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.\r\n\r\nInteresting 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.\r\n\r\nThis 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.

本申请为HTRU巡天（P630）银道面低纬度区域新发现脉冲星（pulsar）的后续观测时间申请。目前我们已利用周期搜索算法（periodicity search algorithm）完成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。预计全部处理工作将于2018OCTS学期内完成。通过外推法与种群合成（population synthesis）分析，本次银道面巡天将额外发现5颗脉冲星。

通常而言，新发现脉冲星仅在完成观测确认并开展后续计时观测计划（timing campaign）后，才能产出有价值的科学成果。对新发现脉冲星开展为期一年的初始计时观测是完全表征其物理特性的最低时间要求，这对推导脉冲星特征年龄、磁场强度（magnetic field strength）、自转减慢速率（spin-down rate）等参数，以及探测由辐射不稳定性引发的脉冲星异常行为均至关重要。

本次后续计时观测项目，旨在甄别HTRU银道面巡天中发现的各类具有科学价值的脉冲星系统。由于本观测清单中的全部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研究成果。此外，该计时项目还将实现对银道面脉冲星种群的大规模普查，探索脉冲星参数空间的真实边界。鉴于预期发现的脉冲星数量较多且所需积分观测时长（integration length）较长，本次专属后续计时观测计划对达成我们的科学目标而言至关重要。