Tests of gravitational symmetries with radio pulsars

Symmetries play important roles in modern theories of physical laws. In this paper, we review several experimental tests of important symmetries associated with the gravitational interaction, including the universality of free fall for self-gravitating bodies,time-shift symmetry in the gravitational constant, local position invariance and local Lorentz invariance of gravity, and spacetime translational symmetries. Recent experimental explorations for post-Newtonian gravity are discussed, of which, those from pulsar astronomy are highlighted. All of these tests, of very different aspects of gravity theories, at very different length scales, favor to very high precision the predictions of the strong equivalence principle(SEP) and, in particular, general relativity which embodies SEP completely. As the founding principles of gravity, these symmetries are motivated to be promoted to even stricter tests in future.

Spectral indices for radio emission of 228 pulsars

We determine spectral indices of 228 pulsars by using Parkes pulsar data observed at 1.4 GHz, among which 200 spectra are newly determined. The indices are distributed in the range from -4.84 to -0.46. Together with known pulsar spectra from literature, we tried to find clues to the pulsar emission process. The wealCcorrelations between the spectral index, the spin-down energy loss rate E and the poten- tial drop in the polar gap Aψ hint that emission properties are related to the particle acceleration process in a pulsar＇s magnetosphere.

An Explanation for the Undetection of Radio Pulsar in Supernova 1987A

Supernova 1987 A is a core collapse supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, inside which the product is most likely a neutron star. Despite the most sensitive available detection instruments from radio to γ-ray wavebands being exploited in the pass thirty years, there have not yet been any pulse signals detected. By considering the density of the medium plasma in the remnant of 1987 A, we find that the plasma cut-off frequency is approximately7 GHz, a value higher than the conventional observational waveband of radio pulsars. As derived, with the expansion of the supernova remnant, the radio signal will be detected in 2073 A.D. at 3 GHz.

Radio Emission from Globular Clusters

Radio emission of globular clusters is studied by analyzing the VLA radio survey data of the NVSS and FIRST. We find that 13 clusters have radio sources within their half-mass radii of clusters. Sources detected previously in NGC 7078 and NGC 6440 are identified. Pulsars in NGC 6121, NGC 6440 and NGC 7078 cannot be detected because of the insufficient survey sensitivity and resolution. There may be a pulsar in the core of Terzan 1. The nature of the extended radio source near the core of NGC 6440 remains unclear. In the core of a globular cluster, there may be many neutron stars or an intermediate mass black hole, but this cannot be clarified with the current radio observations.

Estimate of an environmental magnetic field of fast radio bursts

Fast radio bursts （FRBs） are a type of newly-discovered transient astronomical phenomenon. They have short durations, high dispersion measures and a high event rate. However, due to unknown dis- tances and undetected electromagnetic counterparts at other wavebands, it is difficult to further investigate FRBs. Here we propose a method to study their environmental magnetic field using an indirect method. Starting withdispersion measures and rotation measures （RMs）, we try to obtain the parallel magnetic field component ^-B ││ which is the average value along the line of sight in the host galaxy. Because both RMs and redshifls are now unavailable, we demonstrate the dependence of ^-B ││ on these two separate quantities. This result, if the RM and redshift of an FRB are measured, would be expected to provide a clue towards understanding an environmental magnetic field of an FRB.

The best detection conditions for pulsars in the Galactic disk

Radio detection of pulsars in the Galactic disk is strongly affected by the dispersion and scattering effect of the interstellar medium and the Galactic background radio emission. In order to know the best conditions for discovery of pulsars, we select and simulate pulsar samples in the Galactic disk, and calculate the detection probability with various observation conditions (such as observational frequency, telescope aperture, receiver bandwidth and integration time). We have found that the detection fraction increases with the telescope aperture, receiver bandwidth and integration time. To detect pulsars in the nearer half of the Galactic disk, the observation frequency should be in the range of 1-2 GHz, while for pulsars in the farther half of the disk, the frequency should be in the range of 3.5-4.5 GHz. Due to the strong influence of scattering, the short period pulsars are hard to be detected, especially for pulsars in the farther half of the Galactic disk.