Parkes observations for project P1162 semester 2022OCTS_03

Full description

Pulsar timing is a powerful tool in studying pulsar physics. Discovering more exotic pulsar systems or timing pulsars with higher precision is an essential part of pulsar astronomy. As a recently discovered millisecond pulsar, PSR J1402+13 is an interesting source for follow-up timing observations. First, its spin-down rate is the highest among known millisecond pulsars according to initial data. This spin-down rate, if confirmed, will place stringent constraints on the spin-up process predicted by pulsar recycling theories. Second, and more importantly, J1402+13 is a very promising candidate for pulsar timing arrays, with an achievable precision at the level of 6 nanoseconds for 60 minutes observation with Parkes. We thus apply for 18.7 hours to conduct dedicated timing observations of J1402+13 over the period of half a year (and more observations in the future semesters). This project will derive an ephemeris of the system, which is valuable to understand its formation and evolution history. Furthermore, the observations will allow us to evaluate the timing performance of J1402+13 and its suitability to be included in pulsar timing arrays.