Searching for pulsars in globular clusters with the MeerKAT Radio Telescope

TL;DR

This paper discusses the use of the MeerKAT radio telescope to search for pulsars in globular clusters, highlighting recent discoveries and the potential for advancing understanding of neutron stars and black holes.

Contribution

It presents the current progress and future prospects of pulsar searches in globular clusters using MeerKAT, including over 35 new pulsars discovered.

Findings

Over 35 new pulsars discovered in globular clusters

MeerKAT's sensitivity enables detection of distant pulsars

Potential insights into neutron star physics and black holes

Abstract

Globular clusters are known to host an unusually large population of millisecond pulsar when compared to the Galactic disk. This is thanks to the high rate of dynamical encounters occurring in the clusters that can create the conditions to efficiently recycle neutron stars into millisecond pulsars. The result is a rich population of pulsars with properties and companions difficult or impossible to replicate in the Galactic disk. For these reasons, globular clusters have been and still are a prime target of searches for new and exciting pulsars. Because of their large distances, the limiting factor inhibiting these discoveries is the telescope sensitivity. The MeerKAT radio telescope, a 64-dish interferometer in South Africa, guarantees unrivalled sensitivity for globular clusters in the southern sky. Observations of well-studied globular clusters with MeerKAT have already returned more than 35 new pulsars with many more expected. These exciting discoveries will help us to understand more about the neutron star equation of state, stellar evolution, accretion physics and to hunt for intermediate mass black holes. In this talk I will present the prospects and current discoveries of the globular cluster working group in the MeerTIME and TRAPUM programmes.