Recent discoveries of multiple long-period pulsars (periods ${\sim}10\,$s or larger) are starting to challenge the conventional notion that coherent radio emission cannot be produced by objects that are below the many theorised death lines. Many of the past pulsar surveys and software have been prone to selection effects that restricted their sensitivities towards long-period and sporadically emitting objects. Pulsar surveys using new-generation low-frequency facilities are starting to employ longer dwell times, which makes them significantly more sensitive in detecting long-period or nulling pulsars. There have also been software advancements to aid more sensitive searches towards long-period objects. Furthermore, recent discoveries suggest that nulling may be a key aspect of the long-period pulsar population. We simulate both long-period and nulling pulsar signals, using the Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-meter (SMART) survey data as reference and explore the detection efficacy of popular search methods such as the fast Fourier transform (FFT), fast-folding algorithm (FFA) and single pulse search (SPS). For FFT-based search and SPS, we make use of the PRESTO implementation, and for FFA we use RIPTIDE. We find RIPTIDE’s FFA to be more sensitive; however, it is also the slowest algorithm. PRESTO’s FFT, although faster than others, also shows some unexpected inaccuracies in detection properties. SPS is highly sensitive to long-period and nulling signals, but only for pulses with high intrinsic signal-to-noise ratios. We use these findings to inform current and future pulsar surveys that aim to uncover a large population of long-period or nulling objects and comment on how to make optimal use of these methods in unison.

In gamma-ray binaries neutron star is orbiting a companion that produces a strong stellar wind. We demonstrate that observed properties of ‘stellar wind’–‘pulsar wind’ interaction depend both on the overall wind thrust ratio, as well as more subtle geometrical factors: the relative direction of the pulsar’s spin, the plane of the orbit, the direction of motion, and the instantaneous line of sight. Using fully 3D relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations we find that the resulting intrinsic morphologies can be significantly orbital phase-dependent: a given system may change from tailward-open to tailward-closed shapes. As a result, the region of unshocked pulsar wind can change by an order of magnitude over a quarter of the orbit. We calculate radiation maps and synthetic light curves for synchrotron (X-ray) and inverse-Compton emission (GeV-TeV), taking into account $\gamma $–$\gamma $ absorption. Our modelled light curves are in agreement with the phase-dependent observed light curves of LS5039.

We present a demonstration version of a commensal pipeline for Fast Radio Burst (FRB) searches using a real-time incoherent beam from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The main science target of the pipeline are bright nearby FRBs from the local Universe (including Galactic FRBs like from SGR 1935+2154) which are the best candidates to probe FRB progenitors and understand physical mechanisms powering these extremely energetic events. Recent FRB detections by LOFAR (down to 110 MHz), the Green Bank Telescope (at 350 MHz), and Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) detections extending down to 400 MHz, prove that there is a population of FRBs that can be detected below 350 MHz. The new MWA beamformer, known as the ‘MWAX multibeam beamformer’, can form multiple incoherent and coherent beams (with different parameters) commensally to any ongoing MWA observations. One of the beams is currently used for FRB searches (tested in 10 kHz frequency resolution and time resolutions between 0.1 and 100 ms). A second beam (in 1 Hz and 1 s frequency and time resolutions, respectively) is used for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project. This paper focuses on the FRB search pipeline and its verification on selected known bright pulsars. The pipeline uses the FREDDA implementation of the Fast Dispersion Measure Transform algorithm (FDMT) for single pulse searches. Initially, it was tested during standard MWA observations, and more recently using dedicated observations of a sample of 11 bright pulsars. The pulsar PSR J0835-4510 (Vela) has been routinely used as the primary probe of the data quality because its folded profile was always detected in the frequency band 200 – 230 MHz with typical signal-to-noise ratio $>$10, which agrees with the expectations. Similarly, the low dispersion measure pulsar PSR B0950+08 was always detected in folded profile in the frequency band 140–170 MHz and so far has been the only object for which single pulses were detected. We present the estimated sensitivity of the search in the currently limited observing bandwidth of a single MWA coarse channel (1.28 MHz) and for the upgraded, future system with 12.8 MHz (10 channels) of bandwidth. Based on expected sensitivity and existing FRB rate measurements, we project an FRB detection rate between a few and a few tens per year with large uncertainty due to unknown FRB rates at low frequencies.

In Paper I, we presented an overview of the Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-metre (SMART) survey, including the survey design and search pipeline. While the combination of MWA’s large field-of-view and the voltage capture system brings a survey speed of ${\sim} 450\, {\textrm{deg}}^{2}\,\textrm{h}^{-1}$, the progression of the survey relies on the availability of compact configuration of the Phase II array. Over the past few years, by taking advantage of multiple windows of opportunity when the compact configuration was available, we have advanced the survey to 75% of the planned sky coverage. To date, about 10% of the data collected thus far have been processed for a first-pass search, where 10 min of observation is processed for dispersion measures out to 250 ${\textrm{pc cm}}^{-3}$, to realise a shallow survey that is largely sensitive to long-period pulsars. The ongoing analysis has led to two new pulsar discoveries, as well as an independent discovery and a rediscovery of a previously incorrectly characterised pulsar, all from ${\sim} 3\% $ of the data for which candidate scrutiny is completed. In this sequel to Paper I, we describe the strategies for further detailed follow-up including improved sky localisation and convergence to timing solution, and illustrate them using example pulsar discoveries. The processing has also led to re-detection of 120 pulsars in the SMART observing band, bringing the total number of pulsars detected to date with the MWA to 180, and these are used to assess the search sensitivity of current processing pipelines. The planned second-pass (deep survey) processing is expected to yield a three-fold increase in sensitivity for long-period pulsars, and a substantial improvement to millisecond pulsars by adopting optimal de-dispersion plans. The SMART survey will complement the highly successful Parkes High Time Resolution Universe survey at 1.2–1.5 GHz, and inform future large survey efforts such as those planned with the low-frequency Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low).

We present an overview of the Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-metre (SMART) pulsar survey that exploits the Murchison Widefield Array’s large field of view and voltage-capture system to survey the sky south of 30$^{\circ}$ in declination for pulsars and fast transients in the 140–170 MHz band. The survey is enabled by the advent of the Phase II MWA’s compact configuration, which offers an enormous efficiency in beam-forming and processing costs, thereby making an all-sky survey of this magnitude tractable with the MWA. Even with the long dwell times employed for the survey (4800 s), data collection can be completed in $<$100 h of telescope time, while still retaining the ability to reach a limiting sensitivity of $\sim$2–3 mJy (at 150 MHz, near zenith), which is effectively 3–5 times deeper than the previous-generation low-frequency southern-sky pulsar survey, completed in the 1990s. Each observation is processed to generate $\sim$5000–8000 tied-array beams that tessellate the full $\sim 610\, {\textrm{deg}^{2}}$ field of view (at 155 MHz), which are then processed to search for pulsars. The voltage-capture recording of the survey also allows a multitude of post hoc processing options including the reprocessing of data for higher time resolution and even exploring image-based techniques for pulsar candidate identification. Due to the substantial computational cost in pulsar searches at low frequencies, the survey data processing is undertaken in multiple passes: in the first pass, a shallow survey is performed, where 10 min of each observation is processed, reaching about one-third of the full-search sensitivity. Here we present the system overview including details of ongoing processing and initial results. Further details including first pulsar discoveries and a census of low-frequency detections are presented in a companion paper. Future plans include deeper searches to reach the full sensitivity and acceleration searches to target binary and millisecond pulsars. Our simulation analysis forecasts $\sim$300 new pulsars upon the completion of full processing. The SMART survey will also generate a complete digital record of the low-frequency sky, which will serve as a valuable reference for future pulsar searches planned with the low-frequency Square Kilometre Array.

Pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) are fascinating systems and archetypal sources for high-energy astrophysics in general. Due to their vicinity, brightness, to the fact that they shine at multi-wavelengths, and especially to their long-living emission at gamma rays, modelling their properties is particularly important for the correct interpretation of the visible Galaxy. A complication in this respect is the variety of properties and morphologies they show at different ages. Here, we discuss the differences among the evolutionary phases of PWN, how they have been modeled in the past and what progresses have been recently made. We approach the discussion from a phenomenological, theoretical (especially numerical) and observational point of view, with particular attention to the most recent results and open questions about the physics of such intriguing sources.

We present the first observational study of pulsars performed with the second-generation precursor stations to the low-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low): the Aperture Array Verification System 2 (AAVS2) and the Engineering Development Array 2 (EDA2). Using the SKA-Low stations, we have observed 100 southern-sky pulsars between 70–350 MHz, including follow-up observations at multiple frequencies for a selected sample of bright pulsars. These observations have yielded detections of 22 pulsars, including the lowest-frequency detections ever published for 6 pulsars, despite the modest sensitivity of initial system where the recording bandwidth is limited to ${\sim}{1}\,\mathrm{MHz}$ . By comparing simultaneous flux density measurements obtained with the SKA-Low stations and performing rigorous electromagnetic simulations, we verify the accuracy of the SKA-Low sensitivity simulation code presented in Sokolowski (2022, PASA, 39, e015). Furthermore, we perform model fits to the radio spectra of the detected pulsars using the method developed by Jankowski (2018, MNRAS, 473, 4436), including nine pulsars which were not fitted in the original work. We robustly classify the spectra into five morphological classes and find that all but one pulsar exhibit deviations from simple power-law behaviour. These findings suggest that pulsars with well-determined spectra are more likely to show spectral flattening or turnover than average. Our work demonstrates how SKA-Low stations can be meaningfully used for scientifically useful measurements and analysis of pulsar radio spectra, which are important inputs for informing pulsar surveys and science planned with the SKA-Low.

MeerTime is a five-year Large Survey Project to time pulsars with MeerKAT, the 64-dish South African precursor to the Square Kilometre Array. The science goals for the programme include timing millisecond pulsar (MSPs) to high precision ( ${<} 1 \unicode{x03BC} \mathrm{s}$ ) to study the Galactic MSP population and to contribute to global efforts to detect nanohertz gravitational waves with the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). In order to plan for the remainder of the programme and to use the allocated time most efficiently, we have conducted an initial census with the MeerKAT ‘L-band’ receiver of 189 MSPs visible to MeerKAT and here present their dispersion measures, polarisation profiles, polarisation fractions, rotation measures, flux density measurements, spectral indices, and timing potential. As all of these observations are taken with the same instrument (which uses coherent dedispersion, interferometric polarisation calibration techniques, and a uniform flux scale), they present an excellent resource for population studies. We used wideband pulse portraits as timing standards for each MSP and demonstrated that the MeerTime Pulsar Timing Array (MPTA) can already contribute significantly to the IPTA as it currently achieves better than $1\,\unicode{x03BC}\mathrm{s}$ timing accuracy on 89 MSPs (observed with fortnightly cadence). By the conclusion of the initial five-year MeerTime programme in 2024 July, the MPTA will be extremely significant in global efforts to detect the gravitational wave background with a contribution to the detection statistic comparable to other long-standing timing programmes.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low-frequency aperture array capable of high-time and frequency resolution astronomy applications such as pulsar studies. The large field-of-view of the MWA (hundreds of square degrees) can also be exploited to attain fast survey speeds for all-sky pulsar search applications, but to maximise sensitivity requires forming thousands of tied-array beams from each voltage-capture observation. The necessity of using calibration solutions that are separated from the target observation both temporally and spatially makes pulsar observations vulnerable to uncorrected, frequency-dependent positional offsets due to the ionosphere. These offsets may be large enough to move the source away from the centre of the tied-array beam, incurring sensitivity drops of ${\sim}30{-}50\%$ in Phase II extended array configuration. We analyse these offsets in pulsar observations and develop a method for mitigating them, improving both the source position accuracy and the sensitivity. This analysis prompted the development of a multi-pixel beamforming functionality that can generate dozens of tied-array beams simultaneously, which runs a factor of ten times faster compared to the original single-pixel version. This enhancement makes it feasible to observe multiple pulsars within the vast field of view of the MWA and supports the ongoing large-scale pulsar survey efforts with the MWA. We explore the extent to which ionospheric offset correction will be necessary for the MWA Phase III and the low-frequency square kilometre array (SKA-low).

A new high time resolution observing mode for the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is described, enabling full polarimetric observations with up to $30.72\,$ MHz of bandwidth and a time resolution of ${\sim}$ $0.8\,\upmu$ s. This mode makes use of a polyphase synthesis filter to ‘undo’ the polyphase analysis filter stage of the standard MWA’s Voltage Capture System observing mode. Sources of potential error in the reconstruction of the high time resolution data are identified and quantified, with the $S/N$ loss induced by the back-to-back system not exceeding $-0.65\,$ dB for typical noise-dominated samples. The system is further verified by observing three pulsars with known structure on microsecond timescales.

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.

A four-year sky survey with the use of the eROSITA telescope on board the Spektr-RG observatory will provide the best coverage in the soft (0.5–2 keV) and standard (2–10 keV) X-ray ranges, both in terms of sensitivity and angular resolution. We have analysed the possibility of detecting various types of isolated neutron stars with eROSITA. Among already known objects, eROSITA will be able to detect more than 160 pulsars, 21 magnetars, 7 central compact objects, all seven sources of the Magnificent Seven, and two other X-ray isolated neutron stars during the four-year survey mission.

We investigate the broad-band behaviour of circular polarization in radio pulsar profiles and show the relationship between polarization fraction and what proportion of that polarization is circular, both across frequency, and for a large number of pulsars viewed collectively. The behaviour observed may be explained by pulsar polarization originating from the partially-coherent combination of two linearly-polarized orthogonal modes with different flux spectral indices. (See also the poster in the “supplementary information”.)

Neutron stars have shown diverse characteristics, leading us to classify them into different classes. In this proceeding, I review the observational properties of isolated neutron stars: from magnetars, the strongest magnets we know of, to central compact objects, the so-called anti-magnetars, stopping by the rotation-powered pulsars and X-ray dim isolated neutron stars. Finally, I highlight a few sources that have exhibited features straddling those of different groups, blurring the apparent diversity of the neutron star zoo.

The surfaces of neutron stars are likely sources of strongly polarized soft X rays due to the presence of strong magnetic fields. Scattering transport in the surface layers is critical to the determination of the emergent anisotropy of light intensity, and is strongly influenced by the complicated interplay between linear and circular polarization information. We have developed a magnetic Thomson scattering simulation to model the outer layers of fully-ionized atmospheres in such compact objects. Here we summarize emergent intensities and polarizations from extended atmospheric simulations, spanning considerable ranges of magnetic colatitudes. General relativistic propagation of light from the surface to infinity is fully included. The net polarization degrees are moderate and not very small when summing over a variety of field directions. These results provide an important foundation for observations of magnetars to be acquired by NASA’s new IXPE X-ray polarimeter and future X-ray polarimetry missions.

Single pulse behaviour of radio pulsars is usually interpreted in terms of the E × B drift of a radio beam. It is shown that antisymmetric arrangement of the radio-bright zones can produce several types of observed single pulse phenomena: the half-cycle jump in subpulse modulation phase, left-right-middle subpulse sequence and switching between the core-dominated and cone-dominated pulsation modes. The geometry can also produce nulling, both sporadic and intermodal. The model implies that the radio-quiet intervals that separate the main pulse and interpulse in PSR B0826−34 correspond to azimuthal breaks in the radio beam, instead of breaks in colatitude.

After 2 years of continuous observations, the eROSITA All-Sky Survey bears the potential to build a complete sample of X-ray dim isolated neutron stars (XDINS). Making use of their soft X-ray emission and large X-ray-to-optical flux ratios, we selected a sample of ∼100 candidates detected down to a limiting flux of ∼10-13 erg s-1cm-2(0.2-2 keV). Follow-up observations of the best candidates will rule out possible contaminants. Updated source catalogues and screening algorithms will further improve our efficiency to identify new XDINS.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a planned large radio interferometer designed to operate over a wide range of frequencies, and with an order of magnitude greater sensitivity and survey speed than any current radio telescope. The SKA will address many important topics in astronomy, ranging from planet formation to distant galaxies. However, in this work, we consider the perspective of the SKA as a facility for studying physics. We review four areas in which the SKA is expected to make major contributions to our understanding of fundamental physics: cosmic dawn and reionisation; gravity and gravitational radiation; cosmology and dark energy; and dark matter and astroparticle physics. These discussions demonstrate that the SKA will be a spectacular physics machine, which will provide many new breakthroughs and novel insights on matter, energy, and spacetime.

We study a class of Newtonian models for the deformations of non-magnetised neutron stars during their spin-down. All the models have an analytical solution which allows to easily grasp the dependence of the strain on the star’s main physical quantities, such as radius, mass, and crust thickness.

We first use the model proposed by Franco, Link, and Epstein that depicts the star as made of a fluid core and an elastic crust with the same density, to compare the response to a decreasing centrifugal force on stars having different masses and equations of state. We find that the strain angle is peaked at the equator and its maximum value decreases as a function of the mass.

Afterwards, we introduce a second, more refined, model in which the core and the crust have different densities, and the gravitational potential of the deformed body is self-consistently accounted for. The strain angle is still a decreasing function of the stellar mass, but now its maximum value is typically peaked at the poles and is larger (by a factor of four) than the corresponding value in the one-density model.

Finally, within the present analytic approach, we evaluate the impact of the Cowling approximation: when the perturbations of the gravitational potential are neglected, we find an underestimation of the centrifugal effect on the star, since the strain angle is about 40% of the one obtained with the complete model.

Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs) represent a relatively new class of pulsar, primarily characterised by their sporadic bursting emission of single pulses on time scales of minutes to hours. In addition to the difficulty involved in detecting these objects, low-frequency ( $ \lt 300\,\text{MHz}$ ) observations of RRATs are sparse, which makes understanding their broadband emission properties in the context of the normal pulsar population problematic. Here, we present the simultaneous detection of RRAT J2325−0530 using the Murchison Widefield Array (154 MHz) and Parkes radio telescope ( $1.4\,\text{GHz}$ ). On a single-pulse basis, we produce the first polarimetric profile of this pulsar, measure the spectral index ( $\alpha={-2.2\pm 0.1}$ ), pulse energy distributions, and present the pulse rates in the context of detections in previous epochs. We find that the distribution of time between subsequent pulses is consistent with a Poisson process and find no evidence of clustering over the $\sim\!1.5\,\text{h}$ observations. Finally, we are able to quantify the scintillation properties of RRAT J2325−0530 at 1.4 GHz, where the single pulses are modulated substantially across the observing bandwidth, and show that this characterisation is feasible even with irregular time sampling as a consequence of the sporadic emission behaviour.