Searching for radio pulses from radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars with FAST

TL;DR

This study used FAST to search for radio pulses from 22 radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars at 1250 MHz, successfully detecting one pulsar and setting upper limits for the others, advancing understanding of faint pulsar radio emissions.

Contribution

First successful detection of radio pulses from a radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar using FAST, demonstrating the telescope's sensitivity to extremely faint radio sources.

Findings

Detected pulsed signals from PSR J1813-1246 at 48.08 ms period

No radio emission detected from 21 other sources, with flux limits of a few microJanskys

Established the capability to study faint pulsars with FAST

Abstract

We present periodicity and single-pulse searches at 1250 MHz for 22 radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars, conducted using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST). For PSR J1813$-$1246, we successfully detected pulsed signals with a spin period of 48.08 ms and a dispersion measure of 209.85 ${\rm pc cm^{-3}}$, consistent with the spin period measured at gamma-ray wavelengths. The estimated flux density is approximately 9 $\mu$Jy. For the remaining 21 sources, no radio emission was detected, with flux density upper limits of several $ \mu$Jy. The capability to detect pulsars with such low flux densities provides the opportunity to determine if and how these faint sources differ from much radio-brighter pulsars.