arXiv subjects

J. M. Cordes

Publications and source records attributed to J. M. Cordes.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Microarcsecond VLBI pulsar astrometry with PSRPI I. Two binary millisecond pulsars with white dwarf companions

Model-independent distance constraints to binary millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are of great value to both the timing observations of the radio pulsars, and multiwavelength observations of their companion stars. Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) astrometry can be employed to provide these model-independent distances with very high precision via the detection of annual geometric parallax. Using the Very Long Baseline Array, we have observed two binary millisecond pulsars, PSR J1022+1001 and J2145-0750, over a two-year period and measured their distances to be 700 +14 -10 pc and 613 +16 -14 pc respectively. We use the well-calibrated distance in conjunction with revised analysis of optical photometry to tightly constrain the nature of their massive (M ~ 0.85 Msun) white dwarf companions. Finally, we show that several measurements of their parallax and proper motion of PSR J1022+1001 and PSR J2145-0750 obtained by pulsar timing array projects are incorrect, differing from the more precise VLBI values by up to 5 sigma. We investigate possible causes for the discrepancy, and find that imperfect modeling of the solar wind is a likely candidate for the timing model errors given the low ecliptic latitude of these two pulsars.

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arXiv2016

Radio Wave Propagation and the Provenance of Fast Radio Bursts

We analyze plasma dispersion and scattering of fast radio bursts (FRBs) to identify the dominant locations of free electrons along their lines of sight and thus constrain the distances of the burst sources themselves. We establish the average $τ$-DM relation for Galactic pulsars and use it as a benchmark for discussing FRB scattering. Though scattering times $τ$ for FRBs are large in the majority of the 17 events we analyze, they are systematically smaller than those of Galactic pulsars that have similar dispersion measures (DMs). The lack of any correlation between $τ$ and DM for FRBs suggests that the intergalactic medium (IGM) cannot account for both $τ$ and DM. We therefore consider mixed models involving the IGM and host galaxies. If the IGM contributes significantly to DM while host galaxies dominate $τ$, the scattering deficit with respect to the mean Galactic trend can be explained with a $τ$-DM relation in the host that matches that for the Milky Way. However, it is possible that hosts dominate both $τ$ and DM, in which case the observed scattering deficits require free electrons in the host to be less turbulent than in the Galaxy, such as if they are in hot rather than warm ionized regions. Our results imply that distances or redshifts of FRB sources can be significantly overestimated if they are based on the assumption that the extragalactic portion of DM is dominated by the IGM.

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arXiv2016

A Repeating Fast Radio Burst

Fast Radio Bursts are millisecond-duration astronomical radio pulses of unknown physical origin that appear to come from extragalactic distances. Previous follow-up observations have failed to find additional bursts at the same dispersion measures (i.e. integrated column density of free electrons between source and telescope) and sky position as the original detections. The apparent non-repeating nature of the fast radio bursts has led several authors to hypothesise that they originate in cataclysmic astrophysical events. Here we report the detection of ten additional bursts from the direction of FRB121102, using the 305-m Arecibo telescope. These new bursts have dispersion measures and sky positions consistent with the original burst. This unambiguously identifies FRB121102 as repeating and demonstrates that its source survives the energetic events that cause the bursts. Additionally, the bursts from FRB121102 show a wide range of spectral shapes that appear to be predominantly intrinsic to the source and which vary on timescales of minutes or shorter. While there may be multiple physical origins for the population of fast radio bursts, the repeat bursts with high dispersion measure and variable spectra specifically seen from FRB121102 support models that propose an origin in a young, highly magnetised, extragalactic neutron star.

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arXiv2016

Discovery of a millisecond pulsar in the 5.4 day binary 3FGL J1417.5-4402: observing the late phase of pulsar recycling

In a search of the unidentified Fermi gamma-ray source 3FGL J1417.5-4402 with the Parkes radio telescope, we discovered PSR J1417-4402, a 2.66 ms pulsar having the same 5.4 day orbital period as the optical and X-ray binary identified by Strader et al. The existence of radio pulsations implies that the neutron star is currently not accreting. Substantial outflows from the companion render the radio pulsar undetectable for more than half of the orbit, and may contribute to the observed Halpha emission. Our initial pulsar observations, together with the optically inferred orbit and inclination, imply a mass ratio of 0.171+/-0.002, a companion mass of M_2=0.33+/-0.03 Msun, and a neutron star mass in the range 1.77<M_1<2.13 Msun. However, there remains a discrepancy between the distance of 4.4 kpc inferred from the optical properties of the companion and the smaller radio dispersion measure distance of 1.6 kpc. The smaller distance would reduce the inferred Roche-lobe filling factor, increase the inferred inclination angle, and decrease the masses. As a wide binary, PSR J1417-4402 differs from the radio-eclipsing black widow and redback pulsars being discovered in large numbers by Fermi. It is probably a system that began mass transfer onto the neutron star after the companion star left the main sequence. The companion should end its evolution as a He white dwarf in a 6-20 day orbit, i.e., as a typical binary millisecond pulsar companion.

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arXiv2016

From Spin Noise to Systematics: Stochastic Processes in the First International Pulsar Timing Array Data Release

We analyse the stochastic properties of the 49 pulsars that comprise the first International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) data release. We use Bayesian methodology, performing model selection to determine the optimal description of the stochastic signals present in each pulsar. In addition to spin-noise and dispersion-measure (DM) variations, these models can include timing noise unique to a single observing system, or frequency band. We show the improved radio-frequency coverage and presence of overlapping data from different observing systems in the IPTA data set enables us to separate both system and band-dependent effects with much greater efficacy than in the individual PTA data sets. For example, we show that PSR J1643$-$1224 has, in addition to DM variations, significant band-dependent noise that is coherent between PTAs which we interpret as coming from time-variable scattering or refraction in the ionised interstellar medium. Failing to model these different contributions appropriately can dramatically alter the astrophysical interpretation of the stochastic signals observed in the residuals. In some cases, the spectral exponent of the spin noise signal can vary from 1.6 to 4 depending upon the model, which has direct implications for the long-term sensitivity of the pulsar to a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background. By using a more appropriate model, however, we can greatly improve a pulsar's sensitivity to GWs. For example, including system and band-dependent signals in the PSR J0437$-$4715 data set improves the upper limit on a fiducial GW background by $\sim 60\%$ compared to a model that includes DM variations and spin-noise only.

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arXiv2016

The International Pulsar Timing Array: First Data Release

The highly stable spin of neutron stars can be exploited for a variety of (astro-)physical investigations. In particular arrays of pulsars with rotational periods of the order of milliseconds can be used to detect correlated signals such as those caused by gravitational waves. Three such "Pulsar Timing Arrays" (PTAs) have been set up around the world over the past decades and collectively form the "International" PTA (IPTA). In this paper, we describe the first joint analysis of the data from the three regional PTAs, i.e. of the first IPTA data set. We describe the available PTA data, the approach presently followed for its combination and suggest improvements for future PTA research. Particular attention is paid to subtle details (such as underestimation of measurement uncertainty and long-period noise) that have often been ignored but which become important in this unprecedentedly large and inhomogeneous data set. We identify and describe in detail several factors that complicate IPTA research and provide recommendations for future pulsar timing efforts. The first IPTA data release presented here (and available online) is used to demonstrate the IPTA's potential of improving upon gravitational-wave limits placed by individual PTAs by a factor of ~2 and provides a 2-sigma limit on the dimensionless amplitude of a stochastic GWB of 1.7x10^{-15} at a frequency of 1 yr^{-1}. This is 1.7 times less constraining than the limit placed by (Shannon et al. 2015), due mostly to the more recent, high-quality data they used.

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arXiv2016

The NANOGrav Nine-year Data Set: Observations, Arrival Time Measurements, and Analysis of 37 Millisecond Pulsars

We present high-precision timing observations spanning up to nine years for 37 millisecond pulsars monitored with the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project. We describe the observational and instrumental setups used to collect the data, and methodology applied for calculating pulse times of arrival; these include novel methods for measuring instrumental offsets and characterizing low signal-to-noise ratio timing results. The time of arrival data are fit to a physical timing model for each source, including terms that characterize time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-dependent pulse shape evolution. In conjunction with the timing model fit, we have performed a Bayesian analysis of a parameterized timing noise model for each source, and detect evidence for excess low-frequency, or "red," timing noise in 10 of the pulsars. For 5 of these cases this is likely due to interstellar medium propagation effects rather than intrisic spin variations. Subsequent papers in this series will present further analysis of this data set aimed at detecting or limiting the presence of nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave signals.

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arXiv2015

Supergiant Pulses from Extragalactic Neutron Stars

We consider radio bursts that originate from extragalactic neutron stars (NSs) by addressing three questions about source distances. What are the physical limitations on coherent radiation at GHz frequencies? Do they permit detection at cosmological distances? How many bursts per NS are needed to produce the inferred burst rate $\sim 10^3$-$10^4 $sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$? The burst rate is comparable to the NS formation rate in a Hubble volume, requiring only one per NS if they are bright enough. However, radiation physics causes us to favor a closer population. More bursts per NS are then required but repeats in 10 to 100 yr could still be negligible. Bursts are modeled as sub-ns, coherent shot pulses superposed incoherently to produce ms-duration $\sim 1$ Jy amplitudes; each shot-pulse can be much weaker than the burst amplitude, placing less restrictive requirements on the emission process. Nonetheless, single shot pulses are similar to the extreme, unresolved ($< 0.4$ ns) MJy shot pulse seen from the Crab pulsar, which is consistent with coherent curvature radiation emitted near the light cylinder by an almost neutral clump with net charge $\sim \pm 10^{21}e$ and total energy $\gtrsim 10^{23}$ ergs. Bursts from Gpc distances require incoherent superposition of $\sim 10^{12}d_{\rm Gpc}^2$ shot pulses or a total energy $\gtrsim 10^{35} d_{\rm Gpc}^2$ erg. The energy reservoir near the light cylinder limits the detection distance to $\lesssim {\rm few} \times 100$ Mpc for a fluence $\sim 1$ Jy ms unless conditions are more extreme than for the Crab pulsar. Similarly, extreme single pulses from ordinary pulsars and magnetars could be detectable from throughout the Local Group and perhaps farther. Contributions to dispersion measures from galaxy clusters will be significant for some of the bursts. We discuss tests for the signatures of bursts associated with extragalactic NSs.

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arXiv2015

Einstein@Home Discovery of a PALFA Millisecond Pulsar in an Eccentric Binary Orbit

We report the discovery of the millisecond pulsar (MSP) PSR J1950+2414 ($P=4.3$ ms) in a binary system with an eccentric ($e=0.08$) 22-day orbit in Pulsar ALFA survey observations with the Arecibo telescope. Its companion star has a median mass of 0.3 $M_\odot$ and is most likely a white dwarf. Fully recycled MSPs like this one are thought to be old neutron stars spun-up by mass transfer from a companion star. This process should circularize the orbit, as is observed for the vast majority of binary MSPs, which predominantly have orbital eccentricities $e < 0.001$. However, four recently discovered binary MSPs have orbits with $0.027 < e < 0.44$; PSR J1950+2414 is the fifth such system to be discovered. The upper limits for its intrinsic spin period derivative and inferred surface magnetic field strength are comparable to those of the general MSP population. The large eccentricities are incompatible with the predictions of the standard recycling scenario: something unusual happened during their evolution. Proposed scenarios are a) initial evolution of the pulsar in a triple system which became dynamically unstable, b) origin in an exchange encounter in an environment with high stellar density, c) rotationally delayed accretion-induced collapse of a super-Chandrasekhar white dwarf, and d) dynamical interaction of the binary with a circumbinary disk. We compare the properties of all five known eccentric MSPs with the predictions of these formation channels. Future measurements of the masses and proper motion might allow us to firmly exclude some of the proposed formation scenarios.

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arXiv2015

Arecibo Pulsar Survey Using ALFA. IV. Mock Spectrometer Data Analysis, Survey Sensitivity, and the Discovery of 41 Pulsars

The on-going PALFA survey at the Arecibo Observatory began in 2004 and is searching for radio pulsars in the Galactic plane at 1.4 GHz. Observations since 2009 have been made with new wider-bandwidth spectrometers than were previously employed in this survey. A new data reduction pipeline has been in place since mid-2011 which consists of standard methods using dedispersion, searches for accelerated periodic sources, and search for single pulses, as well as new interference-excision strategies and candidate selection heuristics. This pipeline has been used to discover 41 pulsars, including 8 millisecond pulsars (MSPs; P < 10 ms), bringing the PALFA survey's discovery totals to 145 pulsars, including 17 MSPs, and one Fast Radio Burst (FRB). The pipeline presented here has also re-detected 188 previously known pulsars including 60 found in PALFA data by re-analyzing observations previously searched by other pipelines. A comprehensive description of the survey sensitivity, including the effect of interference and red noise, has been determined using synthetic pulsar signals with various parameters and amplitudes injected into real survey observations and subsequently recovered with the data reduction pipeline. We have confirmed that the PALFA survey achieves the sensitivity to MSPs predicted by theoretical models. However, we also find that compared to theoretical survey sensitivity models commonly used there is a degradation in sensitivity to pulsars with periods P >= 100 ms that gradually becomes up to a factor of ~10 worse for P > 4 s at DM < 150 pc/cc. This degradation of sensitivity at long periods is largely due to red noise. We find that 35 +- 3% of pulsars are missed despite being bright enough to be detected in the absence of red noise. This reduced sensitivity could have implications on estimates of the number of long-period pulsars in the Galaxy.

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arXiv2015

Frequency-Dependent Dispersion Measures and Implications for Pulsar Timing

We analyze the frequency dependence of the dispersion measure (DM), the column density of free electrons to a pulsar, caused by multipath scattering from small scale electron-density fluctuations. The DM is slightly different along each propagation path and the transverse spread of paths varies greatly with frequency, yielding time-of-arrival (TOA) perturbations that scale differently than the inverse square of the frequency, the expected dependence for a cold, unmagnetized plasma. We quantify DM and TOA perturbations analytically for thin phase screens and extended media and verify the results with simulations of thin screens. The rms difference between DMs across an octave band near 1.5~GHz $\sim 4\times10^{-5}\,{\rm pc\ cm^{-3}}$ for pulsars at $\sim 1$~kpc distance. TOA errors from chromatic DMs are of order a few to hundreds of nanoseconds for pulsars with DM $\lesssim 30$~pc~cm$^{-3}$ observed across an octave band but increase rapidly to microseconds or larger for larger DMs and wider frequency ranges. Frequency-dependent DMs introduce correlated noise into timing residuals whose power spectrum is `low pass' in form. The correlation time is of order the geometric mean of the refraction times for the highest and lowest radio frequencies used and thus ranges from days to years, depending on the pulsar. We discuss the implications for methodologies that use large frequency separations or wide bandwidth receivers for timing measurements. Chromatic DMs are partially mitigable by using an additional chromatic term in arrival time models. Without mitigation, our results provide an additional term in the noise model for pulsar timing; they also indicate that in combination with measurement errors from radiometer noise, an arbitrary increase in total frequency range (or bandwidth) will yield diminishing benefits and may be detrimental to overall timing precision.

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arXiv2015

NANOGrav Constraints on Gravitational Wave Bursts with Memory

Among efforts to detect gravitational radiation, pulsar timing arrays are uniquely poised to detect "memory" signatures, permanent perturbations in spacetime from highly energetic astrophysical events such as mergers of supermassive black hole binaries. The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) observes dozens of the most stable millisecond pulsars using the Arecibo and Green Bank radio telescopes in an effort to study, among other things, gravitational wave memory. We herein present the results of a search for gravitational wave bursts with memory (BWMs) using the first five years of NANOGrav observations. We develop original methods for dramatically speeding up searches for BWM signals. In the directions of the sky where our sensitivity to BWMs is best, we would detect mergers of binaries with reduced masses of $10^9$ $M_\odot$ out to distances of 30 Mpc; such massive mergers in the Virgo cluster would be marginally detectable. We find no evidence for BWMs. However, with our non-detection, we set upper limits on the rate at which BWMs of various amplitudes could have occurred during the time spanned by our data--e.g., BWMs with amplitudes greater than $10^{-13}$ must occur at a rate less than 1.5 yr$^{-1}$.

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arXiv2015

Pulsar Timing Errors from Asynchronous Multi-Frequency Sampling of Dispersion Measure Variations

Free electrons in the interstellar medium cause frequency-dependent delays in pulse arrival times due to both scattering and dispersion. Multi-frequency measurements are used to estimate and remove dispersion delays. In this paper, we focus on the effect of any non-simultaneity of multi-frequency observations on dispersive delay estimation and removal. Interstellar density variations combined with changes in the line-of-sight from pulsar and observer motions cause dispersion measure variations with an approximately power-law power spectrum, augmented in some cases by linear trends. We simulate time series, estimate the magnitude and statistical properties of timing errors that result from non-simultaneous observations, and derive prescriptions for data acquisition that are needed in order to achieve a specified timing precision. For nearby, highly stable pulsars, measurements need to be simultaneous to within about one day in order that the timing error from asynchronous DM correction is less than about 10 ns. We discuss how timing precision improves when increasing the number of dual-frequency observations used in dispersion measure estimation for a given epoch. For a Kolmogorov wavenumber spectrum, we find about a factor of two improvement in precision timing when increasing from two to three observations but diminishing returns thereafter.

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arXiv2015

Timing of five millisecond pulsars discovered in the PALFA survey

We present the discovery of five millisecond pulsars (MSPs) from the PALFA Galactic plane survey using Arecibo. Four of these (PSRs J0557+1551, J1850+0244, J1902+0300, and J1943+2210) are binary pulsars whose companions are likely white dwarfs, and one (PSR J1905+0453) is isolated. Phase-coherent timing solutions, ranging from $\sim$1 to $\sim$3 years in length, and based on observations from the Jodrell Bank and Arecibo telescopes, provide precise determinations of spin, orbital, and astrometric parameters. All five pulsars have large dispersion measures ($>100$ pc cm$^{-3}$, within the top 20% of all known Galactic field MSPs) and are faint (1.4 GHz flux density < 0.1 mJy, within the faintest 5% of all known Galactic field MSPs), illustrating PALFA's ability to find increasingly faint, distant MSPs in the Galactic plane. In particular, PSR J1850+0244 has a dispersion measure of 540 pc cm$^{-3}$, the highest of all known MSPs. Such distant, faint MSPs are important input for accurately modeling the total Galactic MSP population.

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arXiv2015

Observing Radio Pulsars in the Galactic Centre with the Square Kilometre Array

The discovery and timing of radio pulsars within the Galactic centre is a fundamental aspect of the SKA Science Case, responding to the topic of "Strong Field Tests of Gravity with Pulsars and Black Holes" (Kramer et al. 2004; Cordes et al. 2004). Pulsars have in many ways proven to be excellent tools for testing the General theory of Relativity and alternative gravity theories (see Wex (2014) for a recent review). Timing a pulsar in orbit around a companion, provides a unique way of probing the relativistic dynamics and spacetime of such a system. The strictest tests of gravity, in strong field conditions, are expected to come from a pulsar orbiting a black hole. In this sense, a pulsar in a close orbit ($P_{\rm orb}$ < 1 yr) around our nearest supermassive black hole candidate, Sagittarius A* - at a distance of ~8.3 kpc in the Galactic centre (Gillessen et al. 2009a) - would be the ideal tool. Given the size of the orbit and the relativistic effects associated with it, even a slowly spinning pulsar would allow the black hole spacetime to be explored in great detail (Liu et al. 2012). For example, measurement of the frame dragging caused by the rotation of the supermassive black hole, would allow a test of the "cosmic censorship conjecture." The "no-hair theorem" can be tested by measuring the quadrupole moment of the black hole. These are two of the prime examples for the fundamental studies of gravity one could do with a pulsar around Sagittarius A*. As will be shown here, SKA1-MID and ultimately the SKA will provide the opportunity to begin to find and time the pulsars in this extreme environment.

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arXiv2014

A 24-Hour Global Campaign To Assess Precision Timing of the Millisecond Pulsar J1713+0747

The radio millisecond pulsar J1713+0747 is regarded as one of the highest-precision clocks in the sky, and is regularly timed for the purpose of detecting gravitational waves. The International Pulsar Timing Array collaboration undertook a 24-hour global observation of PSR J1713+0747 in an effort to better quantify sources of timing noise in this pulsar, particularly on intermediate (1 - 24 hr) timescales. We observed the pulsar continuously over 24 hr with the Arecibo, Effelsberg, GMRT, Green Bank, LOFAR, Lovell, Nancay, Parkes, and WSRT radio telescopes. The combined pulse times-of-arrival presented here provide an estimate of what sources of timing noise, excluding DM variations, would be present as compared to an idealized root-N improvement in timing precision, where N is the number of pulses analyzed. In the case of this particular pulsar, we find that intrinsic pulse phase jitter dominates arrival time precision when the S/N of single pulses exceeds unity, as measured using the eight telescopes that observed at L-band/1.4 GHz. We present first results of specific phenomena probed on the unusually long timescale (for a single continuous observing session) of tens of hours, in particular interstellar scintillation, and discuss the degree to which scintillation and profile evolution affect precision timing. This paper presents the data set as a basis for future, deeper studies.

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arXiv2014

Arecibo Pulsar Survey Using ALFA. III. Precursor Survey and Population Synthesis

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 ($32^{\circ}\lesssim \ell \lesssim 77^{\circ}$ and $168^{\circ}\lesssim \ell \lesssim 214^{\circ}$) close to the Galactic plane ($|b|\lesssim5^{\circ}$) for pulsars. 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 $\ell$ and $|b|\lesssim1^{\circ}$) and detected 45 pulsars. 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 9,000 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 $1,000\substack{+330 \\ -230}$ normal pulsars and $30\substack{+200 \\ -20}$ millisecond pulsars. Identical estimation techniques predict that $490\substack{+160 \\ -115}$ normal pulsars and $12\substack{+70 \\ -5}$ 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.

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arXiv2014

NANOGrav Limits on Gravitational Waves from Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Circular Orbits

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project currently observes 43 pulsars using the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes. In this work we use a subset of 17 pulsars timed for a span of roughly five years (2005--2010). We analyze these data using standard pulsar timing models, with the addition of time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-variable pulse shape terms. Within the timing data, we perform a search for continuous gravitational waves from individual supermassive black hole binaries in circular orbits using robust frequentist and Bayesian techniques. We find that there is no evidence for the presence of a detectable continuous gravitational wave; however, we can use these data to place the most constraining upper limits to date on the strength of such gravitational waves. Using the full 17 pulsar dataset we place a 95% upper limit on the sky-averaged strain amplitude of $h_0\lesssim 3.8\times 10^{-14}$ at a frequency of 10 nHz. Furthermore, we place 95% \emph{all sky} lower limits on the luminosity distance to such gravitational wave sources finding that the $d_L \gtrsim 425$ Mpc for sources at a frequency of 10 nHz and chirp mass $10^{10}{\rm M}_{\odot}$. We find that for gravitational wave sources near our best timed pulsars in the sky, the sensitivity of the pulsar timing array is increased by a factor of $\sim$4 over the sky-averaged sensitivity. Finally we place limits on the coalescence rate of the most massive supermassive black hole binaries.

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