Pulsar Astronomy

A special issue of Universe (ISSN 2218-1997). This special issue belongs to the section "Compact Objects".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 7639

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: high energy astrophysics; pulsars; neutron stars; black holes; magnetars; X-ray binaries; supernovae

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Guest Editor
School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: high energy astrophysics; pulsars; neutron stars; strange stars

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pulsars are a type of fast-rotating magnetized neutron stars that emit beamed multi-wavelength electromagnetic radiation. At present, more than 3500 pulsars have been discovered with different telescopes, from radio to X-ray and gamma rays. Pulsars provide a lab for the strong magnetic field, dense-matter physics and strong gravity in the universe.

Pulsar astronomy is still developing; e.g., FAST will discover more pulsars, including special binary neutron star systems. This Special Issue collects reviews and research articles on observations and theories related to pulsars, focusing on the recent progress of multiple dimensions in pulsar astronomy, including the structure and internal composition of pulsars (a neutron star or strange star), observational properties of pulsars in different bands, magnetars, millisecond pulsars in binaries, binary neutron stars and gravitational wave detection.

Prof. Dr. Wei Wang
Prof. Dr. Renxin Xu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • neutron stars
  • strange stars
  • radio pulsars
  • X-ray pulsars
  • gamma-ray pulsars
  • magnetars
  • millisecond pulsars
  • binary neutron stars
  • gravitational wave

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 377 KiB  
Article
New Timing Results of MSPs from NICER Observations
by Shijie Zheng, Dawei Han, Heng Xu, Kejia Lee, Jianping Yuan, Haoxi Wang, Mingyu Ge, Liang Zhang, Yongye Li, Yitao Yin, Xiang Ma, Yong Chen and Shuangnan Zhang
Universe 2024, 10(4), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10040174 - 7 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1169
Abstract
Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are known for their long-term stability. Using six years of observations from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), we have conducted an in-depth analysis of the X-ray timing results for six MSPs: PSRs B1937+21, B1821-24, J0437-4715, J0030+0451, J0218+4232, and [...] Read more.
Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are known for their long-term stability. Using six years of observations from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), we have conducted an in-depth analysis of the X-ray timing results for six MSPs: PSRs B1937+21, B1821-24, J0437-4715, J0030+0451, J0218+4232, and J2124-3358. The timing stability parameter σz has been calculated, revealing remarkable timing precision on the order of 1014 for PSRs B1937+21 and J0437-4715, and 1013 for PSRs B1821-24, J0218+4232, and J0030+0451 over a timescale of 1000 days. These findings underscore the feasibility of autonomous in-orbit timekeeping using X-ray observations of MSPs. In addition, the consistency of long-term spin-down noise in the X-ray and radio bands has been investigated by comparison with IPTA radio data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pulsar Astronomy)
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13 pages, 5295 KiB  
Article
Characterizing Timing Noise in Normal Pulsars with the Nanshan Radio Telescope
by Jianping Yuan, Na Wang, Shijun Dang, Lin Li, Feifei Kou, Wenming Yan, Zhigang Wen, Zhiyong Liu, Rai Yuen, Jingbo Wang, Zurong Zhou, Peng Liu and Dalin He
Universe 2024, 10(3), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10030105 - 26 Feb 2024
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Abstract
We present a decade of observations of pulse arrival times for 85 pulsars using the Nanshan radio telescope from July 2002 to March 2014. The Cholesky method can accurately estimate the covariance function of the timing residuals, significantly improving the parameter’s estimation accuracy [...] Read more.
We present a decade of observations of pulse arrival times for 85 pulsars using the Nanshan radio telescope from July 2002 to March 2014. The Cholesky method can accurately estimate the covariance function of the timing residuals, significantly improving the parameter’s estimation accuracy when red noise is prominent. We utilize the Cholesky method to determine positions and basic timing parameters of these pulsars, as well as to obtain timing residuals. Most of these sources showed evidence of significant timing irregularities, which are described. The spectral analyses of timing residuals are presented for pulsars showing obvious red noise. Our results show that timing residuals in half of these pulsars are attributed to rotational irregularities. The red noise in normal pulsars may originate from a random walk in spin frequency or spin-down rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pulsar Astronomy)
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Review

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13 pages, 1872 KiB  
Review
Shanghai Tianma Radio Telescope and Its Role in Pulsar Astronomy
by Zhen Yan, Zhiqiang Shen, Yajun Wu, Rongbing Zhao, Jie Liu, Zhipeng Huang, Rui Wang, Xiaowei Wang, Qinghui Liu, Bin Li, Jinqing Wang, Weiye Zhong, Wu Jiang and Bo Xia
Universe 2024, 10(5), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10050195 - 26 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1186
Abstract
After two phases of on-site construction and testing (2010–2013 and 2013–2017), the Shanghai Tianma Radio Telescope (TMRT) can work well, with efficiencies better than 50% from 1.3 to 50.0 GHz, mainly benefiting from its low-noise cryogenic receivers and active surface system. Pulsars were [...] Read more.
After two phases of on-site construction and testing (2010–2013 and 2013–2017), the Shanghai Tianma Radio Telescope (TMRT) can work well, with efficiencies better than 50% from 1.3 to 50.0 GHz, mainly benefiting from its low-noise cryogenic receivers and active surface system. Pulsars were chosen as important targets of research at the TMRT because of their important scientific and applied values. To meet the demands of pulsar-related observations, TMRT is equipped with some necessary backends, including a digital backend system (DIBAS) supporting normal pulsar observation modes, a real-time fast-radio-burst-monitoring backend, and baseband backends for very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations. Utilizing its high sensitivity and simultaneous dual-frequency observation capacity, a sequence of pulsar research endeavors has been undertaken, such as long-term pulsar timing, magnetar monitoring, multi-frequency (or high-frequency) observations, interstellar scintillation, pulsar VLBI, etc. In this paper, we give a short introduction about pulsar observation systems at the TMRT and briefly review the results obtained by these pulsar research projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pulsar Astronomy)
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20 pages, 598 KiB  
Review
Asteroseismology of Compact Stars
by Hong-Bo Li, Yong Gao, Lijing Shao and Ren-Xin Xu
Universe 2024, 10(4), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10040157 - 27 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1443
Abstract
Compact stars have been perceived as natural laboratories of matter at an extremely high density. The uncertainties of the equation of state (EOS) of matter can be constrained by observing compact stars. In this review, we investigate the EOSs, global structure, and elastic [...] Read more.
Compact stars have been perceived as natural laboratories of matter at an extremely high density. The uncertainties of the equation of state (EOS) of matter can be constrained by observing compact stars. In this review, we investigate the EOSs, global structure, and elastic properties of compact stars. We focus in detail on how to constrain the above properties of compact stars via asteroseismology. Observations that include studies of quasi-periodic oscillations from giant flares of soft gamma-ray repeaters and gravitational waves provide information about the elastic properties and internal compositions of compact stars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pulsar Astronomy)
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29 pages, 3696 KiB  
Review
The Modeling of Pulsar Magnetosphere and Radiation
by Gang Cao, Xiongbang Yang and Li Zhang
Universe 2024, 10(3), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10030130 - 7 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1582
Abstract
We review the recent advances in the pulsar high-energy γ-ray observation and the electrodynamics of the pulsar magnetospheres from the early vacuum model to the recent plasma-filled models by numerical simulations. The numerical simulations have made significant progress toward the self-consistent modeling [...] Read more.
We review the recent advances in the pulsar high-energy γ-ray observation and the electrodynamics of the pulsar magnetospheres from the early vacuum model to the recent plasma-filled models by numerical simulations. The numerical simulations have made significant progress toward the self-consistent modeling of the plasma-filled magnetosphere by including the particle acceleration and radiation. The current numerical simulations confirm a near force-free magnetosphere with the particle acceleration in the separatrix near the light cylinder and the current sheet outside the light cylinder, which can provide a good match to the recent high-energy γ-ray observations. The modeling of the combined multi-wavelength light curves, spectra, and polarization are expected to provide a stronger constrain on the geometry of the magnetic field lines, the location of the particle acceleration and the emission region, and the emission mechanism in the pulsar magnetospheres. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pulsar Astronomy)
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