Parkes observations for project P897 semester 2016OCTS

Brief description

Modulation of pulse times of arrival (TOAs) from pulsars often heralds excitement: planetary companions, neutron star free precession, and the poorly understood but crucially important process of magnetospheric state switching can all produce quasi-periodic TOA modulation. In a sample of 150 young pulsars, we have detected periodic modulation in six pulsars. We propose to obtain multi-epoch, deep, well-calibrated 10 cm pulse profiles to search for profile variability, particularly variability correlated with TOA modulation. The absence of such variation may lend credence to a planet interpretation, while detection will help characterize the magnetospheric states and determine if free precession plays a role. Because the pulsars are largely southern sky objects, and because the 10cm band is largely free from RFI and scattering, Parkes is uniquely capable to deliver this science.