Contents
1 The pulsar phenomenon
1.1 Emission properties
1.2 Propagation effects in the interstellar medium
1.3 Population properties
1.4 Further Reading
2 Pulsars as physical tools
2.1 High-precision timing and time keeping
2.2 Celestial mechanics and astrometry
2.3 Gravitational physics in the strong-field regime
2.4 Extrasolar planets
2.5 The Galaxy and the interstellar medium
2.6 Studying super-dense matter
2.7 Plasma physics under extreme conditions
2.8 Future applications
2.9 Futher reading
3 Theoretical background
3.1 Neutron stars
3.2 Spin evolution
3.3 The pulsar magnetosphere
3.4 Simple models of the radio beam
3.5 Acceleration gaps
3.6 Radio emission
3.7 High-energy emission
3.8 Further reading
4 Effects of the interstellar medium
4.1 Propagation through a homogeneous medium
4.2 Propagation through a turbulent medium
4.3 Further reading
4.4 Available resources
5 Instrumentation for pulsar observations
5.1 Example observational set-up
5.2 Incoherent de-dispersion
5.3 Coherent de-dispersion systems
5.4 Further reading
5.5 Available resources
6 Finding new pulsars
6.1 Standard search procedure
6.2 Searches for pulsars in binary systems
6.3 Searching for pulsars in the time domain
6.4 Radio frequency interference
6.5 Pulsar search strategies
6.6 Further reading
6.7 Available resources
7 Observing known pulsars
7.1 Folding
7.2 Preliminary measurements
7.3 Calibrating pulsar data
7.4 Various pulsar observing modes
7.5 Interference excision
7.6 Further reading
7.7 Available resources
8 Pulsar timing
8.1 Measuring pulse arrival times
8.2 Solitary pulsars
8.3 Binary pulsars
8.4 Timing noise
8.5 Further reading
8.6 Available resources
9 Beyond single radio dishes
9.1 Co-ordinated multi-station radio observations
9.2 Interferometric observations
9.3 Optical observations
9.4 High-energy observations
9.5 Pulsars across the electromagnetic spectrum
9.6 Futher reading
9.7 Available resources
Appendices
Appendix 1 Radio astronomy fundamentals
Appendix 2 Useful formulae
Appendix 3 Useful resources
References
Index