Parkes observations for project P1038 semester 2020OCTS_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 determine 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 around the orbit.

PSR J1759-2402是为数不多的在大质量恒星轨道中运行的脉冲星（pulsar）之一。其轨道周期为8.3年，轨道高度偏心，预计近星点将在2021年3月到来。尽管该脉冲星于帕克斯天文台被发现，但洛弗尔望远镜已对其开展了多年监测。然而，该望远镜受限的带宽、固定的维护日程以及相对较弱的偏振观测能力，使其无法在该脉冲星进入和离开伴星掩食阶段时对其进行追踪。与之相对，帕克斯天文台搭载的UWL系统拥有宽频带与优异的偏振观测特性，可让我们测量脉冲星进入伴星星风时的散射、偏振、色散量与旋转测度的变化。我们申请继续对该脉冲星开展每周一次的观测，以追踪其在轨道上的运行进程。