Download Section I - General Information Proposal Title: Mass and Radius of a

Proposal Identification No.:
P3081
Date Received: 2016-Mar-03 16:11:42
Arecibo Observatory
William E. Gordon Telescope
Observing Time Request
COVER SHEET
Section I - General Information
Submitted for Mar 1 2016.
This proposal has not been submitted before.
Proposal Type:
General Category:
Observation Category:
Time Requested this semester:
Hours Next Semester:
Hours already used for this project:
Additional Hours required to complete project:
Minimum Useful Time:
Expected Data Storage:
Proposal Title:
ABSTRACT:
Regular
Pulsars
Galactic
21.25
7.5
0
1.25 hr
less than 100 GB
Mass and Radius of a Neutron Star
NASA’s upcoming NICER mission will make a high precision (+-10%) measurement of the
mass-to-radius ratio of PSR J0751+1807, a millisecond pulsar in a compact orbit with a white dwarf. We
propose high-precision timing observations of this pulsar at Arecibo to refine measurements of its
relativistic orbital decay, Shapiro delay, and astrometry, including proper motion and parallax. From
these measurements we will be able to infer the mass of the pulsar with 4% precision. This, combined
with the NICER measurement, will yield its radius to 10% precision. Both mass and radius are of
fundamental importance in understanding the structure of neutron stars and the behavior of nuclear
matter at high pressure. A second purpose of these observations is to provide phase tracking of the pulsar
for accurate pulse-phase folding of the NICER data across its 18-month mission duration, enabling the
essential X-ray pulse profile modeling required to infer the stellar mass-to-radius ratio.
Outreach Abstract:
An outstanding question in nuclear physics is how the matter that makes up the nuclei of atoms behaves
at extremely high pressure, higher than can be produced in any laboratory on Earth. Neutron stars give
us an opportunity to explore this question, as they are essentially gigantic atomic nuclei, more massive
than the Sun, and have very high pressure inside. By combining measurements of a neutron star made
with the Arecibo Observatory and with the NICER X-ray instrument, to be launched and installed on
the International Space Station in early 2017, we will be able to measure the mass and radius of a
neutron star, and hence measure the density and nature of nuclear matter at high pressure.
1
Name
David J Nice
Institution
Lafayette College
Zaven Arzoumanian
E-mail
[email protected]
NASA
Goddard
Space Flight Center
[email protected]
Phone
+1-610-3305204
+1-301-2862547
Student
no
no
Additional Authors
Ingrid Stairs, University of British
Columbia, +1-604-822-6796,
[email protected], not a student
This work is not part of a thesis.
Remote Observing Request
Observer will travel to AO
X
Remote Observing
In Absentia (instructions to operator)
Section II - Time Request
The following times are in LST.
For these observations night-time is not needed.
Begin – End
Days Needed at
Interval–Interval
This Interval
06:30 – 09:00
6
06:30 – 07:45
5
–
–
Time Constraints (Must Be Justified in the Proposal Text)
The six days at LST 06:30 to 09:00 should be scheduled on consecutive days, after August 20 (to avoid
proximity to the Sun).
The five days this semester at LST 06:30 to 07:45 should be scheduled at monthly intervals except for the
month of the six-day campaign. These days may be scheduled at either 06:30 to 07:45 or 07:55 to 09:10
2
(i.e., either before or after the source transits).
Next Semester Time Request
Begin – End
Days Needed at
Interval–Interval
This Interval
06:30 – 07:45
6
–
–
–
Time Constraints (Must Be Justified in the Proposal Text)
The six days this semester at LST 06:30 to 07:45 should be scheduled at monthly intervals. These days
may be scheduled at either 06:30 to 07:45 or 07:55 to 09:10 (i.e., either before or after the source transits).
Section III - Instruments Needed
430 G
L-wide
Atmospheric Observation Instruments:
Special Equipment or setup:
none
Section IV - RFI Considerations
Frequency Ranges Planned
422-442
1150-1730
This proposal requires Iridium RFI protection at 1612 MHz between 10pm and 6am EST.
This proposal requires coordination with Punta Salinas radar within the band 1222-1381 MHz..
This proposal requires coordination with GPS L3 at 1381 MHz.
Section V - Observing List
Target List
PSRJ0751+1807 07:51:09.16 +18:07:38.6
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