Related papers: Pulsars as Fantastic Objects and Probes
We have begun an exciting era for gravitational wave detection, as several world-leading experiments are breaching the threshold of anticipated signal strengths. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are pan-Galactic gravitational wave detectors that…
Observations of a long-lasting Gamma-ray burst, one that has the brightest optical counterpart yet discovered, challenge theoretical understanding of these bursts but may enhance their usefulness as cosmic probes.
A moving mass makes a gravitational wake in the partially ionized interstellar medium, which acts as a lens for radio-frequency light. Consequently, plasma microlensing could complement gravitational microlensing in the search for invisible…
Starbursts are a significant component of the present-day universe, and offer unique laboratories for studying the processes that have regulated the formation and evolution of galaxies and the intergalactic medium. The combination of large…
Pulsars are spinning neutron stars with very regular periods. These pulsars have, however, had instances where they exhibit a change in their periods. Older theories have shown that older pulsars have a tendency to skip and speed up. Newer…
Pulsar timing uses the highly stable pulsar spin period to investigate many astrophysical topics. In particular, pulsar timing arrays make use of a set of extremely well-timed pulsars and their time correlations as a challenging detector of…
Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are short-period pulsars that are distinguished from "normal" pulsars, not only by their short period, but also by their very small spin-down rates and high probability of being in a binary system. These…
Gravitational waves astronomy allows us to study objects and events invisible in electromagnetic waves. It is crucial to validate the theories and models of the most mysterious and extreme matter in the Universe: the neutron stars. In…
Some tests of fundamental physics - the equation of state at supra-nuclear densities, the metric in strong gravity, the effect of magnetic fields above the quantum critical value - can only be measured using compact astrophysical objects:…
This book chapter explores key aspects of neutron stars, pulsar glitches, tidal deformability, fast pulsars, the equation of state, and strange quark matter stars. Challenges in directly measuring neutron star radius have led to reliance on…
More than four decades after the discovery of pulsars, the composition of matter at their cores is still a mystery. This white paper summarizes how recent high-precision measurements of millisecond pulsar masses have introduced new…
Most of the visible matter in the Universe is in a plasma state, or more specifically is composed of ionized or partially ionized gas permeated by magnetic fields. Thanks to recent advances on the theory and detection of cosmic magnetic…
Despite their paucity, massive hot stars are real cosmic engines of fundamental importance in shaping our Universe, from its very early stages up to its current appearance. Understanding the physics of massive stars is then a key issue for…
Our initial impressions of astronomical objects was that they are inherently "static" over the course of any reasonably long observation. However, with the discovery of quasars and their scintillation in 1963-64, we learnt that there are…
The discovery of radio pulsars over a half century ago was a seminal moment in astronomy. It demonstrated the existence of neutron stars, gave a powerful observational tool to study them, and has allowed us to probe strong gravity, dense…
Future gravitational-wave observations will enable unprecedented and unique science in extreme gravity and fundamental physics answering questions about the nature of dynamical spacetimes, the nature of dark matter and the nature of compact…
The understanding of pulsar radio emission demands a close look at all regions of the huge parameter space present for pulsar observations. In this review we concentrate on the space given by the range of observed pulse periods, spanning…
Ongoing research on Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) to detect gravitational radiation is reviewed. Here, we discuss the use of millisecond pulsars as a gravitational wave detector, the sources of gravitational radiation detectable by PTAs and the…
In this white paper, we discuss the prospects for characterizing and identifying dark matter using gravitational waves, covering a wide range of dark matter candidate types and signals. We argue that present and upcoming gravitational wave…
Black holes and neutron stars present extreme forms of matter that cannot be created as such in a laboratory on Earth. Instead, we have to observe and analyze the experiments that are ongoing in the Universe. The most telling observations…