Origin of pulsar timing noise: possible correlations between pulsar spin-down rates and magnetospheric processes
| dc.contributor.advisor | Meintjes, P. J. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Maritz, Jacques | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-01-25T08:33:31Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-01-25T08:33:31Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-03 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: Pulsars are extremely accurate clocks that allow us to explore certain unanswered questions in the elds of exotic compact forms of matter and gravitational wave as- trophysics. Pulsars that form part of a timing array can be used to detect stochastic gravitational wave (GWs) backgrounds produced by merging super-massive black holes by searching for systematic correlated delays in the arrival times of the pulses over decades. However, these GW backgrounds produce a small amplitude variation in the timing residuals of a pulsar over decades. Similar to the residual signature produced by GW, timing noise also exhibits a quasi-periodic timing residual signa- ture due to some unidenti ed variations in the pulsar's spin parameters. This study focused on the analysis of the timing noise phenomena observed in PSR J1326-5859. Several decades of timing and polarization data were analyzed and correlated in an attempt to model the observed timing noise signature. We propose that PSR J1326-5859 is coupled to a fossil disk that torques the star in a quasi stable manner and produces the observed spin-down evolution and polarization state changes. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: Pulsare kan aanskou word as baie akkurate kosmiese tydhouers wat fundamentele bydraes lewer in die veld van eksotiese kern materiaal en gravitasie golwe. Pulsare kan as deel van 'n tydhouer-netwerk gebruik word om gravitasie golwe te bestudeer, maar hierdie betrokke sein is baie klein en kan slegs oor dekades waargeneem word. Hierdie bevestiging van gravitasie golwe deur die gebruik van 'n netwerk van pulsare kan beinvloed word deur tydfoute wat nie ingesluit word deur die pulsar-model nie. Die studie het gefokus op meer as twee dekades se chronogra e van die re elmatige pulserende stralingsbron PSR J1326-5859. 'n Korrelasie-studie tussen die chrono- gra e en polarisasie data was uitgevoer in die hoop om die tydfout pro el van PSR J1326-5859 te verduidelik. Ons stel voor dat PSR J1326-5859 'n fossiel-skyf be- vat wat op 'n stabiele wyse 'n wringkrag (draaimoment) op die pulsar uitoefen en sodoende die spin-evolusie en polarisasie toestand veranderinge veroorsaak. | af |
| dc.description.sponsorship | South African Square Kilometre Array Project | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/7712 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Pulsars | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Timing noise | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Polarization and disks | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Gravity waves | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Thesis (Ph.D. (Physics))--University of the Free State, 2017 | en_ZA |
| dc.title | Origin of pulsar timing noise: possible correlations between pulsar spin-down rates and magnetospheric processes | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |