Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: We describe 14 yr of public data from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), an ongoing project that is producing precise measurements of pulse times of arrival from 26 millisecond pulsars using the 64-m Parkes radio telescope with a cadence of approximately 3 weeks in three observing bands. A comprehensive description of the pulsar observing systems employed at the telescope since 2004 is provided, including the calibration methodology and an analysis of the stability of system components. We attempt to provide full accounting of the reduction from the raw measured Stokes parameters to pulse times of arrival to aid third parties in reproducing our results. This conversion is encapsulated in a processing pipeline designed to track provenance. Our data products include pulse times of arrival for each of the pulsars along with an initial set of pulsar parameters and noise models. The calibrated pulse profiles and timing template profiles are also available. These data represent almost 21 000 h of recorded data spanning over 14 yr. After accounting for processes that induce time-correlated noise, 22 of the pulsars have weighted root-mean-square timing residuals of $<\!\!1\,\mu\text{s}$ in at least one radio band. The data should allow end users to quickly undertake their own gravitational wave analyses, for example, without having to understand the intricacies of pulsar polarisation calibration or attain a mastery of radio frequency interference mitigation as is required when analysing raw data files.
DOI: 10.1017/pasa.2020.11
Authors: Matthew Kerr, Daniel J. Reardon, George Hobbs, Ryan M. Shannon, Richard N. Manchester, Shi Dai, Christopher J. Russell, Songbo Zhang, Willem van Straten, Stefan Osłowski, Aditya Parthasarathy, Renee Spiewak, Matthew Bailes, N. D. Ramesh Bhat, Andrew D. Cameron, William A. Coles, James Dempsey, Xinping Deng, Boris Goncharov, Jane F. Kaczmarek, Michael J. Keith, Paul D. Lasky, Marcus E. Lower, Brett Preisig, John Mihran Sarkissian, Lawrence Toomey, Hongguang Wang, Jingbo Wang, Lei Zhang, Xingjiang Zhu
Institutions: United States Naval Research Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory Space Science Division, Australian Research Council, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, Swinburne University of Technology, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO Scientific Computing, The University of Western Australia, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Curtin University, University of California San Diego, Monash University, University of Manchester, Guangzhou University, Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatories
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Australian Government, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Australian Research Council, Youth Innovation Promotion Association
OpenAlex ID: W3012797688