RUI: Pulsars, Relativistic Gravitation, and the Interstellar Medium

Weisberg， JoelRUI：脉冲星、相对论万有引力和星际介质在天文学中，我们经常遇到地球上不熟悉的物理条件。它让我们有机会检验局部适用的物理理论，看看它们在极端情况下是否仍然有效。作为中子星，脉冲星代表了这样一个极端。脉冲星具有许多不同寻常的特性，不仅可以对其本身进行研究，还可以用来探测星际介质，并通过实验研究相对论引力的影响。从当前拨款的背景和结果开始，这里概述的调查将转向这三个领域的新研究。脉冲星的内在研究将包括偏振脉冲剖面的测量，发射束几何形状的研究，以及对自由和辐射进动的搜索。双星脉冲星B1913+16将被用作相对论引力实验室。将测量重力辐射发射和相对论性自旋进动，并与理论进行比较。星际介质的研究将包括星系磁场的法拉第旋转测量和几个脉冲星脉冲相位分辨光谱研究。光谱实验将包括通过测量中性氢的运动距离来确定脉冲星距离和星际电子密度。

Weisberg, JoelRUI: Pulsars, Relativistic Gravitation, and the Interstellar MediumAST-0098540In astronomy, we commonly encounter physical conditions quite unfamiliar to us here on Earth. It gives us a chance to test physical theories that apply locally in order to see if they remain valid at extremes. As neutron stars, pulsars represent one such extreme. With their many unusual properties, pulsars can be studied in themselves but they can also be used to probe the interstellar medium and to investigate experimentally the effects of relativistic gravitation. Starting from the background and results of a current grant, the investigation outlined here moves on to new research in each of these three areas. Intrinsic studies of pulsars will include measurements of polarized pulse profiles, investigations of the emission beam geometry, and searches for free and radiative precession. The binary pulsar B1913+16 will be used as a relativistic gravitational laboratory. Gravitational radiation emission and relativistic spin precession will be measured and compared with theory. The interstellar medium investigations will involve Faraday rotation measurements of the galactic magnetic field and several pulsar pulse-phase-resolved spectrometry studies. The spectrometry experiments will include the determination of pulsar distances and interstellar electron densities through neutral hydrogen kinematic distance measurements.