Searching for pulsars, magnetars, and fast radio bursts in the sculptor galaxy using MeerKAT

verfasst von: H. Hurter, C. Venter, L. Levin, B. W. Stappers, E. D. Barr, R. P. Breton, S. Buchner, E. Carli, M. Kramer, P. V. Padmanabh, A. Possenti, V. Prayag, J. D. Turner
Abstract: The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253), located in the Southern Hemisphere, far off the Galactic Plane, has a relatively high star-formation rate of about 7 M_☉ yr⁻¹ and hosts a young and bright stellar population, including several super star clusters and supernova remnants. It is also the first galaxy, apart from the Milky Way Galaxy to be associated with two giant magnetar flares. As such, it is a potential host of pulsars and/or fast radio bursts in the nearby Universe. The instantaneous sensitivity and multibeam sky coverage offered by MeerKAT therefore make it a favourable target. We searched for pulsars, radio-emitting magnetars, and fast radio bursts in NGC 253 as part of the TRAPUM large survey project with MeerKAT. We did not find any pulsars during a 4 h observation, and derive a flux density limit of 4.4 μJy at 1400 MHz, limiting the pseudo-luminosity of the brightest putative pulsar in this galaxy to 54 Jy kpc². Assuming universality of pulsar populations between galaxies, we estimate that detecting a pulsar as bright as this limit requires NGC 253 to contain a pulsar population of ^∼_>20 000. We also did not detect any single pulses, and our single pulse search flux density limit is 62 mJy at 1284 MHz. Our search is sensitive enough to have detected any fast radio bursts and radio emission similar to the brighter pulses seen from the magnetar SGR J1935+2154 if they had occurred during our observation.
Organisationseinheit(en): Institut für Gravitationsphysik
Externe Organisation(en): North-West University (NWU)
National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS)
University of Manchester
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR)
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)
Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut)
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)
Universität Kapstadt (UCT)
Typ: Artikel
Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Band: 533
Seiten: 4268-4273
Anzahl der Seiten: 6
ISSN: 0035-8711
Publikationsdatum: 05.08.2024
Publikationsstatus: Veröffentlicht
Peer-reviewed: Ja
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete: Astronomie und Astrophysik, Astronomie und Planetologie
Elektronische Version(en): https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2408.01217 (Zugang: Offen)
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae1880 (Zugang: Offen)

BibTeX

@article{2e3adf6506b94beba454030409b234ce,
title = "Searching for pulsars, magnetars, and fast radio bursts in the sculptor galaxy using MeerKAT",
abstract = "The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253), located in the Southern Hemisphere, far off the Galactic Plane, has a relatively high star-formation rate of about 7 M☉ yr−1 and hosts a young and bright stellar population, including several super star clusters and supernova remnants. It is also the first galaxy, apart from the Milky Way Galaxy to be associated with two giant magnetar flares. As such, it is a potential host of pulsars and/or fast radio bursts in the nearby Universe. The instantaneous sensitivity and multibeam sky coverage offered by MeerKAT therefore make it a favourable target. We searched for pulsars, radio-emitting magnetars, and fast radio bursts in NGC 253 as part of the TRAPUM large survey project with MeerKAT. We did not find any pulsars during a 4 h observation, and derive a flux density limit of 4.4 μJy at 1400 MHz, limiting the pseudo-luminosity of the brightest putative pulsar in this galaxy to 54 Jy kpc2. Assuming universality of pulsar populations between galaxies, we estimate that detecting a pulsar as bright as this limit requires NGC 253 to contain a pulsar population of ∼>20 000. We also did not detect any single pulses, and our single pulse search flux density limit is 62 mJy at 1284 MHz. Our search is sensitive enough to have detected any fast radio bursts and radio emission similar to the brighter pulses seen from the magnetar SGR J1935+2154 if they had occurred during our observation.",
keywords = "galaxies: individual: NGC 253, Galaxy: general, pulsars: general, radio continuum: transients, stars: neutron",
author = "H. Hurter and C. Venter and L. Levin and Stappers, {B. W.} and Barr, {E. D.} and Breton, {R. P.} and S. Buchner and E. Carli and M. Kramer and Padmanabh, {P. V.} and A. Possenti and V. Prayag and Turner, {J. D.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s).",
year = "2024",
month = aug,
day = "5",
doi = "10.48550/arXiv.2408.01217",
language = "English",
volume = "533",
pages = "4268--4273",
journal = "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",
issn = "0035-8711",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "4",
}