A polarised view of the pulses of radio pulsars

射电脉冲星的定义特征是它们的周期脉冲，可以被射电望远镜探测到。产生这些射电脉冲的恒星是中子星，即质量为~1.5个太阳质量、半径仅为~10公里的超高密度恒星。这些无线电波被认为是在极端条件下在恒星磁极上方的磁层中产生的，使恒星充当了一个“灯塔”。在这个项目中，您将分析奥地利的Parkes望远镜和Jodrell Bank的Lovell望远镜观测到的年轻和老年脉冲星的偏振特性。偏振信息可以用来得出关于这些脉冲星的几何信息，例如无线电波束相对于磁轴的倾角和视线的方向。曼彻斯特一名学生最近的分析揭示了推导出的倾角分布与已建立的模型之间的紧张关系，这些模型用于解释年轻而高能的脉冲星的伽马射线观测。你将通过考虑较老的脉冲星的数量和研究其他束形模型来进一步探索这些紧张关系。虽然无线电数据的分析将主要使用现有的软件，但需要编程技能来自动处理大型数据集和测试统计模型。

The defining characteristic of radio pulsars is their periodic pulses which can be detected by radio telescopes. The stars that generate these radio pulses are neutron stars, super dense stars with a mass of ~1.5 solar masses and a radius of only ~10 km. The radio waves are thought to be generated under extreme conditions in the magnetosphere above the magnetic poles of the star, making the star act as a "light house". In this project you will analyse the polarization properties of both younger and older pulsars observed by the Parkes telescope in Austrialia and the Lovell telescope in Jodrell Bank. The polarization information can be used to derive geometrical information about these pulsars, such as the inclination angle of the radio beam with respect to the magnetic axis and the orientation of the line of sight. Recent analysis by a Manchester student revealed tensions between the derived inclination angle distribution and well established models which are used to explain the observed gamma-rays for the young and energetic pulsars. You will explore these tensions further by considering the population of older pulsars and investigating alternative beam-shape models. Although the analysis of the radio data will be done mainly with existing software, programming skills are required to automate the processing of large data-sets and test statistical models.