Pulsar and Magnetar Astronomy

Pulsar and magnetar astronomy are two fascinating subfields of neutron star research in astrophysics. DSES is active in this area and has detected many pulsars and one magnetar.

Pages describing specific results will be here soon.

Here’s an overview:

Pulsars

• Definition: Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation from their magnetic poles. As these beams sweep past Earth, they appear as regular pulses of radio, optical, X-ray, or gamma-ray emission—hence the name “pulsar.”
• Discovery: First discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish.
• Properties:
  • Extremely dense remnants of massive stars that exploded as supernovae.
  • Rotate very quickly (milliseconds to seconds per rotation).
  • Have strong magnetic fields (10^8–10^13 Gauss).
• Astronomical Importance:
  • Used as cosmic clocks due to their precise periodicity.
  • Help test theories of gravity (e.g., through binary pulsar systems).
  • Can probe the interstellar medium via pulse dispersion.

Magnetars

• Definition: Magnetars are a special type of neutron star with magnetic fields much stronger than ordinary pulsars—up to 10^14–10^15 Gauss.
• Discovery: Recognized as a separate class in the late 1990s; originally observed as soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) and anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs).
• Properties:
  • Magnetic fields a thousand times stronger than typical pulsars.
  • Often emit short bursts of X-rays or gamma-rays.
  • Their strong magnetic field can distort atoms and even the crust of the neutron star, causing starquakes and bursts of high-energy radiation.
• Astronomical Importance:
  • Offer insights into the physics of extreme magnetic fields.
  • Are linked to mysterious phenomena like Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).
  • Help understand the end stages of stellar evolution and the behavior of matter at nuclear densities.

Key Differences

Feature	Pulsars	Magnetars
Magnetic Field	10^8–10^13 Gauss	10^14–10^15 Gauss
Main Emission	Radio (most), some X-ray	X-ray, gamma-ray
Stability	Highly stable (timing)	Less stable, prone to flares
Rarity	More common	Rarer (~30 known)

Astronomy Applications

• Both: Help understand the life cycle of stars, stellar remnants, and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions.
• Pulsars: Used for navigation, testing general relativity, and probing galactic structure.
• Magnetars: Studied for their energetic outbursts and possible connection to high-energy astrophysical phenomena.

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21cm Neutral Hydrogen Astronomy

DSES has science observations for 21cm neutral hydrogen. These were tracked for several minutes, so not the same as drift scan.

DSES pulsar catalog of observations

#	PSR Name	First Detection	Period (sec)	Pulse Width (ms)	DM	S400 (mJy)	S1400 (mJy)	Feed horn MHz	Int. Time (min)
1.	B0329+54	09-2020	0.714	6.6	26.7	1500		408	15
2.	B0355+54	07-2022	0.156	3.9	57.4		23	1296	240
3.	J0341+5711	12-2024	1.888	43.0	101.0	364		250	90
4.	J0437-4715	08-2021	0.005	0.1	2.6		150	1420	30
5.	B0531+21	08-2025	0.033	2.0	56.7	550		408	240
6.	B0628-28	07-2022	1.244	63.3	34.4		32	1296	60
7.	B0736-40	06-2022	0.375	22.7	160.9		112	1296	90
8.	B0740-28	09-2020	0.167	4.2	73.7	296		408	30
9.	B0833-45	09-2020	0.089	1.4	67.7	5000		408	15
10.	B0835-41	06-2022	0.752	4.4	147.2		35	1296	90
11.	B0950+08	09-2020	0.253	8.9	2.9	400		408	60
12.	B1133+16	09-2020	1.118	5.9	4.8	257		408	240
13.	B1508+55	09-2020	0.739	10.9	19.6	114		408	60
14.	B1556-44	11-2022	0.257	6.5	55.9		37	1296	180
15.	B1641-45	08-2021	0.455	8.0	478.6		300	1420	30
16.	B1642-03	09-2020	0.388	3.4	35.8	393		408	90
17.	B1749-28	09-2020	0.563	6.1	50.4	1100		408	20
18.	B1859+03	11-2022	0.655	9.0	402.0	165		437	180
19.	B1929+10	09-2020	0.227	5.7	3.2	303		408	90
20.	B1933+16	09-2020	0.359	6.0	158.5	242		408	60
21.	B1946+35	09-2020	0.717	19.3	129.4	145		408	240
22.	B2016+28	09-2020	0.558	14.9	14.2	314		408	90
23.	B2020+28	03-2022	0.343	12.0	24.6		38	1296	180
24.	B2021+51	09-2021	0.529	7.4	22.5		27	1420	30
25.	B2111+46	02-2022	1.014	32.1	141.3		19	1296	90

Here is the PDF file “DSES Pulsar Catalog Oct 2025“.

Observation Reports

Here are PDF files with observation reports from August 2025.

Observation Report: PSR B0329+54
Pulsar B0329+54 is the brightest pulsar in the Northern hemisphere. Since it is circumpolar we use it as a “reference” pulsar.

Observation Report: PSR B0531+21 Crab Pulsar
The Crab pulsar (B0531+21) is the visible neutron star in the center of the Crab supernova (1054 A.D.) remnant