scholarly journals Recent Observations of PSR B1534+12

2001 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 408-409
Author(s):  
I.H. Stairs ◽  
S.E. Thorsett ◽  
J.H. Taylor ◽  
Z. Arzoumanian

We present the results of recent Arecibo observations of the relativistic double-neutron-star binary PSR B1534+12. The timing solution includes measurements of five post-Keplerian orbital parameters, whose values agree well with the predictions of general relativity. The observations show that the pulse profile is evolving secularly at both 1400 MHz and 430 MHz. This effect is similar to that seen in PSR B1913+16, and is almost certainly due to general relativistic precession of the pulsar's spin axis. We also present high-quality polarimetric profiles at both observing frequencies.

2020 ◽  
Vol 639 ◽  
pp. A75
Author(s):  
Q. Giraud ◽  
J. Pétri

Context. According to current pulsar emission models, photons are produced within their magnetosphere and current sheet, along their separatrix, which is located inside and outside the light cylinder. Radio emission is favoured in the vicinity of the polar caps, whereas the high-energy counterpart is presumably enhanced in regions around the light cylinder, whether this is the magnetosphere and/or the wind. However, the gravitational effect on their light curves and spectral properties has only been sparsely researched. Aims. We present a method for simulating the influence that the gravitational field of the neutron star has on its emission properties according to the solution of a rotating dipole evolving in a slowly rotating neutron star metric described by general relativity. Methods. We numerically computed photon trajectories assuming a background Schwarzschild metric, applying our method to neutron star radiation mechanisms such as thermal emission from hot spots and non-thermal magnetospheric emission by curvature radiation. We detail the general-relativistic effects onto observations made by a distant observer. Results. Sky maps are computed using the vacuum electromagnetic field of a general-relativistic rotating dipole, extending previous works obtained for the Deutsch solution. We compare Newtonian results to their general-relativistic counterpart. For magnetospheric emission, we show that aberration and curvature of photon trajectories as well as Shapiro time delay significantly affect the phase delay between radio and high-energy light curves, although the characteristic pulse profile that defines pulsar emission is kept.


2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (2) ◽  
pp. 1843-1855
Author(s):  
Antonios Nathanail ◽  
Ramandeep Gill ◽  
Oliver Porth ◽  
Christian M Fromm ◽  
Luciano Rezzolla

ABSTRACT We perform 3D general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to model the jet break-out from the ejecta expected to be produced in a binary neutron-star merger. The structure of the relativistic outflow from the 3D simulation confirms our previous results from 2D simulations, namely, that a relativistic magnetized outflow breaking out from the merger ejecta exhibits a hollow core of θcore ≈ 4°, an opening angle of θjet ≳ 10°, and is accompanied by a wind of ejected matter that will contribute to the kilonova emission. We also compute the non-thermal afterglow emission of the relativistic outflow and fit it to the panchromatic afterglow from GRB170817A, together with the superluminal motion reported from VLBI observations. In this way, we deduce an observer angle of $\theta _{\rm obs}= 35.7^{\circ \, \, +1.8}_{\phantom{\circ \, \, }-2.2}$. We further compute the afterglow emission from the ejected matter and constrain the parameter space for a scenario in which the matter responsible for the thermal kilonova emission will also lead to a non-thermal emission yet to be observed.


1992 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 214-216
Author(s):  
J. M. Weisberg ◽  
J. H. Taylor

AbstractAccording to general relativity, the spin axis of binary pulsar PSR 1913+16 should precess at a rate of 1.21 degrees per year. This precession will cause the pulse profile to change as our line of sight samples different pulsar latitudes. In order to search for this phenomenon, we have carefully monitored the pulse profile at 1408 MHz for 8.5 years. The ratio of flux density of the first to second pulse component has declined at a rate of approximately 1.65% per year, with some evidence of a steeper decrease over the past three years. We have detected no evidence for a change in the separation of the two components. We discuss the nature of the pulsar emission region in light of these results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (4) ◽  
pp. 3780-3787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonios Nathanail ◽  
Ramandeep Gill ◽  
Oliver Porth ◽  
Christian M Fromm ◽  
Luciano Rezzolla

ABSTRACT The observations of GW170817/GRB170817A have confirmed that the coalescence of a neutron-star binary is the progenitor of a short gamma-ray burst (GRB). In the standard picture of a short GRB, a collimated highly relativistic outflow is launched after merger and it successfully breaks out from the surrounding ejected matter. Using initial conditions inspired from numerical-relativity binary neutron-star merger simulations, we have performed general-relativistic hydrodynamic (HD) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations in which the jet is launched and propagates self-consistently. The complete set of simulations suggests that: (i) MHD jets have an intrinsic energy and velocity polar structure with a ‘hollow core’ subtending an angle θcore ≈ 4°–5° and an opening angle of θjet > ≳ 10°; (ii) MHD jets eject significant amounts of matter and two orders of magnitude more than HD jets; (iii) the energy stratification in MHD jets naturally yields the power-law energy scaling E(> Γβ) ∝ (Γβ)−4.5; (iv) MHD jets provide fits to the afterglow data from GRB170817A that are comparatively better than those of the HD jets and without free parameters; and (v) finally, both of the best-fitting HD/MHD models suggest an observation angle θobs ≃ 21° for GRB170817A.


Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6457) ◽  
pp. 1013-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Desvignes ◽  
Michael Kramer ◽  
Kejia Lee ◽  
Joeri van Leeuwen ◽  
Ingrid Stairs ◽  
...  

Binary pulsars are affected by general relativity (GR), causing the spin axis of each pulsar to precess. We present polarimetric radio observations of the pulsar PSR J1906+0746 that demonstrate the validity of the geometrical model of pulsar polarization. We reconstruct the (sky-projected) polarization emission map over the pulsar’s magnetic pole and predict the disappearance of the detectable emission by 2028. Two tests of GR are performed using this system, including the spin precession for strongly self-gravitating bodies. We constrain the relativistic treatment of the pulsar polarization model and measure the pulsar beaming fraction, with implications for the population of neutron stars and the expected rate of neutron star mergers.


2000 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
pp. 127-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel M. Weisberg ◽  
Joseph H. Taylor

AbstractRelativistic spin-orbit coupling should cause the spin axis of Binary Pulsar B1913+16 to precess at a rate of about 1 deg / yr. As a result, the pulse profile is expected to exhibit secular evolution. Weisberg, Romani, & Taylor (1989), and Weisberg & Taylor (1992) found that the intensity ratio of the two conal components changed at a one percent per year rate from 1981 to 1989, but that their spacing did not measurably change. They attributed these observations to our line of sight passing across the middle of a patchy cone of emission. Recently Kramer (1998) found that the intensity ratio continued its secular change for another decade, and also detected a narrowing of the conal component separation.We present our analysis of eighteen years of 21 cm pulse profile data. We confirm that the profile is narrowing as precession finally carries our line of sight away from the emission beam axis, and we map the beam in two dimensions. The beam is elongated in the latitude direction, and the degree of elongation grows with radius.


2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
G. Y. Agazie ◽  
M. G. Mingyar ◽  
M. A. McLaughlin ◽  
J. K. Swiggum ◽  
D. L. Kaplan ◽  
...  

Abstract The Green Bank North Celestial Cap survey is a 350 MHz all-sky survey for pulsars and fast radio transients using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. To date, the survey has discovered over 190 pulsars, including 33 millisecond pulsars and 24 rotating radio transients. Several exotic pulsars have been discovered in the survey, including PSR J1759+5036, a binary pulsar with a 176 ms spin period in an orbit with a period of 2.04 days, an eccentricity of 0.3, and a projected semi-major axis of 6.8 light seconds. Using seven years of timing data, we are able to measure one post–Keplerian parameter, advance of periastron, which has allowed us to constrain the total system mass to 2.62 ± 0.03 M ⊙. This constraint, along with the spin period and orbital parameters, suggests that this is a double neutron star system, although we cannot entirely rule out a pulsar-white dwarf binary. This pulsar is only detectable in roughly 45% of observations, most likely due to scintillation. However, additional observations are required to determine whether there may be other contributing effects.


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