The TRAPUM Small Magellanic Cloud pulsar survey with MeerKAT

I. Discovery of seven new pulsars and two Pulsar Wind Nebula associations

authored by: E. Carli, L. Levin, B. W. Stappers, E. D. Barr, R. P. Breton, S. Buchner, M. Burgay, M. Geyer, M. Kramer, P. V. Padmanabh, A. Possenti, V. Venkatraman Krishnan, W. Becker, M. D. Filipović, C. Maitra, J. Behrend, D. J. Champion, W. Chen, Y. P. Men, A. Ridolfi
Abstract: The sensitivity of the MeerKAT radio interferometer is an opportunity to probe deeper into the population of rare and faint extragalactic pulsars. The TRAPUM (TRAnsients and PUlsars with MeerKAT) collaboration has conducted a radio-domain search for accelerated pulsars and transients in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). This partially targeted survey, performed at L band (856–1712 MHz) with the core array of the MeerKAT telescope in 2-h integrations, is twice as sensitive as the latest SMC radio pulsar survey. We report the discovery of seven new SMC pulsars, doubling this galaxy’s radio pulsar population and increasing the total extragalactic population by nearly a quarter. We also carried out a search for accelerated millisecond pulsars in the SMC globular cluster NGC 121 using the full array of MeerKAT. This improved the previous upper limit on pulsed radio emission from this cluster by a factor of 6. Our discoveries reveal the first radio pulsar-PWN systems in the SMC, with only one such system previously known outside our Galaxy (the ‘Crab pulsar twin’ in the Large Magellanic Cloud, PSR J0540−6919). We associate the 59 ms pulsar discovery PSR J0040−7337, now the fastest spinning radio pulsar in the SMC, with the bow-shock Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) of supernova remnant DEM S5. We also present a new young pulsar with a 79 ms period, PSR J0048−7317, in a PWN recently discovered in a MeerKAT radio continuum image. Using the multibeam capability of MeerKAT, we localized our pulsar discoveries, and two previous Murriyang discoveries, to a positional uncertainty of a few arcseconds.
Organisation(s): Institute of Gravitation Physics
External Organisation(s): University of Manchester
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR)
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)
University of Cape Town (UCT)
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE)
Western Sydney University
Type: Article
Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume: 531
Pages: 2835-2863
No. of pages: 29
ISSN: 0035-8711
Publication date: 04.06.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2405.12029 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae1310 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{309d5ce06e1946ccbf70be9953f26a21,
title = "The TRAPUM Small Magellanic Cloud pulsar survey with MeerKAT: I. Discovery of seven new pulsars and two Pulsar Wind Nebula associations",
abstract = "The sensitivity of the MeerKAT radio interferometer is an opportunity to probe deeper into the population of rare and faint extragalactic pulsars. The TRAPUM (TRAnsients and PUlsars with MeerKAT) collaboration has conducted a radio-domain search for accelerated pulsars and transients in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). This partially targeted survey, performed at L band (856–1712 MHz) with the core array of the MeerKAT telescope in 2-h integrations, is twice as sensitive as the latest SMC radio pulsar survey. We report the discovery of seven new SMC pulsars, doubling this galaxy{\textquoteright}s radio pulsar population and increasing the total extragalactic population by nearly a quarter. We also carried out a search for accelerated millisecond pulsars in the SMC globular cluster NGC 121 using the full array of MeerKAT. This improved the previous upper limit on pulsed radio emission from this cluster by a factor of 6. Our discoveries reveal the first radio pulsar-PWN systems in the SMC, with only one such system previously known outside our Galaxy (the {\textquoteleft}Crab pulsar twin{\textquoteright} in the Large Magellanic Cloud, PSR J0540−6919). We associate the 59 ms pulsar discovery PSR J0040−7337, now the fastest spinning radio pulsar in the SMC, with the bow-shock Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN) of supernova remnant DEM S5. We also present a new young pulsar with a 79 ms period, PSR J0048−7317, in a PWN recently discovered in a MeerKAT radio continuum image. Using the multibeam capability of MeerKAT, we localized our pulsar discoveries, and two previous Murriyang discoveries, to a positional uncertainty of a few arcseconds.",
keywords = "galaxies: individual: Small Magellanic Cloud, ISM: supernova remnants, Magellanic Clouds, pulsars: general, pulsars: individual: PSR J0040−7326, PSR J0040−7335, PSR J0040−7337, PSR J0043−73, PSR J0044−7314, PSR J0048−7317, PSR J0052−72, PSR J0054−7228, PSR J0105−7208, stars: neutron",
author = "E. Carli and L. Levin and Stappers, {B. W.} and Barr, {E. D.} and Breton, {R. P.} and S. Buchner and M. Burgay and M. Geyer and M. Kramer and Padmanabh, {P. V.} and A. Possenti and {Venkatraman Krishnan}, V. and W. Becker and Filipovi{\'c}, {M. D.} and C. Maitra and J. Behrend and Champion, {D. J.} and W. Chen and Men, {Y. P.} and A. Ridolfi",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s).",
year = "2024",
month = jun,
day = "4",
doi = "10.48550/arXiv.2405.12029",
language = "English",
volume = "531",
pages = "2835--2863",
journal = "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",
issn = "0035-8711",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "2",
}