Parkes observations for project P456 semester 2006OCTS

The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project has three main goals: detection of gravitational waves from astronomical sources, investigation of the stability of terrestrial clocks and improvement of our understanding of Solar-system dynamics. Achievement of these goals requires frequent observations of about 20 MSPs at three widely spaced frequencies over several years. We propose to observe such a sample at 2-weekly intervals using both the 10/50cm and Multibeam or H-OH receivers. The prototype digital filterbank, the wideband correlator and CPSR2 will be used for data recording. With continued development of observing and data analysis systems we are making good progress toward our goals with sub-microsecond precision already achieved on nearly half of the sample. Further improvement is expected with the commissioning of the final digital filterbank system and development of a new-generation baseband system based on it. Because of the high sensitivity and wide bandwidths required, RFI mitigation is an important part of the project.

Parkes脉冲星计时阵列（Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, PPTA）项目设有三大核心目标：探测天文天体产生的引力波、研究地面时钟的稳定性，以及深化对太阳系动力学的认知。要达成这些目标，需在数年周期内，于三个宽间隔频段上对约20颗毫秒脉冲星（millisecond pulsars, MSPs）开展高频次观测。我们提议以两周为间隔，使用10/50厘米波段、多波束（Multibeam）接收机或羟基（H-OH）接收机对该样本开展观测。原型数字滤波器组、宽带相关器及CPSR2将用于数据记录。随着观测与数据分析系统的持续优化，我们正稳步推进项目目标的达成，目前已在近半数样本上实现亚微秒级计时精度。随着最终版数字滤波器组系统的调试投用，以及基于该系统的新一代基带系统的研发，预计观测性能将得到进一步提升。鉴于项目对高灵敏度与宽带宽的需求，射频干扰（Radio Frequency Interference, RFI）抑制已成为该项目的重要组成部分。