Can we see pulsars around Sgr A⋆? The latest searches with the Effelsberg telescope
- Radio pulsars in relativistic binary systems are unique tools to study the curved space-time around massive compact objects. The discovery of a pulsar closely orbiting the super-massive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy, Sgr A⋆, would provide a superb test-bed for gravitational physics. To date, the absence of any radio pulsar discoveries within a few arc minutes of Sgr A⋆ has been explained by one principal factor: extreme scattering of radio waves caused by inhomogeneities in the ionized component of the interstellar medium in the central 100 pc around Sgr A⋆. Scattering, which causes temporal broadening of pulses, can only be mitigated by observing at higher frequencies. Here we describe recent searches of the Galactic centre region performed at a frequency of 18.95 GHz with the Effelsberg radio telescope.
Document Type: | Conference Object |
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Language: | English |
Author: | R. P. Eatough, M. Kramer, B. Klein, R. Karuppusamy, D. J. Champion, P. C. C. Freire, N. Wex, K. Liu |
Parent Title (English): | van Leeuwen (Ed.): Neutron Stars and Pulsars: Challenges and Opportunities after 80 years. Proceedings of the 291st Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, Beijing, China, 20-24 August 2012 |
First Page: | 382 |
Last Page: | 384 |
ISBN: | 978-1-107-03380-1 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921312024209 |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Date of first publication: | 2013/03/20 |
Keyword: | Pulsars; Sgr A⋆ |
Departments, institutes and facilities: | Fachbereich Ingenieurwissenschaften und Kommunikation |
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC): | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 52 Astronomie / 520 Astronomie und zugeordnete Wissenschaften |
Entry in this database: | 2015/10/09 |