Parkes observations for project P1038 semester 2021APRS_05

PSR~J1759-2402 is one of a small handful of pulsars which are in orbit about high mass stars. Its orbital period is 8.3 years and the orbit is highly eccentric with periastron expected in 2021 March. Although discovered at Parkes, the Lovell telescope has been monitoring the pulsar over many years. However, it’s restricted bandwidth, maintenance schedule and poorer polarization capability make it unsuitable to follow the pulsar as it enters and leaves the eclipse by the companion. In contrast, the UWL on Parkes with its wide- band and excellent polarization characteristics means that we can, and already have determined scattering, polarization, dispersion measure and rotation measure changes as the pulsar enters its companion wind. We request a continuation of our weekly observations of the pulsar to track its progress on the far side of periastron.

PSR J1759-2402是少数绕大质量恒星运行的脉冲星（pulsar）之一。其轨道周期为8.3年，轨道高度偏心，预计于2021年3月到达近星点（periastron）。虽然该脉冲星是在帕克斯（Parkes）发现的，但洛维尔望远镜（Lovell telescope）多年来一直在对其进行监测。然而，洛维尔望远镜有限的带宽、维护计划安排以及较差的偏振能力，使其不适合在该脉冲星进入和离开伴星掩食时对其进行跟踪观测。相比之下，帕克斯天文台的UWL（UWL）具有宽带宽和优异的偏振特性，这使得我们能够（且已成功）测定该脉冲星进入伴星风时的散射、偏振、色散量（dispersion measure）和旋转量（rotation measure）变化。我们请求继续对该脉冲星进行每周一次的观测，以跟踪其在近星点远侧的运动过程。