Observations of Rotating Radio Transients with the First Station of the Long Wavelength Array

TL;DR

This study reports observations of 19 RRATs with the LWA1 at low frequencies, detecting 2 sources and analyzing their properties, highlighting challenges like low detection rate due to sensitivity and interstellar scattering.

Contribution

First low-frequency observations of RRATs with LWA1, providing new measurements of their dispersion, periods, and flux densities at 30-88 MHz.

Findings

Detected 2 out of 19 RRATs at low frequencies

Low detection rate possibly due to sensitivity and scattering

Comparison with higher frequency data enhances understanding

Abstract

Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs) are a subclass of pulsars first identified in 2006 that are detected only in searches for single pulses and not through their time averaged emission. Here, we present the results of observations of 19 RRATs using the first station of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA1) at frequencies between 30 MHz and 88 MHz. The RRATs observed here were first detected in higher frequency pulsar surveys. Of the 19 RRATs observed, 2 sources were detected and their dispersion measures, periods, pulse profiles, and flux densities are reported and compared to previous higher frequency measurements. We find a low detection rate (11%), which could be a combination of the lower sensitivity of LWA1 compared to the higher frequency telescopes, and the result of scattering by the interstellar medium or a spectral turnover.