Including Interstellar Scattering Effects in Pulsar Timing
Location
King Building 323
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-28-2017 3:00 PM
End Date
4-28-2017 4:20 PM
Abstract
The NANOGrav collaboration aims to detect low frequency gravitational waves by measuring the arrival times of radio signals from pulsars. A confirmation of such a gravitational wave signal requires timing tens of pulsars with a precision of less than 100 nanoseconds for around 10-25 years. A crucial component of the success of pulsar timing relies on understanding how the interstellar medium affects timing accuracy. Current pulsar timing models only account for the large-scale dispersion delays from the ISM. As a result, the comparably small-scale propagation effects caused by scattering are partially absorbed into the dispersion delay component of the model. Here we present the results of a simulation that demonstrates how the exclusion of scattering from pulsar timing models can lead to a loss of both timing precision and accuracy, resulting in timing discrepancies on the order of microseconds.
Keywords:
interstellar medium, pulsar, astrophysics, gravitational waves, black holes
Recommended Citation
Turner, Jacob, "Including Interstellar Scattering Effects in Pulsar Timing" (04/28/17). Senior Symposium. 72.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2017/presentations/72
Major
Physics
Advisor(s)
Rob Owen, Physics & Astronomy
Project Mentor(s)
Dan Stinebring, Physics & Astronomy
April 2017
Including Interstellar Scattering Effects in Pulsar Timing
King Building 323
The NANOGrav collaboration aims to detect low frequency gravitational waves by measuring the arrival times of radio signals from pulsars. A confirmation of such a gravitational wave signal requires timing tens of pulsars with a precision of less than 100 nanoseconds for around 10-25 years. A crucial component of the success of pulsar timing relies on understanding how the interstellar medium affects timing accuracy. Current pulsar timing models only account for the large-scale dispersion delays from the ISM. As a result, the comparably small-scale propagation effects caused by scattering are partially absorbed into the dispersion delay component of the model. Here we present the results of a simulation that demonstrates how the exclusion of scattering from pulsar timing models can lead to a loss of both timing precision and accuracy, resulting in timing discrepancies on the order of microseconds.
Notes
Session II, Panel 11 - Sustainable | Practices
Moderator: Cindy Frantz, Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies
Full text thesis available here.