Pulsars with gigahertz-peaked spectra

TL;DR

This paper studies pulsars with unusual high-frequency spectral peaks, revealing a new class called gigahertz-peaked spectra pulsars, which have maximum flux above 1 GHz and are often in unique environments.

Contribution

It introduces and characterizes a new class of pulsars with high-frequency spectral turn-over, expanding understanding of pulsar emission properties.

Findings

Identification of pulsars with spectral peaks above 1 GHz

Presence of these pulsars in unique astrophysical environments

Spectral indices are positive at lower frequencies

Abstract

We investigate a high frequency turn-over effect in radio spectra for pulsars with positive or flat spectral index. Using GMRT and Effelsberg observatory, we estimated the flux density to reconstruct pulsar spectra. We find objects that have a maximum flux in their spectrum above 1 GHz and whose spectral indices are positive at lower frequencies. Some pulsars with a turn-over in their spectrum at high frequencies are found to exist in very interesting environments. We call these objects gigahertz-peaked spectra pulsars.