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Content archived on 2024-06-18

Searching for nature's best clocks and extragalactic millisecond transients with large interferometric arrays: from the GMRT to the SKA

Objective

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit a beam of radio waves from
their magnetic poles. Their rate of rotation is very stable and so the pulses detected as they spin are like
the ticks of an extremely precise clock. Measuring small deviations in the rate that this clock runs makes them
ideal laboratories to test gravity theories and as detectors for gravitational waves. In addition to the regular
radio emission from pulsars, millisecond transient bursts (FRBs) are observed at the locations of cataclysmic
events, making them useful probes for extreme states of gravity, pressure, temperature and magnetic fields.
Their extragalactic origin makes them useful to study the poorly constrained baryon content of the intergalactic
medium. Motivated by the need to discover more of both these source classes and my recent discoveries of MSPs
at the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), the largest array in the world, combined with the expertise of
University of Manchester in non-imaging high time resolution astronomy, we propose for the highly sensitive
GMRT High Resolution Southern Survey (GHRSS) for MSPs and transients. This survey is calculated to find at
least 45 MSPs and tens of FRBs. The simultaneous time domain search and imaging capability of this survey
also provides an unique opportunity of discovery and simultaneous localisation of MSPs and FRBs, which is
currently not employed at any other telescope. As the GMRT is a prototype for the global Square Kilometre
Array (SKA) and SKA1-mid in particular, the techniques we propose to develop here will be directly applicable.
This project brings together my expertise in leading GMRT pulsar surveys with the extensive pulsar and transient
search experience and SKA knowledge of my UK host. This combination will allow us to deliver cutting edge
science in collaboration with European scientists and enable us to play a leading role in the SKA.

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Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

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FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF
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Funding Scheme

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MC-IIF - International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
EU contribution
€ 309 235,20
Address
OXFORD ROAD
M13 9PL Manchester
United Kingdom

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Region
North West (England) Greater Manchester Manchester
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

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