On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center
The lack of detected pulsars at the Galactic Center (GC) region is a long-standing mystery. We argue that the high stellar density in the central parsec around the GC is likely to result in a pulsar population dominated by millisecond pulsars (MSPs), similar to the situation in globular cluster envi...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Institute of Physics Publishing
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4944 |
| _version_ | 1848744657056432128 |
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| author | Macquart, Jean-Pierre Kanekar, N. |
| author_facet | Macquart, Jean-Pierre Kanekar, N. |
| author_sort | Macquart, Jean-Pierre |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The lack of detected pulsars at the Galactic Center (GC) region is a long-standing mystery. We argue that the high stellar density in the central parsec around the GC is likely to result in a pulsar population dominated by millisecond pulsars (MSPs), similar to the situation in globular cluster environments. Earlier GC pulsar searches have been largely insensitive to such an MSP population, accounting for the lack of pulsar detections. We estimate the best search frequency for such an MSP population with present and upcoming broad-band radio telescopes for two possible scattering scenarios, the “weak-scattering” case suggested by the recent detection of a magnetar close to the GC, and the “strong-scattering” case, with the scattering screen located close to the GC. The optimal search frequencies are ≈ 8 GHz ( weak-scattering ) and ≈ 25 GHz ( strong-scattering ) , for pulsars with periods 1 – 20 ms, assuming that GC pulsars have a luminosity distribution similar to that those in the rest of the Milky Way. We find that 10 – 30 hr integrations with the Very Large Array and the Green Bank Telescope would be sufficient to detect MSPs at the GC distance in the weak-scattering case. However, if the strong-scattering case is indeed applicable to the GC, observations with the full Square Kilometre Array would be needed to detect the putative MSP population. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:04:56Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-4944 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:04:56Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Institute of Physics Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-49442019-02-19T05:35:28Z On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center Macquart, Jean-Pierre Kanekar, N. The lack of detected pulsars at the Galactic Center (GC) region is a long-standing mystery. We argue that the high stellar density in the central parsec around the GC is likely to result in a pulsar population dominated by millisecond pulsars (MSPs), similar to the situation in globular cluster environments. Earlier GC pulsar searches have been largely insensitive to such an MSP population, accounting for the lack of pulsar detections. We estimate the best search frequency for such an MSP population with present and upcoming broad-band radio telescopes for two possible scattering scenarios, the “weak-scattering” case suggested by the recent detection of a magnetar close to the GC, and the “strong-scattering” case, with the scattering screen located close to the GC. The optimal search frequencies are ≈ 8 GHz ( weak-scattering ) and ≈ 25 GHz ( strong-scattering ) , for pulsars with periods 1 – 20 ms, assuming that GC pulsars have a luminosity distribution similar to that those in the rest of the Milky Way. We find that 10 – 30 hr integrations with the Very Large Array and the Green Bank Telescope would be sufficient to detect MSPs at the GC distance in the weak-scattering case. However, if the strong-scattering case is indeed applicable to the GC, observations with the full Square Kilometre Array would be needed to detect the putative MSP population. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4944 10.1088/0004-637X/805/2/172 Institute of Physics Publishing fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Macquart, Jean-Pierre Kanekar, N. On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center |
| title | On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center |
| title_full | On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center |
| title_fullStr | On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center |
| title_full_unstemmed | On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center |
| title_short | On detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center |
| title_sort | on detecting millisecond pulsars at the galactic center |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4944 |