Radio Searches for Pulsars and Short-Duration Transients

TL;DR

This paper reviews radio search methods for pulsars and transients, discusses current pulsar populations, survey statuses, and highlights recent discoveries, emphasizing future survey prospects and the growth of known pulsars.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of search techniques, current pulsar demographics, and recent discoveries, along with predictions for future survey outcomes.

Findings

Current pulsar population around 2000, expected to double in five years.

Number of millisecond pulsars expected to more than triple.

Recent discoveries from Green Bank and Arecibo surveys.

Abstract

I discuss methods and current software packages for radio searches for pulsars and short-duration transients. I then describe the properties of the current pulsar population and the status of and predictions for ongoing and future surveys. The presently observed pulsar population numbers around 2000 and is expected to roughly double over the next five years, with the number of millisecond pulsars expected to more than triple. Finally, I discuss individual objects discovered in the Green Bank Telescope 350-MHz Drift-Scan Survey and the Arecibo Pulsar ALFA Survey.