Detection of a glitch in the pulsar J1709-4429

TL;DR

This paper reports the detection of the smallest known glitch in pulsar J1709-4429, achieved through high-cadence monitoring with the UTMOST telescope, demonstrating the effectiveness of frequent observations for glitch detection.

Contribution

First detection of an extremely small glitch in pulsar J1709-4429 using high-cadence observations with UTMOST, highlighting the method's sensitivity.

Findings

Detected a fractional glitch size of approximately 52.4×10^{-9}

Demonstrated high-cadence monitoring's effectiveness in glitch detection

Established the smallest known glitch for this pulsar

Abstract

We report the detection of a glitch event in the pulsar J1709$-$4429 (also known as B1706$-$44) during regular monitoring observations with the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (UTMOST). The glitch was found during timing operations, in which we regularly observe over 400 pulsars with up to daily cadence, while commensally searching for Rotating Radio Transients, pulsars, and FRBs. With a fractional size of $\Delta\nu/\nu \approx 52.4 \times10^{-9}$, the glitch reported here is by far the smallest known for this pulsar, attesting to the efficacy of glitch searches with high cadence using UTMOST.