Geodetic Precession and Pulse Profile Changes Over Time of Pulsar B1913+16
Mentor 1
Joe Swiggum
Mentor 2
David Kaplan
Start Date
1-5-2020 12:00 AM
Description
Pulsars are dense and quickly rotating neutron stars that emit radiation from their magnetic poles. A pulsar’s magnetic axis is offset from its spin axis, so for those emitting towards Earth, we observe a regular, repeating “pulse” as the pulsar spins. Ten percent of known pulsars orbit binary companions and this work focuses on the first discovered binary pulsar: B1913+16. Observations of this star confirmed predictions of orbital decay due to gravitational wave emissions, which earned the discovery team, Joseph Taylor and Russell Hulse, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993. In July/August 2019, we observed PSR B1913+16 daily over the course of two weeks with the Arecibo Observatory. Collected data is based on observed times of arrivals of pulses over a range of radio wavelengths. Of particular note is that the star’s unique pulse profile has been changing over time. Comparing this new data with earlier observations (1985-2016) allows for further information about the geodetic precession, or wobble, of B1913+16 over time. Analyzing the changes in B1913+16’s pulse profile shape allows for more accurate modeling of the star’s emission beam and a greater understanding of its orbital behavior in its dynamic system.
Geodetic Precession and Pulse Profile Changes Over Time of Pulsar B1913+16
Pulsars are dense and quickly rotating neutron stars that emit radiation from their magnetic poles. A pulsar’s magnetic axis is offset from its spin axis, so for those emitting towards Earth, we observe a regular, repeating “pulse” as the pulsar spins. Ten percent of known pulsars orbit binary companions and this work focuses on the first discovered binary pulsar: B1913+16. Observations of this star confirmed predictions of orbital decay due to gravitational wave emissions, which earned the discovery team, Joseph Taylor and Russell Hulse, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993. In July/August 2019, we observed PSR B1913+16 daily over the course of two weeks with the Arecibo Observatory. Collected data is based on observed times of arrivals of pulses over a range of radio wavelengths. Of particular note is that the star’s unique pulse profile has been changing over time. Comparing this new data with earlier observations (1985-2016) allows for further information about the geodetic precession, or wobble, of B1913+16 over time. Analyzing the changes in B1913+16’s pulse profile shape allows for more accurate modeling of the star’s emission beam and a greater understanding of its orbital behavior in its dynamic system.
