Parkes observations for project P860 semester 2018OCTS_05

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 are in the final stages of our first pass processing with our periodicity search algorithm, and have already discovered 106 previously unknown pulsars. We expect that processing should be complete within the 2018OCTS semester. Extrapolation and population synthesis shows that the Galactic plane survey should result in a further 5 discoveries.

Interesting science can usually only be derived from a new pulsar after confirmation and a follow-up timing campaign is carried out. One year of initial timing is the minimum 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 parameter 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.

本申请旨在申请观测时长，用于对HTRU巡天（High Time Resolution Universe Survey, P630）低银纬银道面区域发现的脉冲星（pulsar）开展首次后续跟进观测。目前我们正依托周期搜索算法推进首轮数据处理的收尾阶段，已发现106颗此前未被记录的脉冲星。我们预计该数据处理工作将于2018OCTS观测季内完成。经外推法与种群合成分析估算，本次银道面巡天预计还将发现5颗脉冲星。

通常而言，新发现的脉冲星仅在完成证认并开展后续计时观测项目后，方能产出具有科学价值的研究成果。为完整表征新发现脉冲星的各项物理属性，至少需要开展为期一年的初始计时观测，这对推导脉冲星特征年龄、磁场强度、自转减速率等关键参数，以及探测可能由辐射不稳定性引发的脉冲星异常行为而言均至关重要。

本后续计时观测项目可用于甄别HTRU银道面巡天中发现的各类具备科学潜力的脉冲星系统。由于本次观测列表中的所有脉冲星均为首次开展后续观测，本项目将产出全新且极具突破性的科学成果。此外，该计时观测项目可实现对银道面脉冲星种群的大规模普查，深入探索脉冲星参数空间的真实边界。鉴于预计将发现大量脉冲星且需开展长时积分观测，本专属后续计时观测项目对达成我们的科学目标而言至关重要。