. The ratio of pulsing to total flux, and the fringe visibility of the time-averaged pulsing flux are also discussed, and apparent angular sizes of the pulsars were measured. (U.S.)

Global Current Circuit Structure in a Resistive Pulsar Magnetosphere Model

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Yugo. E.

2017-12-01

Pulsar magnetospheres have strong magnetic fields and large amounts of plasma. The structures of these magnetospheres are studied using force-free electrodynamics. To understand pulsar magnetospheres, discussions must include their outer region. However, force-free electrodynamics is limited in it does not handle dissipation. Therefore, a resistive pulsar magnetic field model is needed. To break the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) condition E\\cdot B=0, Ohm’s law is used. This work introduces resistivity depending upon the distance from the star and obtain a self-consistent steady state by time integration. Poloidal current circuits form in the magnetosphere while the toroidal magnetic field region expands beyond the light cylinder and the Poynting flux radiation appears. High electric resistivity causes a large space scale poloidal current circuit and the magnetosphere radiates a larger Poynting flux than the linear increase outside of the light cylinder radius. The formed poloidal-current circuit has width, which grows with the electric conductivity. This result contributes to a more concrete dissipative pulsar magnetosphere model.

Pulsar kicks with modified Urca and electrons in Landau levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henley, Ernest M.; Johnson, Mikkel B.; Kisslinger, Leonard S.

2007-01-01

We derive the energy asymmetry given the protoneutron star during the time when the neutrino sphere is near the surface of the protoneutron star, using the modified Urca process. The electrons produced with the antineutrinos are in Landau levels due to the strong magnetic field, and this leads to asymmetry in the neutrino momentum, and a pulsar kick. The magnetic field must be strong enough for a large fraction of the electrons to be in the lowest Landau level; however, there is no direct dependence of our pulsar velocity on the strength of the magnetic field. Our main prediction is that the large pulsar kicks start at about 10 s and last for about 10 s, with the corresponding neutrinos correlated with the direction of the magnetic field. We predict a pulsar velocity of 1.03x10 -4 (T/10 10 K) 7 km/s, which reaches 1000 km/s if T≅10 11 K

Numerical study on non-locally reacting behavior of nacelle liners incorporating drainage slots

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chao; Li, Xiaodong; Thiele, Frank

2018-06-01

For acoustic liners used in current commercial nacelles, in order to prevent any liquid accumulating in the resonators, drainage slots are incorporated on the partition walls between closely packed cavities. Recently, an experimental study conducted by Busse-Gerstengarbe et al. shown that the cell interaction introduced by drainage slots causes an additional dissipation peak which increases with the size of the slot. However, the variation of damping process due to drainage slots is still not fully understood. Therefore, a numerical study based on computational aeroacoustic methods is carried out to investigate the mechanism of the changed attenuation characteristics due to drainage slots in presence of grazing incident sound waves with low or high intensities. Different slot configurations are designed based on the generic non-locally reacting liner model adopted in the experimental investigation. Both 2-D and 3-D numerical simulations of only slit resonators are carried out. Numerical results indicate that the extra peak is a result of a resonance excited in the second cavity at specific frequency. Under high sound pressure level incoming waves, the basic characteristics of the acoustic performance remain. However, vortex shedding transpires at the resonances around both the slits and the drainage slot. Vorticity contours show that the connection of two coupled cavities decreases the strength of vortex shedding around the basic Helmholtz resonance due to a higher energy reflection. Meanwhile, the cell interaction significantly increases the vorticity magnitude near the extra resonant frequency. Finally, a semi-empirical model is derived to predict the extra attenuation peak frequency.

Slotted Photonic Crystal Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Scullion, Mark G.; Krauss, Thomas F.; Di Falco, Andrea

2013-01-01

Optical biosensors are increasingly being considered for lab-on-a-chip applications due to their benefits such as small size, biocompatibility, passive behaviour and lack of the need for fluorescent labels. The light guiding mechanisms used by many of them results in poor overlap of the optical field with the target molecules, reducing the maximum sensitivity achievable. This review article presents a new platform for optical biosensors, namely slotted photonic crystals, which provide higher sensitivities due to their ability to confine, spatially and temporally, the optical mode peak within the analyte itself. Loss measurements showed values comparable to standard photonic crystals, confirming their ability to be used in real devices. A novel resonant coupler was designed, simulated, and experimentally tested, and was found to perform better than other solutions within the literature. Combining with cavities, microfluidics and biological functionalization allowed proof-of-principle demonstrations of protein binding to be carried out. Higher sensitivities were observed in smaller structures than possible with most competing devices reported in the literature. This body of work presents slotted photonic crystals as a realistic platform for complete on-chip biosensing; addressing key design, performance and application issues, whilst also opening up exciting new ideas for future study. PMID:23503295

Slotted Photonic Crystal Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Di Falco

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Optical biosensors are increasingly being considered for lab-on-a-chip applications due to their benefits such as small size, biocompatibility, passive behaviour and lack of the need for fluorescent labels. The light guiding mechanisms used by many of them results in poor overlap of the optical field with the target molecules, reducing the maximum sensitivity achievable. This review article presents a new platform for optical biosensors, namely slotted photonic crystals, which provide higher sensitivities due to their ability to confine, spatially and temporally, the optical mode peak within the analyte itself. Loss measurements showed values comparable to standard photonic crystals, confirming their ability to be used in real devices. A novel resonant coupler was designed, simulated, and experimentally tested, and was found to perform better than other solutions within the literature. Combining with cavities, microfluidics and biological functionalization allowed proof-of-principle demonstrations of protein binding to be carried out. Higher sensitivities were observed in smaller structures than possible with most competing devices reported in the literature. This body of work presents slotted photonic crystals as a realistic platform for complete on-chip biosensing; addressing key design, performance and application issues, whilst also opening up exciting new ideas for future study.

A 110-ms pulsar, with negative period derivative, in the globular cluster M15