Millisecond Pulsar Search and Timing Investigations

贝克博士的研究涵盖了脉冲星天体物理学一般领域的一系列研究。有两个主要的焦点：开发新的硬件来寻找具有快周期的脉冲星；通过调查来发现这门课上其他有趣的东西。一组脉冲星将作为天文时钟进行精密实验。具有毫秒周期的脉冲星和双星脉冲星可能形成了一类独特的中子星，它们的旋转周期是由伴星的角动量转移来处理的。孤立的毫秒脉冲星有一个不确定的过去，但如果伴星的蒸发能够完成，则可能符合双星的情况。贝克博士的研究包括寻找这类脉冲星的新成员，以及使用毫秒脉冲星作为天体时钟进行精确测量。

Dr. Backer's research covers a range of studies in the general field of pulsar astrophysics. There are two principal foci: the development of new hardware for searching for pulsars with fast periods; and surveys to discover other interesting objects in this class. A set of these pulsars will be monitored as celestial clocks for precision experiments. Pulsars with millisecond periods and binary pulsars probably form a distinct class of neutron stars that have rotational periods which are processed by angular momentum transfer from a companion star. The solitary millisecond pulsars have an uncertain past, but may fit the binary scenario if evaporation of a companion can proceed to completion. Dr. Backer's research is involved in both finding new members of this class of pulsars, and in using millisecond pulsars as celestial clocks for precision measurements.