LOFAR: A powerful tool for pulsar studies

TL;DR

LOFAR is a new low-frequency radio array that will significantly enhance pulsar research by discovering many new pulsars, improving population estimates, and enabling detailed studies of pulsar emission physics.

Contribution

This paper introduces LOFAR's capabilities and presents simulation results demonstrating its potential to discover thousands of pulsars and advance pulsar physics research.

Findings

LOFAR survey could find approximately 1500 new pulsars.

Enhanced understanding of the low end of the pulsar luminosity function.

Ability to observe single pulses from hundreds of pulsars, including millisecond pulsars.

Abstract

The LOw Frequency ARray, LOFAR, will have the sensitivity, bandwidth, frequency range and processing power to revolutionise low-frequency pulsar studies. We present results of simulations that indicate that a LOFAR survey will find approximately 1500 new pulsars. These new pulsars will give us a much better understanding of the low end of the luminosity function and thus allow for a much more precise estimate of the true total local pulsar population. The survey will also be very sensitive to the ultra-steep spectrum pulsars, RRATs, and the pulsed radio emission from objects like Geminga and AXPs. We will also show that by enabling us to observe single pulses from hundreds of pulsars, including many millisecond pulsars, LOFAR opens up new possibilities for the study of emission physics.