The Stack Search Tests on FAST Data: Discovery of Six Faint Isolated Millisecond Pulsars in NGC 6517 and NGC 7078 (M15)

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of six faint millisecond pulsars in two globular clusters using FAST, employing a stacking power spectra method that improves detection sensitivity for weak signals.

Contribution

The study introduces a stacking power spectra technique that enables detection of faint pulsars missed by standard searches, leading to six new MSP discoveries in globular clusters.

Findings

Six new MSPs discovered in NGC 6517 and M15.

Stacking power spectra enhances detection of faint pulsars.

Some pulsars were undetectable by standard methods.

Abstract

We report the discovery of six faint millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in the globular clusters NGC 6517 and NGC 7078 (M15) using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). These discoveries were enabled by stacking power spectra from multiple observations, a method that effectively boosts the signal-to-noise ratio of faint sources. In NGC 6517, we identified four new MSPs (NGC 6517S-V) with spin periods ranging from 3.68 to 6.02 ms and dispersion measures (DMs) between 182.45 and 182.85 pc cm^-3. In M15, two additional MSPs (M15M and M15N) were discovered, with spin periods of 4.83 and 9.28 ms, and DMs of 67.89 and 66.65 pc cm^-3, respectively. A phase-coherent timing solution has been obtained for M15M; however, sparse detection rates currently preclude phase-connected solutions for the remaining five pulsars. Current timing parameters suggest all six MSPs are isolated, which is consistent with the expected pulsar populations in core-collapsed globular clusters. Notably, pulsars M15N, NGC 6517U, and NGC 6517V eluded detection by standard frequency-domain searches (e.g., PRESTO-based) and the Fast Folding Algorithm, demonstrating that the stack search technique significantly enhances detection sensitivity to inherently faint pulsar signals.