SKA-Japan Pulsar Science with the Square Kilometre Array

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the Square Kilometre Array will significantly enhance pulsar research, enabling new tests of fundamental physics and expanding the observable pulsar population.

Contribution

It summarizes SKA-Japan Pulsar Science activities, highlighting novel investigations into gravity, gravitational waves, plasma physics, and galactic magnetic fields using pulsars.

Findings

Potential to test modified gravity near the Galactic Centre

Detection prospects for gravitational waves from cosmic strings and black hole binaries

Insights into plasma states and galactic magnetic fields from pulsar observations

Abstract

The Square Kilometre Array will revolutionize pulsar studies with its wide field-of-view, wide-band observation and high sensitivity, increasing the number of observable pulsars by more than an order of magnitude. Pulsars are of interest not only for the study of neutron stars themselves but for their usage as tools for probing fundamental physics such as general relativity, gravitational waves and nuclear interaction. In this article, we summarize the activity and interests of SKA-Japan Pulsar Science Working Group, focusing on an investigation of modified gravity theory with the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Centre, gravitational-wave detection from cosmic strings and binary supermassive black holes, a study of the physical state of plasma close to pulsars using giant radio pulses and determination of magnetic field structure of Galaxy with pulsar pairs.