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Study of Four nulling pulsars with FAST

Jingbo Wang, Jintao Xie, Jing Zou, Jianfei Tang

TL;DR

The paper investigates emission variability in four nulling pulsars using FAST to probe nulling, mode changing, and drifting phenomena. It employs high-sensitivity single-pulse observations at 1.05–1.45 GHz and analyzes nulling fractions, burst/null length distributions, energy histograms, and modulation spectra to classify emission states. Key findings include mode changing without drifting in J1649+2533, a hybrid low-level plus sporadic-pulse state in J1752+2359, periodic modulation without classic drifting in J1819+1305, and coexisting nulling and drifting with no strong interaction in J1916+1023. These results demonstrate FAST’s capability to reveal subtle emission states and contribute to a unified view of pulsar emission variability across the nulling landscape.

Abstract

We present an analysis of 4 nulling pulsars with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). For PSR J1649+2533, our results suggest mode changing rather than subpulse drifting as previously reported at lower frequencies. For PSR J1752+2359, we confirm its quasi-periodic switching between distinct emission states, but further show that the so-called "quasi-null" or "RRAT-like" state actually consists of persistent low-level emission superposed with occasional bright pulses. For PSR J1819+1305, our data confirm the modulation reported earlier, while additional weaker features are also seen. For PSR J1916+1023, we detect both nulling and subpulse drifting, but find no clear evidence of direct interaction between them. These results provide new insights into the diverse manifestations of pulsar nulling, highlight the capability of FAST to detect subtle emission states, and add to the growing body of work on pulsar emission variability.

Study of Four nulling pulsars with FAST

TL;DR

The paper investigates emission variability in four nulling pulsars using FAST to probe nulling, mode changing, and drifting phenomena. It employs high-sensitivity single-pulse observations at 1.05–1.45 GHz and analyzes nulling fractions, burst/null length distributions, energy histograms, and modulation spectra to classify emission states. Key findings include mode changing without drifting in J1649+2533, a hybrid low-level plus sporadic-pulse state in J1752+2359, periodic modulation without classic drifting in J1819+1305, and coexisting nulling and drifting with no strong interaction in J1916+1023. These results demonstrate FAST’s capability to reveal subtle emission states and contribute to a unified view of pulsar emission variability across the nulling landscape.

Abstract

We present an analysis of 4 nulling pulsars with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). For PSR J1649+2533, our results suggest mode changing rather than subpulse drifting as previously reported at lower frequencies. For PSR J1752+2359, we confirm its quasi-periodic switching between distinct emission states, but further show that the so-called "quasi-null" or "RRAT-like" state actually consists of persistent low-level emission superposed with occasional bright pulses. For PSR J1819+1305, our data confirm the modulation reported earlier, while additional weaker features are also seen. For PSR J1916+1023, we detect both nulling and subpulse drifting, but find no clear evidence of direct interaction between them. These results provide new insights into the diverse manifestations of pulsar nulling, highlight the capability of FAST to detect subtle emission states, and add to the growing body of work on pulsar emission variability.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 10 sections, 21 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Observations
  3. Results
  4. PSR J1649+2533
  5. PSR J1752+2359
  6. PSR J1819+1305
  7. PSR J1916+1023
  8. Discussion and Summary
  9. Single-pulse stacks of Four Pulsars
  10. Integrate profiles of Four Pulsars

Figures (21)

  • Figure 1: Burst and null duration distributions for PSR J1649+2533.
  • Figure 2: The average profiles of the mode A (black line) and mode B (red line) of PSR J1649+2533.
  • Figure 3: The duration of the mode A (black line) and mode B (red line) of PSR J1649+2533.
  • Figure 4: Normalized pulse energy distributions for PSR J1649+2533: on-pulse (solid line) vs. off-pulse (dashed line).
  • Figure 5: Burst and null duration distributions for PSR J1752+2359.
  • ...and 16 more figures