Assignment 1

 

1. Select survey parameters:
     channel bandwidth
     total bandwidth
     telescope area
     sampling interval
     total integration time
   suitable for finding a 0.6ms pulsar with a dispersion measure of 150 pccm and a flux density of 1mJy. Assume:
    
    
     Observing frequency = 600 MHz
     Pulse duty cycle is 20%
   Hint: choose a channel bandwidth sufficiently narrow to to avoid dispersion smearing of the pulsar.
2. Is such a search presently feasible? Why?
3. Calculate the radius of the light cylinder for pulsars with periods of 10.0, 1.0, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001 seconds
4. Calculate how much a pin head, of neutron star material would weigh.
5. Find out how many extragalactic pulsars are known
6. Would it be possible to find a pulsar in the Andromeda galaxy? What are the main difficulties involved?