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Jian-Ping Yuan

Publications and source records attributed to Jian-Ping Yuan.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

The persistent shift in spin-down rate following the largest Crab pulsar glitch rules out external torque variations due to starquakes

It was previously believed that, the long-term persistent increase in the spin-down rate of the Crab pulsar following a glitch is direct evidence of a starquake-induced glitch or at least related to a starquake. Using radio data covering 1710 days following the 2017 glitch, we obtain an extreme persistent increase of the spin-down rate, which allows to test two prevailing models related to starquake through an interrelation analysis between glitch size (the amplitude of the frequency step at a glitch) and persistent increase in the spin-down rate of the star. Our results do not support the hypothesis that glitches induce the external torque variation of the Crab pulsar, which may indicate no occurrence of starquake during the Crab pulsar glitch. This can explain why no changes in the radio and X-ray flux, pulse profile and spectrum of the Crab pulsar have been observed. We also suggest an internal mechanism due to superfluidity as an explanation for the long-term persistent shift in spin-down rate of the Crab pulsar following the relatively large glitches.

astro-ph.HE

On the Formation of the Double Neutron Star Binary PSR J1846-0513

The double neutron star PSR J1846-0513 is discovered by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey. The pulsar is revealed to be harbored in an eccentric orbit with $e=0.208$ and orbital period of 0.613 days. The total mass of the system is constrained to be $2.6287(35)\rm{M}_{\odot}$, with a mass upper limit of $1.3455{\rm~M}_{\odot}$ for the pulsar and a mass lower limit of $1.2845{\rm~M}_{\odot}$ for the companion star. To reproduce its evolution history, we perform a 1D model for the formation of PSR J1846-0513 whose progenitor is assumed to be neutron star - helium (He) star system via MESA code. Since the large eccentricity is widely believed to originate from an asymmetric supernova explosion, we also investigate the dynamical effects of the supernova explosion. Our simulated results show that the progenitor of PSR J1846-0513 could be a binary system consisting of a He star of $3.3-4.0{\rm~M}_\odot$ and a neutron star in a circular orbit with an initial period of $\sim0.5$ days.

astro-ph.HE

A Search for Radio Pulsars in Supernova Remnants Using FAST with One Pulsar Discovered

We report on the results of a search for radio pulsars in five supernova remnants (SNRs) with FAST. The observations were made using the 19-beam receiver in the Snapshot mode. The integration time for each pointing is 10 min. We discovered a new pulsar PSR J1845$-$0306 which has a spin period of 983.6 ms and a dispersion measure of 444.6$\pm$2.0 cm$^{-3}$ pc in observations of SNR G29.6+0.1. To judge the association between the pulsar and the SNR, further verification is needed. We also re-detected some known pulsars in the data from SNRs G29.6+0.1 and G29.7$-$0.3. No pulsars were detected in observations of other three SNRs.

astro-ph.HE

Reciprocating Magnetic Fields in the Pulsar Wind Observed from the Black Widow Pulsar J1720-0534

We report the radio observations of the eclipsing black widow pulsar J1720-0534, a 3.26 ms pulsar in orbit with a low mass companion of mass 0.029 to 0.034 M$_{\odot}$. We obtain the phase-connected timing ephemeris and polarization profile of this millisecond pulsar (MSP) using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), and the Parkes Telescope. For the first time from such a system, an oscillatory polarisation angle change was observed from a particular eclipse egress with partial depolarization, indicating 10-milliGauss-level reciprocating magnetic fields oscillating in a length scale of 5000 km (assuming an orbital inclination angle of 90 degrees) outside the companion's magnetosphere. The dispersion measure variation observed during the ingresses and egresses shows the rapid raising of the electron density in the shock boundary between the companion's magnetosphere and the surrounding pulsar wind. We suggest that the observed oscillatory magnetic fields originate from the pulsar wind outside the companion's magnetosphere.

astro-ph.HE

Results of 23 yr of Pulsar Timing of PSR J1453-6413

In this paper, we presented the 23.3 years of pulsar timing results of PSR J1456-6413 based on the observation of Parkes 64m radio telescope. We detected two new glitches at MJD 57093(3) and 59060(12) and confirmed its first glitch at MJD 54554(10). Using the "Cholesky" timing analysis method, we have determined its position, proper motion, and two-dimensional transverse velocities from the data segments before and after the second glitch, respectively. Furthermore, we detected exponential recovery behavior after the first glitch, with a recovery time scale of approximately 200 days and a corresponding exponential recovery factor Q of approximately 0.15(2), while no exponential recovery was detected for the other two glitches. More interestingly, we found that the leading component of the integral pulse profile after the second glitch became stronger, while the main component became weaker. Our results will expand the sample of pulsars with magnetosphere fluctuation triggered by the glitch event.

astro-ph.HE

Atlas of dynamic spectra of fast radio burst FRB 20201124A

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are highly dispersed millisecond-duration radio bursts, of which the physical origin is still not fully understood. FRB 20201124A is one of the most actively repeating FRBs. In this paper, we present the collection of 1863 burst dynamic spectra of FRB 20201124A measured with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The current collection, taken from the observation during the FRB active phase from April to June 2021, is the largest burst sample detected in any FRB so far. The standard PSRFITs format is adopted, including dynamic spectra of the burst, and the time information of the dynamic spectra, in addition, mask files help readers to identify the pulse positions are also provided.

astro-ph.HE

Detection of 16 small glitches in 9 pulsars

Timing observations from the Nanshan 26-m radio telescope for nine pulsars between 2000 and 2014 have been used to search for glitches. The data span for nine pulsars ranges from 11.6 to 14.2 years. From the total of 114 yr of pulsar rotational history, 16 new glitches were identified in 9 pulsars. Glitch parameters were measured by fitting the timing residuals data. All 16 glitches have a small fractional size. Six new glitches have been detected in PSR J1833-0827, making it another frequent glitching pulsar. Some of the 16 glitches may experience exponential or linear recovery, but it is unlikely for us to make further analyses with the large gap in the data set. All the glitch rates obtained from Nanshan are higher than that from Jodrell Bank Observatory. The small glitch size and high glitch rate could possibly attribute to the high observation cadence.

hep-ph

A Strange Star Scenario for the Formation of Eccentric Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1946+3417

PSR J$1946+3417$ is a millisecond pulsar (MSP) with a spin period $P\simeq3.17\rm~ms$. Harbored in a binary with an orbital period $P_{\rm b}\simeq27$ days, the MSP is accompanied by a white dwarf (WD). The masses of the MSP and the WD were determined to be $1.83\rm~M_\odot$ and $0.266\rm~M_\odot$, respectively. Specially, its orbital eccentricity is $e\simeq0.134$, which is challenging the recycling model of MSPs. Assuming that the neutron star in a binary may collapse to a strange star when its mass reaches a critical limit, we propose a phase transition (PT) scenario to account for the origin of the system. The sudden mass loss and the kick induced by asymmetric collapse during the PT may result in the orbital eccentricity. If the PT event takes place after the mass transfer ceases, the eccentric orbit can not be re-circularized in the Hubble time. Aiming at the masses of both components, we simulate the evolution of the progenitor of PSR J$1946+3417$ via \texttt{MESA}. The simulations show that a NS / main sequence star binary with initial masses of $1.4+1.6\rm~M_\odot$ in an initial orbit of 2.59 days will evolve into a binary consisting of a $2.0\rm~M_\odot$ MSP and a $0.27\rm~M_\odot$ WD in an orbit of $\sim21.5$ days. Assuming that the gravitational mass loss fraction during PT is $10\%$, we simulate the effect of PT via the kick program of \texttt{BSE} with a velocity of $σ_{\rm PT}=60~{\rm km~s}^{-1}$. The results show that the PT scenario can reproduce the observed orbital period and eccentricity with higher probability then other values.

astro-ph.HE

The FAST Galactic Plane Pulsar Snapshot survey: I. Project design and pulsar discoveries

Discovery of pulsars is one of the main goals for large radio telescopes. The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), that incorporates an L-band 19-beam receiver with a system temperature of about 20~K, is the most sensitive radio telescope utilized for discovering pulsars. We designed the {\it snapshot} observation mode for a FAST key science project, the Galactic Plane Pulsar Snapshot (GPPS) survey, in which every four nearby pointings can observe {\it a cover} of a sky patch of 0.1575 square degrees through beam-switching of the L-band 19-beam receiver. The integration time for each pointing is 300 seconds so that the GPPS observations for a cover can be made in 21 minutes. The goal of the GPPS survey is to discover pulsars within the Galactic latitude of $\pm10^{\circ}$ from the Galactic plane, and the highest priority is given to the inner Galaxy within $\pm5^{\circ}$. Up to now, the GPPS survey has discovered 201 pulsars, including currently the faintest pulsars which cannot be detected by other telescopes, pulsars with extremely high dispersion measures (DMs) which challenge the currently widely used models for the Galactic electron density distribution, pulsars coincident with supernova remnants, 40 millisecond pulsars, 16 binary pulsars, some nulling and mode-changing pulsars and rotating radio transients (RRATs). The follow-up observations for confirmation of new pulsars have polarization-signals recorded for polarization profiles of the pulsars. Re-detection of previously known pulsars in the survey data also leads to significant improvements in parameters for 64 pulsars. The GPPS survey discoveries are published and will be updated at http://zmtt.bao.ac.cn/GPPS/ .

astro-ph.HE

Simultaneous 2.25/8.60 GHz observations of the newly discovered magnetar -- Swift J1818.0-1607

Swift J1818.0-1607 discovered in early 2020 is not only the fifth magnetar known with periodic radio pulsations but also the fastest rotating one. Simultaneous 2.25 and 8.60 GHz observations of Swift J1818.0-1607 were carried out with Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT) from MJD 58936 to 59092. The spin-frequency $ν$ and first-order derivative $\dotν$ of this magnetar were obtained with piecewise fitting method because of its instable timing properties. We found that the amplitude of short-term $\dotν$ fluctuations decreased with time, and the long-term declining trend of $ν$ discovered previously continued in our observations. The best fitted long-term $\dotν$ were about $-2.25 \times 10^{-11}~s^{-2}$ using our observation data spanning 156 days. The derived characteristic age was about 522 yr, supporting the recent viewpoint that this magnetar may be older than initially thought shortly after its discovery. The flux density of this magnetar was increased at both 2.25 and 8.60 GHz during our observations, and its radio spectrum became flatter at the same time. We also detected bright-quiet type emission mode switching in Swift J1818.0-1607.

astro-ph.HE

New timing measurement results of 16 pulsars

Pulsar's position, proper motion and parallax are important parameters in timing equations. It is a really challenging work to fit astrometric parameters accurately through pulsar timing, especially for pulsars that show irregular timing properties. As the fast development of related techniques, it is possible to measure astrometric parameters of more and more pulsars in a model$\textrm{-}$independent manner with the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). In this work, we select 16 normal pulsars, whose parallax and proper motion have not been successfully fitted with timing observations or show obvious differences with corresponding latest VLBI solutions, and do further studies on their timing properties. After updating astrometric parameters in pulsar ephemerides with the latest VLBI measurements, we derive the latest rotation solutions of these pulsars with observation data at S and C$\textrm{-}$band obtained from the Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT). Compared with spin frequency $ν$ inferred from previous rotation solutions, the newly$\textrm{-}$fitted $ν$ show differences larger than 10$^{-9}$ Hz for most pulsars. The contribution of the Shklovsky effect to period derivative $\dot{P}$ can be properly removed taking advantages of accurate proper motion and distance of target pulsars measured by VLBI astrometry. This further leads to a precise estimate of intrinsic characteristic age $τ_{\rm c}$. Differences between the newly$\textrm{-}$measured $τ_{\rm c}$ and corresponding previous results are as large as 2% for some pulsars. VLBI astrometric parameter solutions also lead to better measurements of timing irregularities. For PSR B0154$+$61, the glitch epoch (MJD 58279.5) measured with previous ephemeris is about 13 d later than the result (MJD 58266.4) obtained with VLBI astrometric parameter solutions.

astro-ph.HE

One large glitch in PSR B1737-30 detected with the TMRT

One large glitch was detected in PSR B1737$-$30 using data spanning from MJD 57999 to 58406 obtained with the newly built Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT). The glitch took place at the time around MJD 58232.4 when the pulsar underwent an increase in the rotation frequency of $Δν$ about 1.38$\times 10^{-6}$ Hz, corresponding to a fractional step change of $Δν/ ν$ $\thicksim$ 8.39$\times 10^{-7}$. Post$\textrm{-}$glitch $ν$ gradually decreased to the pre$\textrm{-}$glitch value. The frequency derivative was observed to undergo a step change of about $-$9$\times 10^{-16}$ s$^{-2}$. Since July 1987, there are 36 glitches already reported in PSR B1737$-$30 including this one. According to our analysis, the glitch size distribution is well described by the power law with index of 1.13. The distribution of the interval between two adjacent glitches (waiting time $ΔT$) follows a Poissonian probability density function. For PSR B1737$-$30, the interval is prone to be long after a large glitch. But no correlation is found between glitch size and the interval since previous glitch.

astro-ph.HE

Simultaneous 13 cm/3 cm single-pulse observations of PSR B0329+54

We have investigated the mode-changing properties of PSR B0329+54 using 31 epochs of simultaneous 13 cm/3 cm single-pulse observations obtained with Shanghai Tian Ma 65 m telescope. The pulsar was found in the abnormal emission mode 17 times, accounting for ~13% of the 41.6 hours total observation time. Single pulse analyses indicate that mode changes took place simultaneously at 13 cm/3 cm within a few rotational periods. We detected occasional bright and narrow pulses whose peak flux densities were 10 times higher than that of the integrated profile in both bands. At 3 cm, about 0.66% and 0.27% of single pulses were bright in the normal mode and abnormal mode respectively, but at 13 cm the occurrence rate was only about 0.007%. We divided the pulsar radiation window into three components (C1, C2 and C3) corresponding to the main peaks of the integrated profile. The bright pulses preferentially occurred at pulse phases corresponding to the peaks of C2 and C3. Fluctuation spectra showed that C2 had excess red noise in the normal mode, but broad quasi-periodic features with central frequencies around 0.12 cycles/period in the abnormal mode. At 3 cm, C3 had a stronger quasi-periodic modulation centered around 0.06 cycles/period in the abnormal mode. Although there were some asymmetries in the two-dimensional fluctuation spectra, we found no clear evidence for systematic subpulse drifting. Consistent with previous low-frequency observations, we found a very low nulling probability for B0329+54 with upper limits of 0.13% and 1.68% at 13 cm/3 cm respectively.

astro-ph.HE

Single-pulse radio observations of the Galactic Center magnetar PSR J1745-2900

In this paper, we report radio observations of the Galactic Center magnetar PSR J1745-2900 at six epochs between June and October, 2014. These observations were carried out using the new Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope at a frequency of 8.6 GHz. Both the flux density and integrated profile of PSR J1745-2900 show dramatic changes from epoch to epoch showing that the pulsar was in its "erratic" phase. On MJD 56836, the flux density of this magnetar was about 8.7 mJy, which was ten times large than that reported at the time of discovery, enabling a single-pulse analysis. The emission is dominated by narrow "spiky" pulses which follow a log-normal distribution in peak flux density. From 1913 pulses, we detected 53 pulses whose peak flux density is ten times greater than that of the integrated profile. They are concentrated in pulse phase at the peaks of the integrated profile. The pulse widths at the 50% level of these bright pulses was between 0.2 to 0.9 deg, much narrower than that of integrated profile (~12 deg). The observed pulse widths may be limited by interstellar scattering. No clear correlation was found between the widths and peak flux density of these pulses and no evidence was found for subpulse drifting. Relatively strong spiky pulses are also detected in the other five epochs of observation, showing the same properties as that detected in MJD 56836. These strong spiky pulses cannot be classified as "giant" pulses but are more closely related to normal pulse emission.

astro-ph.HE

The Stokes Phase Portraits of Descattered Pulse Profiles of a Few Pulsars

The observing signals from pulsar are always influenced by the interstellar medium (ISM) scattering. In the lower frequency observation, the intensity profiles are broadened and the plane of polarization angle (PPA) curves are flattened by the scattering effect of the ISM. So before we analyze the scattered signal, we should take a proper approach to clear scattering effect from it. Observing data and simulation have shown that the Stokes phase portraits $I$-$U$, $I$-$Q$ and $Q$-$U$ are also distorted by the ISM scattering. In this paper, a simulation is held to demonstrate a scattering and a descattering of the Stokes phase portraits of a single pulse profile of a pulsar. As a realization of the simulation method, this paper has studied the descattering of Stokes phase portraits of lower frequency observation of PSR B1356$-$60, PSR B1831$-$03, PSR B1859+03, PSR B1946+35.

astro-ph.SR