Parkes observations for project P1038 semester 2020APRS_15

PSR~J1759-2402 is one of a small handful of pulsars which are in orbit about high mass stars. Its orbital period is 8.2 years and the orbit is highly eccentric with periastron expected in 2021 January. Although discovered at Parkes, the Lovell telescope has been monitoring the pulsar over many years. However, it's restricted bandwidth and lack of 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 weekly observations of the pulsar to track its progress around the orbit.

PSR J1759-2402是为数不多环绕大质量恒星运行的脉冲星之一。其轨道周期为8.2年，轨道偏心率极高，预计近星点（periastron）将在2021年1月抵达。该脉冲星虽在帕克斯天文台（Parkes）被发现，但多年来一直由洛弗尔望远镜（Lovell telescope）开展监测工作。然而，洛弗尔望远镜受限的带宽与缺失的偏振观测能力，无法满足该脉冲星穿过伴星星风食的跟踪观测需求。与之形成鲜明对比的是，帕克斯天文台搭载的UWL具备宽频带与优异的偏振观测特性，可支持我们定量分析脉冲星进入伴星星风时的散射、偏振、色散量（dispersion measure）与转动量（rotation measure）变化。我们申请对该脉冲星进行每周一次的观测，以跟踪其沿轨道运行的完整过程。