Parkes observations for project P860 semester 2017APRS_BPSR_01

This is a request for observing time for the initial follow-up of pulsar discoveries from the low-latitude Galactic plane section of the HTRU survey (P630). We have already discovered 101 pulsars from 94% of processed data. With data processing on-going, we expect that processing should be complete within the first quarter of 2017. Extrapolation and population synthesis shows that the Galactic plane survey should result in a further 10-15 discoveries.

The discovery of pulsars is just a first step and interesting science can usually only be revealed when a follow-up timing campaign is carried out. One year of initial timing is the minimal timespan required to fully-characterise any newly-discovered pulsars, essential for deriving pulsar parameters such as the characteristic age, magnetic ?eld strength, spin-down rate, as well as to detect any unexpected behaviour of the pulsar which might result from emission instabilities.

This follow-up timing project is necessary for identifying any interesting pulsar systems discovered from the HTRU Galactic plane survey. Since all of the pulsars on the observing list here are being followed-up for the first time, they will produce completely new and exciting results. In addition, this timing project will enable a large-scale examination of the Galactic plane pulsar population, exploring the true boundaries of pulsar phase space. Given the large number of discoveries expected and the long integration length required, this dedicated follow-up timing campaign is vital for achieving our science goals.

本申请旨在为HTRU巡天（P630）低纬度银道面区域脉冲星（pulsar）发现的初步后续观测申请观测时间。我们已从94%的已处理数据中发现101颗脉冲星。目前数据处理仍在进行中，预计将于2017年第一季度完成。外推法（extrapolation）与种群合成（population synthesis）分析表明，该银道面巡天将进一步带来10-15次新发现。

脉冲星的发现仅是第一步，而有价值的科学成果通常需通过后续测时观测计划（follow-up timing campaign）才能揭示。为期一年的初步测时（initial timing）是全面表征新发现脉冲星所需的最短时间，这对于推导脉冲星参数（如特征年龄、磁场强度、自转减慢率）以及探测由辐射不稳定性可能导致的任何意外行为至关重要。

该后续测时项目对于识别HTRU银道面巡天中发现的任何具有研究价值的脉冲星系统而言必不可少。由于观测列表中的所有脉冲星均为首次进行后续观测，因此将产生全新且令人振奋的结果。此外，该测时项目将能够对银道面脉冲星种群进行大规模研究，探索脉冲星相空间（pulsar phase space）的真实边界。鉴于预期的大量发现以及所需的长积分时间，这项专门的后续测时计划对于实现我们的科学目标至关重要。