The Relativistic Binary Programme on MeerKAT: Science objectives and first results
Abstract
We describe the ongoing Relativistic Binary programme (RelBin), a part of the MeerTime large survey project with the MeerKAT radio telescope. RelBin is primarily focused on observations of relativistic effects in binary pulsars to enable measurements of neutron star masses and tests of theories of gravity. We selected 25 pulsars as an initial high priority list of targets based on their characteristics and observational history with other telescopes. In this paper, we provide an outline of the programme, present polarisation calibrated pulse profiles for all selected pulsars as a reference catalogue along with updated dispersion measures. We report Faraday rotation measures for 24 pulsars, twelve of which have been measured for the first time. More than a third of our selected pulsars show a flat position angle swing confirming earlier observations. We demonstrate the ability of the Rotating Vector Model (RVM), fitted here to seven binary pulsars, including the Double Pulsar (PSR J07373039A), to obtain information about the orbital inclination angle. We present a high time resolution light curve of the eclipse of PSR J07373039A by the companion's magnetosphere, a high-phase resolution position angle swing for PSR J11416545, an improved detection of the Shapiro delay of PSR J18112405, and pulse scattering measurements for PSRs J12276208, J17571854, and J18111736. Finally, we demonstrate that timing observations with MeerKAT improve on existing data sets by a factor of, typically, 2-3, sometimes by an order of magnitude.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2102.05160,
title = {The Relativistic Binary Programme on MeerKAT: Science objectives and first results},
author = {M. Kramer and I. H. Stairs and V. Venkatraman Krishnan and P. C. C. Freire and F. Abbate and M. Bailes and M. Burgay and S. Buchner and D. J. Champion and I. Cognard and T. Gautam and M. Geyer and L. Guillemot and H. Hu and G. Janssen and M. E. Lower and A. Parthasarathy and A. Possenti and S. Ransom and D. J. Reardon and A. Ridolfi and M. Serylak and R. M. Shannon and R. Spiewak and G. Theureau and W. van Straten and N. Wex and L. S. Oswald and B. Posselt and C. Sobey and E. D. Barr and F. Camilo and B. Hugo and A. Jameson and S. Johnston and A. Karastergiou and M. Keith and S. Oslowski},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.05160},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
21 pages 16 figures, published in MNRAS (replaced earlier submission after small changes added in proofs)