The radio signal of PSR B0950+08 is detected over the whole pulse phase

TL;DR

This study uses FAST telescope data to detect PSR B0950+08's radio emission throughout its entire pulse phase, revealing insights into its magnetospheric structure and weak emission components.

Contribution

It demonstrates the capability of FAST to detect pulsar emission over the full pulse period and introduces a new function to analyze weak bridge emissions.

Findings

Detection of full pulse phase emission from PSR B0950+08

Identification of weak bridge emission possibly originating from upper magnetosphere

Support for a double-pole emission model

Abstract

Pulsars are the "lighthouses" in the universe. Periodic pulses with the duty-cycle ~10% are detected when the radio beam of the rotating pulsar sweeps across the telescope. In this report, the 160 min-data of a nearby pulsar, PSR B0950+08, observed with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is analysed. Thanks to the extremely high sensitivity of FAST, it is found that the radiation of PSR B0950+08 could be detected over the entire pulse period. To investigate the radiative characteristics of the pulsar' "bridge emission", a function, $\Theta$(n), is defined to reveal the weak radiation there. It is suggested that the narrow peaks of both the main and the inter pulses could be radiated at low altitude, while other weak emission (e.g., the "bridges") from upper magnetosphere though its radiative mechanism is still a matter of debate. The measured mean pulse behaviors are consistent with previous results in the phase of strong emission of this pulsar, and both the frequency-independent separation between the inter-pulse and main pulse and the narrow pulse width may support a double-pole model. In order to understand the magnetospheric geometry of this pulsar, further polarization calibrated observation with FAST and a proper determination of the baseline emission, especially during the weak emission phase, are surely required.