arXiv subjects

Kejia Lee

Publications and source records attributed to Kejia Lee.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

Chinese Pulsar Timing Array upper limits on microhertz gravitational waves from supermassive black-hole binaries using PSR J1713+0747 FAST data

We derive the gravitational-wave (GW) strain upper limits from resolvable supermassive black-hole binaries using the data from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), in the context of the Chinese Pulsar Timing Array project. We focus on circular orbits in the $μ$Hz GW frequency band between $10^{-7}$ and $3\times10^{-6}$ Hz. This frequency band is higher than the traditional pulsar timing array band and is less explored. We used the data of the millisecond pulsar PSR J1713+5307 observed between August 2019 and April 2021. A dense observation campaign was carried out in September 2020 to allow for the $μ$Hz band coverage. Our sky-average continuous source upper limit at the 95% confidence level at 1$μ$Hz is 1.26$\times10^{-12}$, while the same limit in the direction of the pulsar is 4.77$\times10^{-13}$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Radio Pulsar B0950$+$08: Radiation in Magnetosphere and Sparks above Surface

We observed the nearby 100$\%$-duty-cycle radio pulsar B0950+08 using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). We obtained the polarization profile for its entire rotation, which enabled us to investigate its magnetospheric radiation geometry and the polar cap sparking pattern. After we excluded part of the profile in which the linear polarization factor is low ($\lesssim 30 \%$) and potentially contaminated by position angle jumps, the rest of the polarization position angle swing fits a classical rotating vector model (RVM) well. The bestfit RVM indicates that the inclination angle, $α$, and the impact angle, $β$, of this pulsar, are 100.5$^{\circ}$ and $-$33.2$^{\circ}$, respectively, suggesting that the radio emission comes from two poles.We find that, in such RVM geometry, either the annular vacuum gap or the core vacuum gap model would require that the radio emissions come from a high-altitude magnetosphere with heights from $\sim 0.25~R_{\rm LC}$ to $\sim 0.56~R_{\rm LC}$, with $R_{\rm LC}$ being the light cylinder radius. Both the main and inter-pulses' sparking points are located away from the magnetic pole, which could be relevant to the physical conditions on the pulsar surface.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

PSR B0943+10: Mode Switch, Polar Cap Geometry, and Orthogonally Polarized Radiation

As one of the paradigm examples to probe into pulsar magnetospheric dynamics, PSR B0943+10 (J0946+0951) manifests representatively, showing mode switch, orthogonal polarization and subpulse drifting, frequently studied below 600 MHz. Here both integrated and single pulses are studied at a high frequency (1.25 GHz) with FAST. The mode switch is studied using a profile decomposition method. A phase space evolution for the pulsar's mode switch shows a strange-attractor-like pattern. The radiative geometry is proposed by fitting polarization position angles with the rotating vector model. The pulsar pulse profile is then mapped to the sparking locations on pulsar surface, and the differences between the main pulse's and the precursor component's radiative processes may explain the X-ray's synchronization with radio mode switch. Detailed single pulse studies on B0943+10's orthogonally polarized radiation are presented, which may support for certain models of radiative transfer of polarized emission. Especially, the difference in OPMs' circular polarization might reflect the cyclotron absorption in pulsar magnetospheres. B0943+10's B and Q modes evolve differently with frequency and have different proportions of orthogonal modes, which indicates possible magnetospheric changes during mode switch. For Q mode pulse profile, the precursor and the main pulse components are orthogonally polarized, and are probably originated from different depths in the magnetosphere. The findings could impact significantly on pulsar electrodynamics and the radiative mechanism related.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

AXPs/SGRs: strange stars with crusts?

The emission of Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters (SGRs) is believed to be powered by the dissipation of their strong magnetic fields, which coined the name `magnetar'. By combining timing and energy observational results, the magnetar model can be easily appreciated. From a timing perspective, the magnetic field strengths of AXPs and SGRs, calculated assuming dipole radiation, are extremely strong. From an energy perspective, the X-ray/soft gamma-ray luminosities of AXPs and SGRs are larger than their rotational energy loss rates (i.e., $ L_{\rm X}>\dot E_{\rm rot}$). It is thus reasonable to assume that the high-energy radiation comes from magnetic energy decay, and the magnetar model has been extensively discussed (or accepted). However, we argue that: (1) calculating magnetic fields by assuming that rotational energy loss is dominated by dipole radiation (i.e., $\dot{E}_{\rm rot}\simeq\dot{E}_μ$)) may be controversial, and we suggest that the energies carried by outflowing particles should also be considered; and (2) the fact that X-ray luminosity is greater than the rotational energy loss rate does not necessarily mean that the emission energy comes from the magnetic field decaying, which requires further observational testing. Furthermore, some observational facts conflict with the `magnetar' model, such as observations of anti-magnetars, high magnetic field pulsars, and radio and X-ray observations of AXPs/SGRs. Therefore, we propose a crusted strange star model as an alternative, which can explain many more observational facts of AXPs/SGRs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

New Timing Results of MSPs from NICER Observations

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 $σ_z$ has been calculated, revealing remarkable timing precision on the order of $10^{-14}$ for PSRs B1937+21 and J0437$-$4715, and $10^{-13}$ 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.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

The Qitai Radio Telescope

This study presents a general outline of the Qitai radio telescope (QTT) project. Qitai, the site of the telescope, is a county of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, located in the east Tianshan Mountains at an elevation of about 1800 m. The QTT is a fully steerable, Gregorian type telescope with a standard parabolic main reflector of 110 m diameter. The QTT has adopted an um-brella support, homology-symmetric lightweight design. The main reflector is active so that the deformation caused by gravity can be corrected. The structural design aims to ultimately allow high-sensitivity observations from 150 MHz up to 115 GHz. To satisfy the requirements for early scientific goals, the QTT will be equipped with ultra-wideband receivers and large field-of-view mul-ti-beam receivers. A multi-function signal-processing system based on RFSoC and GPU processor chips will be developed. These will enable the QTT to operate in pulsar, spectral line, continuum and Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) observing modes. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and radio frequency interference (RFI) control techniques are adopted throughout the system design. The QTT will form a world-class observational platform for the detection of low-frequency (nanoHertz) gravitational waves through pulsar timing array (PTA) techniques, pulsar surveys, the discovery of binary black-hole systems, and exploring dark matter and the origin of life in the universe.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

A radio pulsar phase from SGR J1935+2154 provides clues to the magnetar FRB mechanism

The megajansky radio burst, FRB 20200428, and other bright radio bursts detected from the Galactic source SGR J1935+2154 suggest that magnetars can make fast radio bursts (FRBs), but the emission site and mechanism of FRB-like bursts are still unidentified. Here we report the emergence of a radio pulsar phase of the magnetar five months after FRB 20200428. 795 pulses were detected in 16.5 hours over 13 days by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio telescope, with luminosities about eight decades fainter than FRB 20200428. The pulses were emitted in a narrow phase window anti-aligned with the X-ray pulsation profile observed by the X-ray telescopes. The bursts, conversely, appear in random phases. This dichotomy suggests that radio pulses originate from a fixed region within the magnetosphere, but bursts occur in random locations and are possibly associated with explosive events in a dynamically evolving magnetosphere. This picture reconciles the lack of periodicity in cosmological repeating FRBs within the magnetar engine model.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Searching for the nano-Hertz stochastic gravitational wave background with the Chinese Pulsar Timing Array Data Release I

Observing and timing a group of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) with high rotational stability enables the direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs). The GW signals can be identified from the spatial correlations encoded in the times-of-arrival of widely spaced pulsar-pairs. The Chinese Pulsar Timing Array (CPTA) is a collaboration aiming at the direct GW detection with observations carried out using Chinese radio telescopes. This short article serves as a `table of contents' for a forthcoming series of papers related to the CPTA Data Release 1 (CPTA DR1) which uses observations from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Here, after summarizing the time span and accuracy of CPTA DR1, we report the key results of our statistical inference finding a correlated signal with amplitude $\log A_{\rm c}= -14.4 \,^{+1.0}_{-2.8}$ for spectral index in the range of $α\in [-1.8, 1.5]$ assuming a GW background (GWB) induced quadrupolar correlation. The search for the Hellings-Downs (HD) correlation curve is also presented, where some evidence for the HD correlation has been found that a 4.6-$σ$ statistical significance is achieved using the discrete frequency method around the frequency of 14 nHz. We expect that the future International Pulsar Timing Array data analysis and the next CPTA data release will be more sensitive to the nHz GWB, which could verify the current results.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

A giant glitch from the magnetar SGR J1935+2154 before FRB 200428

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are short pulses observed in radio frequencies usually originating from cosmological distances. The discovery of FRB 200428 and its X-ray counterpart from the Galactic magnetar SGR J1935+2154 suggests that at least some FRBs can be generated by magnetars. However, the majority of X-ray bursts from magnetars are not associated with radio emission. The fact that only in rare cases can an FRB be generated raises the question regarding the special triggering mechanism of FRBs. Here we report a giant glitch from SGR J1935+2154, which occurred approximately $3.1\pm2.5$\,day before FRB 200428, with $Δν=19.8\pm1.4$ {\rm $μ$Hz} and $Δ\dotν=6.3\pm1.1$\,pHz s$^{-1}$. The corresponding spin-down power change rate $Δ\dotν/\dotν$ is among the largest in all the detected pulsar glitches. The glitch contains a delayed spin-up process that is only detected in the Crab pulsar and the magnetar 1E 2259+586, a large persistent offset of the spin-down rate, and a recovery component which is about one order of magnitude smaller than the persistent one. The temporal coincidence between the glitch and FRB 200428 suggests a physical connection between the two. The internally triggered giant glitch of the magnetar likely altered the magnetosphere structure dramatically in favour of FRB generation, which subsequently triggered many X-ray bursts and eventually FRB 200428 through additional crustal cracking and Alfvén wave excitation and propagation.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Polarisation of magnetospheric curvature radiation in repeating fast radio bursts

Fast radio busts (FRBs) can exhibit a wide variety of polarisation properties, not only between sources but also from burst to burst for a same one. In this work, we revisit the polarisation characters of coherent curvature radiation from a bulk of charged bunches in the magnetosphere of a highly magnetized neutron star. FRBs have been observed to have a variety of polarisation features, such as high levels of circular polarisation or a sign change of circular polarisation. High linear polarisation would appear when the line of sight is inside the emission beam (the on-beam geometry), whereas high circular polarisation would be present when it is outside (the off-beam geometry). By considering two scenarios of the ``bulk shapes'' (thick vs. thin), we apply the model to explain the polarisation features of three repeating FRBs (FRB 20201124A, FRB 20190520B and FRB 20121102A). Most bursts are dominated by linear polarisation and negligible events have sign changes in circular polarisation, suggesting that such FRBs are most likely to be emitted by the ``thin'' bulks with large opening angles. The higher probability of ``thin'' bulks could be meaningful for understanding repeating FRB central engine, i.e., the sparking dynamics to produce different bulks of energetic bunches on a neutron star surface.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

The radio signal of PSR B0950+08 is detected over the whole pulse phase

Pulsars are the "lighthouses" in the universe. Periodic pulses with the duty-cycle ~10% are detected when the radio beam of the rotating pulsar sweeps across the telescope. In this report, the 160 min-data of a nearby pulsar, PSR B0950+08, observed with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is analysed. Thanks to the extremely high sensitivity of FAST, it is found that the radiation of PSR B0950+08 could be detected over the entire pulse period. To investigate the radiative characteristics of the pulsar' "bridge emission", a function, $Θ$(n), is defined to reveal the weak radiation there. It is suggested that the narrow peaks of both the main and the inter pulses could be radiated at low altitude, while other weak emission (e.g., the "bridges") from upper magnetosphere though its radiative mechanism is still a matter of debate. The measured mean pulse behaviors are consistent with previous results in the phase of strong emission of this pulsar, and both the frequency-independent separation between the inter-pulse and main pulse and the narrow pulse width may support a double-pole model. In order to understand the magnetospheric geometry of this pulsar, further polarization calibrated observation with FAST and a proper determination of the baseline emission, especially during the weak emission phase, are surely required.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Repeating Fast Radio Burst: Coherent Circular Polarization By Bunches

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration signals that are highly dispersed at distant galaxies. However, the physical origin of FRBs is still unknown. Coherent curvature emission by bunches, e.g., powered by starquakes, has already been proposed for repeating FRBs. It has the nature of understanding narrowband radiation exhibiting time--frequency drifting. Recently, a highly active FRB source, i.e., FRB 20201124A, was reported to enter a newly active episode and emit at least some highly circular-polarized bursts. In this study, we revisit the polarized FRB emission, particularly investigating the production mechanisms of a highly circular polarization (CP) by deriving the intrinsic mechanism and propagative effect. The intrinsic mechanisms of invoking charged bunches are approached with radiative coherence. Consequently, a highly CP could naturally be explained by the coherent summation of outcome waves, generated or scattered by bunches, with different phases and electric vectors. Different kinds of evolutionary trajectories are found on the Poincare sphere for the bunch-coherent polarization, and this behavior could be tested through future observations. Cyclotron resonance can result in the absorption of R-mode photons at a low altitude region of the magnetosphere, and an FRB should then be emitted from a high-altitude region if the waves have strong linear polarization. Circularly polarized components could be produced from Faraday conversion exhibiting a λ^3-oscillation, but the average CP fraction depends only on the income wave, indicating a possibility of a highly circular-polarized income wave.The analysis could be welcome if extremely high CP from repeating FRBs is detected in the future. Finally, the production of a bulk of energetic bunches in the pulsar-like magnetosphere is discussed, which is relevant to the nature of the FRB central engine.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Characterizing the FRB host galaxy population and its connection to transients in the local and extragalactic Universe

We present the localization and host galaxies of one repeating and two apparently non-repeating Fast Radio Bursts. FRB20180301A was detected and localized with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array to a star-forming galaxy at $z=0.3304$. FRB20191228A, and FRB20200906A were detected and localized by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder to host galaxies at $z=0.2430$ and $z=0.3688$, respectively. We combine these with 13 other well-localized FRBs in the literature, and analyze the host galaxy properties. We find no significant differences in the host properties of repeating and apparently non-repeating FRBs. FRB hosts are moderately star-forming, with masses slightly offset from the star-forming main-sequence. Star formation and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) emission are major sources of ionization in FRB host galaxies, with the former dominant in repeating FRB hosts. FRB hosts do not track stellar mass and star formation as seen in field galaxies (more than 95% confidence). FRBs are rare in massive red galaxies, suggesting that progenitor formation channels are not solely dominated by delayed channels which lag star formation by Gigayears. The global properties of FRB hosts are indistinguishable from core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) hosts, and the spatial offset (from galaxy centers) of FRBs is mostly inconsistent with that of the Galactic neutron star population (95% confidence). The spatial offsets of FRBs (normalized to the galaxy effective radius) also differ from those of globular clusters (GCs) in late- and early-type galaxies with 95% confidence.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

The Gravitational-Wave Physics II: Progress

It has been a half-decade since the first direct detection of gravitational waves, which signifies the coming of the era of the gravitational-wave astronomy and gravitational-wave cosmology. The increasing number of the detected gravitational-wave events has revealed the promising capability of constraining various aspects of cosmology, astronomy, and gravity. Due to the limited space in this review article, we will briefly summarize the recent progress over the past five years, but with a special focus on some of our own work for the Key Project ``Physics associated with the gravitational waves'' supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In particular, (1) we have presented the mechanism of the gravitational-wave production during some physical processes of the early Universe, such as inflation, preheating and phase transition, and the cosmological implications of gravitational-wave measurements; (2) we have put constraints on the neutron star maximum mass according to GW170817 observations; (3) we have developed a numerical relativity algorithm based on the finite element method and a waveform model for the binary black hole coalescence along an eccentric orbit.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

External Calibrator in Global Signal Experiment for Detection of the Epoch of Reionization

We present a conceptual design study of external calibrators in the 21 cm experiment towards detecting the globally averaged radiation of the epoch of reionization (EoR). Employment of external calibrator instead of internal calibrator commonly used in current EoR experiments allows to remove instrumental effects such as beam pattern, receiver gain and instability of the system if the conventional three-position switch measurements are implemented in a short time interval. Furthermore, in the new design the antenna system is placed in an underground anechoic chamber with an open/closing ceiling to maximally reduce the environmental effect such as RFI and ground radiation/reflection. It appears that three of the four external calibrators proposed in this paper, including two indoor artificial transmitters and one outdoor celestial radiation (the Galactic polarization), fail to meet our purpose. Diurnal motion of the Galactic diffuse emission turns to be the most possible source as an external calibrator, for which we have discussed the observational strategy and the algorithm of extracting the EoR signal.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

On the FRB luminosity function -- II. Event rate density

The luminosity function of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), defined as the event rate per unit cosmic co-moving volume per unit luminosity, may help to reveal the possible origins of FRBs and design the optimal searching strategy. With the Bayesian modelling, we measure the FRB luminosity function using 46 known FRBs. Our Bayesian framework self-consistently models the selection effects, including the survey sensitivity, the telescope beam response, and the electron distributions from Milky Way / the host galaxy / local environment of FRBs. Different from the previous companion paper, we pay attention to the FRB event rate density and model the event counts of FRB surveys based on the Poisson statistics. Assuming a Schechter luminosity function form, we infer (at the 95% confidence level) that the characteristic FRB event rate density at the upper cut-off luminosity $L^*=2.9_{-1.7}^{+11.9}\times10^{44}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$ is $ϕ^*=339_{-313}^{+1074}\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$, the power-law index is $α=-1.79_{-0.35}^{+0.31}$, and the lower cut-off luminosity is $L_0\le9.1\times10^{41}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$. The event rate density of FRBs is found to be $3.5_{-2.4}^{+5.7}\times10^4\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$ above $10^{42}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$, $5.0_{-2.3}^{+3.2}\times10^3\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$ above $10^{43}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$, and $3.7_{-2.0}^{+3.5}\times10^2\,\rm Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}$ above $10^{44}\,\rm erg\, s^{-1}$. As a result, we find that, for searches conducted at 1.4 GHz, the optimal diameter of single-dish radio telescopes to detect FRBs is 30-40 m. The possible astrophysical implications of the measured event rate density are also discussed in the current paper.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

FRB 171019: An event of binary neutron star merger?

The fast radio burst, FRB 171019, was relatively bright when discovered first by ASKAP, but was identified as a repeater with three faint bursts detected later by GBT and CHIME. These observations lead to the discussion of whether the first bright burst shares the same mechanism with the following repeating bursts. A model of binary neutron star merger is proposed for FRB 171019, in which the first bright burst occurred during the merger event, while the subsequent repeating bursts are starquake-induced, and generally fainter, as the energy release rate for the starquakes can hardly exceed that of the catastrophic merger event. This scenario is consistent with the observation that no burst detected is as bright as the first one.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Radio emission from a pulsar's magnetic pole revealed by general relativity

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

astro-ph.HE↗