GBT24A-394

Searching for Scintillation Arcs in NANOGrav Binary Pulsars

Abstract

We propose to observe 6 binary millisecond pulsars currently being monitored by pulsar timing array (PTA) consortia using high time/frequency resolution. The purpose of these observations is to characterize scintillation properties of all sources at low frequencies and search for the presence of "scintillation arcs", which are parabolic intensity features in the Fourier transform of dynamic spectra. Recent work has demonstrated that scintillation arcs can be used to directly measure key features of the interstellar medium and orbital geometry, especially if independent estimates of the pulsar distance and proper motion are known through high-precision timing of PTA data. By combining arc-based measurements of geometry with radio-timing measurements, we will be able to derive intrinsic properties of orbital systems, such as the pulsar and companion masses. We request to observe each source with one of three receivers (PF/1400-MHz, PF/820-MHz, or 340-MHz receiver) as described in the proposal, in 2-hr sessions for a total of 12 hours.

Investigators

Name	Institution
Swarali Shivraj Patil *	West Virginia University
Emmanuel Fonseca	British Columbia, University of; McGill University; West Virginia University
Ingrid Stairs	British Columbia, University of
Thankful Cromartie	Cornell University; Virginia, University of; Naval Research Laboratory
Michael Lam	Cornell University; Rochester Institute of Technology; West Virginia University; SETI Institute
Lydia Guertin	Academia Sinica
Robert Main	McGill University
Jacob Turner	Green Bank Observatory; West Virginia University
Daniel Stinebring	Oberlin College
Jim Cordes	Cornell University
Maura McLaughlin	West Virginia University
Joseph Glaser	West Virginia University
James McKee	Hull, University of
Megan DeCesar	George Mason University
Stella Ocker	Carnegie Institute of Washington; California Institute of Technology
Timothy Dolch	Cornell University; Oberlin College; Hillsdale College
Natalia Lewandowska	New York at Oswego, State University of
Benetge Perera	National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center ; West Virginia University; Florida, University of Central

* indicates the PI