arXiv subjects

R. M. Shannon

Publications and source records attributed to R. M. Shannon.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Which bright fast radio bursts repeat?

A handful of fast radio bursts (FRBs) are now known to repeat. However, the question remains --- do they all? We report on an extensive observational campaign with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), Parkes, and Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, searching for repeat bursts from FRBs detected by the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients survey. In 383.2 hr of follow-up observations covering 27 FRBs initially detected as single bursts, only two repeat bursts from a single FRB, FRB 171019, were detected, which have been previously reported by Kumar et al. We use simulations of repeating FRBs that allow for clustering in burst arrival times to calculate new estimates for the repetition rate of FRB 171019, finding only slight evidence for incompatibility with the properties of FRB 121102. Our lack of repeat bursts from the remaining FRBs set limits on the model of all bursts being attributable to repeating FRBs. Assuming a reasonable range of repetition behaviour, at most 60% (90% C.L.) of these FRBs having an intrinsic burst distribution similar to FRB~121102. This result is shown to be robust against different assumptions on the nature of repeating FRB behaviour, and indicates that if indeed all FRBs repeat, the majority must do so very rarely.

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arXiv2020

The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array Project: Second data release

We describe 14 years of public data from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), an ongoing project that is producing precise measurements of pulse times of arrival from 26 millisecond pulsars using the 64-m Parkes radio telescope with a cadence of approximately three weeks in three observing bands. A comprehensive description of the pulsar observing systems employed at the telescope since 2004 is provided, including the calibration methodology and an analysis of the stability of system components. We attempt to provide full accounting of the reduction from the raw measured Stokes parameters to pulse times of arrival to aid third parties in reproducing our results. This conversion is encapsulated in a processing pipeline designed to track provenance. Our data products include pulse times of arrival for each of the pulsars along with an initial set of pulsar parameters and noise models. The calibrated pulse profiles and timing template profiles are also available. These data represent almost 21,000 hrs of recorded data spanning over 14 years. After accounting for processes that induce time-correlated noise, 22 of the pulsars have weighted root-mean-square timing residuals of < 1 $μ$s in at least one radio band. The data should allow end users to quickly undertake their own gravitational-wave analyses (for example) without having to understand the intricacies of pulsar polarisation calibration or attain a mastery of radio-frequency interference mitigation as is required when analysing raw data files.

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arXiv2020

The Thousand-Pulsar-Array programme on MeerKAT I: Science objectives and first results

We report here on initial results from the Thousand Pulsar Array (TPA) programme, part of the Large Survey Project "MeerTime" on the MeerKAT telescope. The interferometer is used in tied-array mode in the band from 856 to 1712~MHz, and the wide band coupled with the large collecting area and low receiver temperature make it an excellent telescope for the study of radio pulsars. The TPA is a 5 year project which aims to observe (a) more than 1000 pulsars to obtain high-fidelity pulse profiles, (b) some 500 of these pulsars over multiple epochs, (c) long sequences of single-pulse trains from several hundred pulsars. The scientific outcomes from the programme will include determination of pulsar geometries, the location of the radio emission within the pulsar magnetosphere, the connection between the magnetosphere and the crust and core of the star, tighter constraints on the nature of the radio emission itself as well as interstellar medium studies. First results presented here include updated dispersion measures, 26 pulsars with Faraday rotation measures derived for the first time and a description of interesting emission phenomena observed thus far.

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arXiv2019

Faint Repetitions from a Bright Fast Radio Burst Source

We report the detection of repeat bursts from the source of FRB 171019, one of the brightest fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected in the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) fly's eye survey. Two bursts from the source were detected with the Green Bank Telescope in observations centered at 820 MHz. The repetitions are a factor of $\sim 590$ fainter than the ASKAP-discovered burst. All three bursts from this source show no evidence of scattering and have consistent pulse widths. The pulse spectra show modulation that could be evidence for either steep spectra or patchy emission. The two repetitions were the only ones found in an observing campaign for this FRB totaling 1000 hr, which also included ASKAP and the 64-m Parkes radio telescope, over a range of frequencies (720$-$2000 MHz) at epochs spanning two years. The inferred scaling of repetition rate with fluence of this source agrees with the other repeating source, FRB 121102. The detection of faint pulses from FRB 171019 shows that at least some FRBs selected from bright samples will repeat if follow-up observations are conducted with more sensitive telescopes.

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arXiv2019

An ultra-wide bandwidth (704 to 4032 MHz) receiver for the Parkes radio telescope

We describe an ultra-wide-bandwidth, low-frequency receiver ("UWL") recently installed on the Parkes radio telescope. The receiver system provides continuous frequency coverage from 704 to 4032 MHz. For much of the band (~60%) the system temperature is approximately 22K and the receiver system remains in a linear regime even in the presence of strong mobile phone transmissions. We discuss the scientific and technical aspects of the new receiver including its astronomical objectives, as well as the feed, receiver, digitiser and signal-processor design. We describe the pipeline routines that form the archive-ready data products and how those data files can be accessed from the archives. The system performance is quantified including the system noise and linearity, beam shape, antenna efficiency, polarisation calibration and timing stability.

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arXiv2019

A pulsar-based timescale from the International Pulsar Timing Array

We have constructed a new timescale, TT(IPTA16), based on observations of radio pulsars presented in the first data release from the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). We used two analysis techniques with independent estimates of the noise models for the pulsar observations and different algorithms for obtaining the pulsar timescale. The two analyses agree within the estimated uncertainties and both agree with TT(BIPM17), a post-corrected timescale produced by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). We show that both methods could detect significant errors in TT(BIPM17) if they were present. We estimate the stability of the atomic clocks from which TT(BIPM17) is derived using observations of four rubidium fountain clocks at the US Naval Observatory. Comparing the power spectrum of TT(IPTA16) with that of these fountain clocks suggests that pulsar-based timescales are unlikely to contribute to the stability of the best timescales over the next decade, but they will remain a valuable independent check on atomic timescales. We also find that the stability of the pulsar-based timescale is likely to be limited by our knowledge of solar-system dynamics, and that errors in TT(BIPM17) will not be a limiting factor for the primary goal of the IPTA, which is to search for the signatures of nano-Hertz gravitational waves.

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arXiv2019

The International Pulsar Timing Array: Second data release

In this paper, we describe the International Pulsar Timing Array second data release, which includes recent pulsar timing data obtained by three regional consortia: the European Pulsar Timing Array, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. We analyse and where possible combine high-precision timing data for 65 millisecond pulsars which are regularly observed by these groups. A basic noise analysis, including the processes which are both correlated and uncorrelated in time, provides noise models and timing ephemerides for the pulsars. We find that the timing precisions of pulsars are generally improved compared to the previous data release, mainly due to the addition of new data in the combination. The main purpose of this work is to create the most up-to-date IPTA data release. These data are publicly available for searches for low-frequency gravitational waves and other pulsar science.

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arXiv2019

Timing of young radio pulsars I: Timing noise, periodic modulation and proper motion

The smooth spin-down of young pulsars is perturbed by two non-deterministic phenomenon, glitches and timing noise. Although the timing noise provides insights into nuclear and plasma physics at extreme densities, it acts as a barrier to high-precision pulsar timing experiments. An improved methodology based on Bayesian inference is developed to simultaneously model the stochastic and deterministic parameters for a sample of 85 high-$\dot{E}$ radio pulsars observed for $\sim$ 10 years with the 64-m Parkes radio telescope. Timing noise is known to be a red process and we develop a parametrization based on the red-noise amplitude ($A_{\rm red}$) and spectral index ($β$). We measure the median $A_{\rm red}$ to be $-10.4^{+1.8}_{-1.7}$ yr$^{3/2}$ and $β$ to be $-5.2^{+3.0}_{-3.8}$ and show that the strength of timing noise scales proportionally to $ν^{1}|\dotν|^{-0.6\pm0.1}$, where $ν$ is the spin frequency of the pulsar and $\dotν$ its spin-down rate. Finally, we measure significant braking indices for 19 pulsars, proper motions for two pulsars and discuss the presence of periodic modulation in the arrival times of five pulsars.

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arXiv2019

The emission and scintillation properties of RRAT J2325-0530 at 154 MHz and 1.4 GHz

Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs) represent a relatively new class of pulsar, primarily characterised by their sporadic bursting emission of single pulses on time scales of minutes to hours. In addition to the difficulty involved in detecting these objects, low-frequency ($<$300 MHz) observations of RRATs are sparse, which makes understanding their broadband emission properties in the context of the normal pulsar population problematic. Here, we present the simultaneous detection of RRAT J2325-0530 using the Murchison Widefield Array (154 MHz) and Parkes radio telescope (1.4 GHz). On a single-pulse basis, we produce the first polarimetric profile of this pulsar, measure the spectral index ($α=-2.2\pm 0.1$), pulse energy distributions, and present the pulse rates in the context of detections in previous epochs. We find that the distribution of time between subsequent pulses is consistent with a Poisson process and find no evidence of clustering over the $\sim$1.5 hr observations. Finally, we are able to quantify the scintillation properties of RRAT J2325-0530 at 1.4 GHz, where the single pulses are modulated substantially across the observing bandwidth, and show that this characterisation is feasible even with irregular time sampling as a consequence of the sporadic emission behaviour.

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arXiv2019

A high time resolution study of the millisecond pulsar J2241-5236 at frequencies below 300 MHz

One of the major challenges for pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments is the mitigation of the effects of the turbulent interstellar medium (ISM) from timing data. These can potentially lead to measurable delays and/or distortions in the pulse profiles and scale strongly with the inverse of the radio frequency. Low-frequency observations are therefore highly appealing for characterizing them. However, in order to achieve the necessary time resolution to resolve profile features of short-period millisecond pulsars, phase-coherent de-dispersion is essential, especially at frequencies below $300$ MHz. We present the lowest-frequency ($80$-$220$ MHz), coherently de-dispersed detections of one of the most promising pulsars for current and future PTAs, PSR J2241$-$5236, using our new beam-former software for the MWA's voltage capture system (VCS), which reconstructs the time series at a much higher time resolution of $\sim 1 μ$s by re-synthesizing the recorded voltage data at $10$-kHz/$100$-$μ$s native resolutions. Our data reveal a dual-precursor type feature in the pulse profile that is either faint or absent in high-frequency observations from Parkes. The resultant high-fidelity detections have enabled dispersion measure (DM) determinations with very high precision, of the order of $(2$-$6)\times10^{-6}$ $\rm pc\,cm^{-3}$, owing to the microsecond level timing achievable for this pulsar at the MWA's low frequencies. This underscores the usefulness of low-frequency observations for probing the ISM toward PTA pulsars and informing optimal observing strategies for PTA experiments.

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arXiv2019

A single fast radio burst localized to a massive galaxy at cosmological distance

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are brief radio emissions from distant astronomical sources. Some are known to repeat, but most are single bursts. Non-repeating FRB observations have had insufficient positional accuracy to localize them to an individual host galaxy. We report the interferometric localization of the single pulse FRB 180924 to a position 4 kpc from the center of a luminous galaxy at redshift 0.3214. The burst has not been observed to repeat. The properties of the burst and its host are markedly different from the only other accurately localized FRB source. The integrated electron column density along the line of sight closely matches models of the intergalactic medium, indicating that some FRBs are clean probes of the baryonic component of the cosmic web.

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arXiv2019

Commensal discovery of four Fast Radio Bursts during Parkes Pulsar Timing Array observations

The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project monitors two dozen millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in order to undertake a variety of fundamental physics experiments using the Parkes 64m radio telescope. Since June 2017 we have been undertaking commensal searches for fast radio bursts (FRBs) during the MSP observations. Here, we report the discovery of four FRBs (171209, 180309, 180311 and 180714). The detected events include an FRB with the highest signal-to-noise ratio ever detected at the Parkes observatory, which exhibits unusual spectral properties. All four FRBs are highly polarized. We discuss the future of commensal searches for FRBs at Parkes.

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arXiv2019

Five new real-time detections of Fast Radio Bursts with UTMOST

We detail a new fast radio burst (FRB) survey with the Molonglo Radio Telescope, in which six FRBs were detected between June 2017 and December 2018. By using a real-time FRB detection system, we captured raw voltages for five of the six events, which allowed for coherent dedispersion and very high time resolution (10.24 $μ$s) studies of the bursts. Five of the FRBs show temporal broadening consistent with interstellar and/or intergalactic scattering, with scattering timescales ranging from 0.16 to 29.1 ms. One burst, FRB181017, shows remarkable temporal structure, with 3 peaks each separated by 1 ms. We searched for phase-coherence between the leading and trailing peaks and found none, ruling out lensing scenarios. Based on this survey, we calculate an all-sky rate at 843 MHz of $98^{+59}_{-39}$ events sky$^{-1}$ day$^{-1}$ to a fluence limit of 8 Jy-ms: a factor of 7 below the rates estimated from the Parkes and ASKAP telescopes at 1.4 GHz assuming the ASKAP-derived spectral index $α=-1.6$ ($F_ν\proptoν^α$). Our results suggest that FRB spectra may turn over below 1 GHz. Optical, radio and X-ray followup has been made for most of the reported bursts, with no associated transients found. No repeat bursts were found in the survey.

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arXiv2019

A Southern sky search for repeating Fast Radio Bursts using the Australian SKA Pathfinder

We have conducted a search for bright repeating Fast Radio Bursts in our nearby Universe with the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) in single-dish mode. We used eight ASKAP 12-m dishes, each equipped with a Chequerboard Phased Array Feed forming 36 beams on the sky, to survey $\sim$30,000 deg$^{2}$ of the southern sky ($-90^{\circ} < δ< +30^{\circ}$) in 158 antenna days. The fluence limit of the survey is 22 Jyms. We report the detection of FRB 180515 in our survey. We found no repeating FRBs in a total mean observation of 3hrs per pointing divided into one-hour intervals, which were separated in time ranging between a day to a month. Using our non-detection, we exclude the presence of a repeating FRB similar to FRB 121102 closer than $z=0.004$ in the survey area --- a volume of at least $9.4 \times 10^4$Mpc$^3$ --- at 95% confidence.

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arXiv2019

A Survey of the Galactic Plane for Dispersed Pulses with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

We report the results from a survey of the Galactic plane for dispersed single pulses using the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). We searched for rare bright dispersed radio pulses comprising 160 pointings covering 4800 deg$^2$ of the Galactic plane within |b| $< 7 °$, each pointing with an exposure time of 10 hours. We detected one fast radio burst, FRB 180430, and single pulses from 11 pulsars. No rotating radio transients were detected. We detected FRB 180430 in the Galactic plane in the anticentre direction with a fluence of 216$\pm5$Jy ms a dispersion measure (DM) of 264.1 pc cm-3. We estimate the extragalactic DM of the object to be less than 86.7 $ \text{pc} \ \text{cm}^{-3} $ depending on the electron density model. One model suggests that this FRB may be a giant pulse within our galaxy; we discuss how this may not correctly represent the line-of-sight DM. Based on the single detection of FRB 180430 in 3.47 $\times 10^{4}$ deg$^2$ h we derive a FRB event rate in the Galactic plane at the 20 Jy ms threshold to be in the range 2-140 per sky per day at 95% confidence. Despite the necessarily large uncertainties from this single detection, this is consistent with the current ASKAP all-sky detection rate.

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arXiv2019

The Performance and Calibration of the CRAFT Fly's Eye Fast Radio Burst Survey

Since January 2017, the Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients survey (CRAFT) has been utilising commissioning antennas of the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) to survey for fast radio bursts (FRBs) in fly's eye mode. This is the first extensive astronomical survey using phased array feeds (PAFs), and a total of 20 FRBs have been reported. Here we present a calculation of the sensitivity and total exposure of this survey, using the pulsars B1641-45 (J1644-4559) and B0833-45 (J0835-4510, i.e.\ Vela) as calibrators. The design of the survey allows us to benchmark effects due to PAF beamshape, antenna-dependent system noise, radio-frequency interference, and fluctuations during commissioning on timescales from one hour to a year. Observation time, solid-angle, and search efficiency are calculated as a function of FRB fluence threshold. Using this metric, effective survey exposures and sensitivities are calculated as a function of the source counts distribution. The implied FRB rate is significantly lower than the $37$\,sky$^{-1}$\,day$^{-1}$ calculated using nominal exposures and sensitivities for this same sample by \citet{craft_nature}. At the Euclidean power-law index of $-1.5$, the rate is $10.7_{-1.8}^{+2.7}\,{\rm (sys)} \, \pm \, 3\,{\rm (stat)}$\,sky$^{-1}$\,day$^{-1}$ above a threshold of $57\pm6\,{\rm (sys)}$\,Jy\,ms, while for the best-fit index for this sample of $-2.1$, it is $16.6_{-1.5}^{+1.9} \,{\rm (sys)}\, \pm 4.7\,{\rm (stat)}$\,sky$^{-1}$\,day$^{-1}$ above a threshold of $41.6\pm1.5\,{\rm (sys)}$\,Jy\,ms. This strongly suggests that these calculations be performed for other FRB-hunting experiments, allowing meaningful comparisons to be made between them.

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arXiv2018

Hunting for radio emission from the intermittent pulsar J1107-5907 at low frequencies

The rare intermittent pulsars pose some of the most challenging questions surrounding the pulsar emission mechanism, but typically have relatively minimal low-frequency ($\lesssim$ 300 MHz) coverage. We present the first low-frequency detection of the intermittent pulsar J1107-5907 with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at 154 MHz and the simultaneous detection from the recently upgraded Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (UTMOST) at 835 MHz, as part of an on-going observing campaign. During a 30-minute simultaneous observation, we detected the pulsar in its bright emission state for approximately 15 minutes, where 86 and 283 pulses were detected above a signal-to-noise threshold of 6 with the MWA and UTMOST, respectively. Of the detected pulses, 51 had counterparts at both frequencies and exhibited steep spectral indices for both the bright main pulse component and the precursor component. We find that the bright state pulse energy distribution is best parameterised by a log-normal distribution at both frequencies, contrary to previous results which suggested a power law distribution. Further low-frequency observations are required in order to explore in detail aspects such as pulse-to-pulse variability, intensity modulations and to better constrain the signal propagation effects due to the interstellar medium and intermittency characteristics at these frequencies. The spectral index, extended profile emission covering a large fraction of pulse longitude, and the broadband intermittency of PSR J1107-5907 suggests that future low-frequency pulsar searches, for instance those planned with SKA-Low, will be in an excellent position to find and investigate new pulsars of this type.

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arXiv2018

The Slope of the Source-Count Distribution for Fast Radio Bursts

The slope of the source-count distribution of fast radio burst (FRB) fluences, $α$, has been estimated using a variety of methods. Hampering all attempts have been the low number of detected FRBs, and the difficulty of defining a completeness threshold for FRB surveys. In this work, we extend maximum-likelihood methods for estimating $α$, using detected and threshold signal-to-noise ratios applied to all FRBs in a sample without regard to a completeness threshold. Using this method with FRBs detected by the Parkes radio telescope, we find $α=-1.18 \pm 0.24$ (68\% confidence interval, C.I.), i.e.\ consistent with a non-evolving Euclidean distribution ($α=-1.5$). Applying these methods to the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) Commensal Real-time ASKAP Fast Transients (CRAFT) FRB survey finds $α=-2.2 \pm 0.47$ (68\% C.I.). A full maximum-likelihood estimate finds an inconsistency with the Parkes rate with a p-value of 0.86\% ($2.6\, σ$). If not due to statistical fluctuations or biases in Parkes data, this is the first evidence for deviations from a pure power law in the integral source-count distribution of FRBs. It is consistent with a steepening of the integral source-count distribution in the fluence range 5--40\,Jy\,ms, for instance due to a cosmological population of FRB progenitors evolving more rapidly than the star-formation rate, and peaking in the redshift range 1--3.

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