Related papers: Measuring the mass of solar system planets using p…
We analyze the properties of searches devoted to finding planetary transits by observing simple stellar systems, such as globular clusters, open clusters, and the Galactic bulge. We develop the analytic tools necessary to predict the number…
Millisecond and binary pulsars are the most stable astronomical standards of frequency. They can be applied to solving a number of problems in astronomy and time-keeping metrology including the search for a stochastic gravitational wave…
The timing method, using either stellar pulsations or eclipse timing of close binaries as a clock, is proving to be an efficient way to detect planets around stars that have evolved beyond the red giant branch. In this article we present a…
Pulsars are rotating neutron stars that are renowned for their timing precision, although glitches can interrupt the regular timing behavior when these stars are young. Glitches are thought to be caused by interactions between normal and…
Searches for extrasolar planets have uncovered an astonishing diversity of planetary systems, yet the frequency of solar system analogs remains unknown. The gravitational microlensing planet search method is potentially sensitive to…
Asteroseismology has become an indispensable method for measuring stellar ages and radii, while binary systems remain the most prevalent tool for determining stellar masses. The synergy of the two, namely pulsating stars in binary systems,…
We consider the time derivatives of the period $P$ of pulsars at the Galactic Center due to variations in their orbital Doppler shifts. We show that in conjunction with a measurement of a pulsar's proper motion and its projected separation…
The sheer number of pulsars discovered by the SKA, in combination with the exceptional timing precision it can provide, will revolutionize the field of pulsar astrophysics. The SKA will provide a complete census of pulsars in both the…
The phenomenal rotational stability of millisecond pulsars allows them to be used as precise celestial clocks. An array of these pulsars can be exploited to search for correlated perturbations in their pulse times of arrival due to…
Dwarf galaxies and globular clusters may contain intermediate mass black holes ($10^{3}$ to $10^{5}$ solar masses) in their cores. Estimates of ~$10^{3}$ neutron stars in the central parsec of the Galaxy and similar numbers in small…
Fully relativistic coordinates have been proposed for (relativistically) running a "GPS" system. These coordinates are the arrival times of the light signals emitted by four "satellites" (clocks). Replacing the signals emitted by four…
This paper describes a comprehensive measurement model for the error budget of pulse arrival times with emphasis on intrinsic pulse jitterand plasma propagation effects (particularly interstellar scattering), which are stochastic in time…
Traditional pulsar timing techniques involve averaging large numbers of single pulses to obtain a high signal-to-noise (S/N) profile, which is matched to a template to measure a time of arrival (TOA). However, the morphology of individual…
Oscillations occur in stars of most masses and essentially all stages of evolution. Asteroseismology is the study of the frequencies and other properties of stellar oscillations, from which we can extract fundamental parameters such as…
The frequency of maximum oscillation power measured in dwarfs and giants exhibiting solar-like pulsations provides a precise, and potentially accurate, inference of the stellar surface gravity. An extensive comparison for about 40…
We present a principal component analysis method which tracks and compensates for short-timescale variability in pulsar profiles, with a goal of improving pulsar timing precision. We couple this with a fast likelihood technique for…
MASER (Measurements, Analysis, and Simulation of Emission in the Radio range) is a comprehensive infrastructure dedicated to time-dependent low frequency radio astronomy (up to about 50 MHz). The main radio sources observed in this spectral…
I describe ongoing work on development of Bayesian methods for exploring periodically varying phenomena in astronomy, addressing two classes of sources: pulsars, and extrasolar planets (exoplanets). For pulsars, the methods aim to detect…
The formation of the solar system's giant planets predated the ultimate epoch of massive impacts that concluded the process of terrestrial planet formation. Following their formation, the giant planets' orbits evolved through an episode of…
All of the solar system gas giants produce electron cyclotron masers, driven by the solar wind impinging on their magnetospheres. Extrapolating to the planet orbiting tau Boo, various authors have predicted that it may be within the…