Parkes observations for project P1173 semester 2022OCTS_01

Spider pulsar systems are compact binary pulsars with low-mass companions in tight orbits, where the\r\nprimary pulsar is ablating the secondary through the output of high-energy radiation and pulsar wind due\r\nto proximity. These systems present an interesting opportunity to probe the mechanisms related to the destruction of these low-mass bodies in the radio regime, as debris surrounding the ablated secondary companion causes the pulsar emission to propagate and scatter as it moves through it, along our line of sight - revealing details of the complex, turbulent structure of this region. Recent studies have shown that the eclipsing region can cause pulsar signals to scatter, revealing small-scale structure of the turbulent field, as well as a strong variation in the pulsar’s polarsiation, rotation measure and dispersion measure. Under this proposal, we wish to study two known spider pulsars for their full orbit with the Parkes UWL capability – which has not been achieved by any other telescope. This will give us the opportunity to analyse he eclipsing effects of these systems.

蜘蛛脉冲星系统（Spider pulsar systems）是一类拥有低质量伴星的密近双星脉冲星（compact binary pulsars），二者轨道间距极窄。由于距离过近，作为主星的脉冲星会通过高能辐射与脉冲星风（pulsar wind）侵蚀其伴星。这类系统为我们研究射电波段（radio regime）下低质量天体的损毁机制提供了绝佳的研究契机：被侵蚀伴星周围产生的碎屑会使脉冲星辐射在沿视线（line of sight）传播的过程中穿过该区域并发生散射，从而揭示该区域复杂且湍流的结构细节。
近期研究表明，掩食区域（eclipsing region）会使脉冲星信号发生散射，不仅能揭示湍流场的小尺度结构，还能让我们观测到脉冲星的偏振、旋转测度（rotation measure）与色散量（dispersion measure）出现显著变化。
本研究计划将利用帕克斯（Parkes）望远镜的UWL观测能力，对两颗已发现的蜘蛛脉冲星开展全轨道观测——这是其他任何望远镜都未曾实现的观测方案。此举将为我们分析此类系统的掩食效应提供宝贵的研究机遇。