Single Pulse Emission Research Articles

Buildup of different emission regimes in a nonlinear polarization rotation modelocked all-fiber laser

We investigated experimentally and theoretically the buildup of light pulses in an erbium-doped sub-MHz all-fiber laser modelocked by nonlinear polarization rotation. We were able to study the buildup of two different emission regimes: standard solitons and noise-like pulses. In each case, we were able to determine the round-trips required to achieve a stable emission state. Temporal traces and optical spectra of single pulses were measured along the start-up transient of the laser. The experimental results were also confirmed by numerical simulations. Under the specific conditions of this laser, the soliton regime takes about 400 round-trips to reach single-pulse emission. In the noise-like pulse regime, it takes only 20 round-trips for the characteristics of noise-like pulses to show up; although a more steady-state emission is reached also at about 400 round-trips.

The Bright Single Pulse Emission from PSR B1133+16

We have conducted a comprehensive investigation into the bright single pulse emission from PSR B1133+16 using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. High time resolution data (61 μs) were obtained at a center frequency of 322 MHz with a bandwidth of 32 MHz over a continuous observation period of 7.45 hr. A total of 1082 bright pulses were sporadically detected with peak flux densities ranging from 10 to 23 times stronger than the average pulse profile. However, no giant pulse-like emission with a relative pulse energy larger than 10 and extremely short duration was detected, indicating that these bright pulses cannot be categorized as giant pulse emission. The majority of these bright pulses are concentrated in pulse phases at both the leading and trailing windows of the average pulse profile, with an occurrence ratio of approximately 2.74. The pulse energy distribution for all individual pulses can be described by a combination of two Gaussian components and a cutoff power-law with an index of α = − 3.2. An updated nulling fraction of 15.35% ± 0.45% was determined from the energy distribution. The emission of individual pulses follows a log-normal distribution in peak flux density ratio. It is imperative that regular phase drifting in bright pulse sequence is identified in both the leading and trailing components for the first time. Possible physical mechanisms are discussed in detail to provide insights into these observations.

Coherent Amplification of Continuous Laser Field via Superfluorescence.

Superfluorescence (SF) is collective spontaneous emission wherein radiators spontaneously synchronize, resulting in an intense single-pulse emission. The avalanche radiation of photons is initiated by the first photon emitted into the SF propagation mode. Because this process is stochastic, the absolute phase of the SF changes randomly from shot to shot. We demonstrate that this phase can be controlled by seeding the SF with a resonant continuous-wave (CW) laser. The seed light was weak enough not to cause the stimulated emission but strong enough to inject the first photon into the SF propagation mode prior to injection by the radiators themselves. Cross-correlation measurements between the seeded SF and CW laser revealed that the seed light was coherently amplified by the SF. The amplification factor for the instantaneous intensity was estimated to be 7 orders of magnitude. These results will pave the way for the development of new types of quantum optical amplifiers.

Polarization and single-pulse micro-structure studies of Rotating Radio Transient J0139+3336 with FAST

ABSTRACT The study of polarization and micro-structure is very important for understanding the radiation mechanism of Rotating Radio Transients (RRATs). Due to the limitations of telescope sensitivity and time resolution, studies of the polarization and micro-structure of RRATs have been rare in the past. In this work, we report on a high-time resolution and full polarization observation of RRAT J0139+3336 with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST). A total of 96 burst pulses were detected in the 3-h observation. The degrees of linear and circular polarization and the shape of the polarization position angle (PPA) of the single pulses vary significantly. The average profile displays a small degree of linear and circular polarization, and the PPA exhibits a remarkably smooth and steep S-shaped curve, which are also characteristics of pulsars. The circular polarization in some single pulses demonstrates a clear sign change. We discuss the geometric structure of the emission beam based on the results from fitting the RVM model to the changes in the PPA. Using an autocorrelation analysis, the quasi-periodic micro-structure in the single pulse emission is detected with a median period of about 0.91 ms. We show that the position of RRAT J0139+3336 on the P–Pμ diagram falls in the normal pulsar (NP) region . The radio emission of RRAT J0139+3336 shows unique properties, such as the sign change in the circular polarization and quasi-periodicity in the micro-structure, which will provide important clues to the emission mechanism of RRATs.

Mode Changing in PSR B0844-35 and PSR B1758-29 with Enhanced Emission at the Profile Centers

We have studied the single pulse emission from two pulsars, PSR B0844-35 and PSR B1758-29, over a wide frequency range of 300–750 MHz using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The two pulsars have relatively wide profiles with multiple components, which are a result of the line of sight traversing near the center of the emission beam. In both pulsars, the single pulse sequences show the presence of two distinct emission states, where the profiles become much brighter at the center, with prominent core components during one of the modes, while in the other mode the single pulses show odd–even subpulse drifting with a periodicity of around 2P, P being the rotation period of the pulsar. The centrally bright mode was seen for 10% of the observing duration in PSR B0844-35, which usually lasted for short durations of around 10 pulses, but had two longer sequences of around 100 pulses. On the contrary, the centrally bright mode was dominant in PSR B1758-29 and was seen for around 60% of the observing duration. PSR B1758-29 also showed period amplitude modulations of 60P–70P in both modes. The mode changing in these two pulsars facilitates investigation of the sparking process in the inner acceleration region, dominated by nondipolar magnetic fields. The change in the surface magnetic field configurations likely results in the emission mode change.

Investigation of Emission States of PSR J1722–3207

We have conducted a detailed study of single-pulse emission from PSR J1722−3207, which was observed at 1369 MHz using the Parkes 64 m radio telescope. PSR J1722−3207 has an asymmetric two-component mean pulse profile. We find that the brighter leading component exhibits a periodic phase-stationary nondrift amplitude modulation while the trailing component remains unchanged. As a result of this, this pulsar switches between a strong state and a weak emission state periodically. Spectral analysis of the fluctuations showed that the modulation period is very short (∼2.0 s or 20P), where P is the rotation period of the pulsar. The polarization properties of the strong and weak states were investigated. The swings in the position angle of the two states are similar, suggesting that their basic emission geometry is the same. At present, it is difficult to explain the periodic mode-changing phenomenon observed in this pulsar with existing subpulse drifting models.

A census of rotating radio transients at 150 MHz with the Irish LOFAR station

ABSTRACT Rotating radio transients (RRATs) are neutron stars that emit detectable radio bursts sporadically. They are statistically distinct in the neutron star population, in many observable properties, but by their nature are practically difficult to study in depth. In this paper, we present the results from 1408 h of observations of RRAT candidates using the Irish station of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) at 150 MHz. As of October 2022, this census involved observing 113 sources, leading to 29 detections which were then followed up systematically. Single-pulse emission was detected from 25 sources, and periodic emission from 14 sources. Eighteen sources were found to have emission behaviour that is not discussed in prior works using LOFAR instruments. Four novel or modified source periods have been determined, ranging from 1.5 to 3.9 s, and eight new or updated phase-coherent pulsar timing ephemerides have been produced using detected bursts. One unexpected single-pulse with a clearly-Galactic dispersion measure was detected as a part of this work but has not been re-detected in follow-up observations. Observations are ongoing to expand the number of observed sources and further characterize and improve ephemerides for the detected sources. This census has demonstrated the capability for international LOFAR stations to detect, monitor, and characterize a significant fraction of these unique sources.

Single pulse emission from PSR B0809+74 at 150 MHz using Polish LOFAR station

ABSTRACT We report the observations of single pulse emission from the pulsar B0809+74 at 150 MHz using the Polish LOFAR station, PL-611. The three major phenomena of subpulse drifting, nulling, and mode changing associated with single pulse variations are prominently seen in these observations. The pulsar has a single-component conal profile and the single pulses are primarily in the ‘normal’ drift mode with periodicity (P3) 11.1 ± 0.5 P for 96 per cent of the observing duration, while the shorter duration ‘slow-drift’ mode has P3 = 15.7 ± 1.2 P. We were able to measure the phase behaviour associated with drifting from the fluctuation spectral analysis that showed identical linear phase variations across the pulse window for both modes despite their different periodic behaviour. Earlier studies reported that the transitions from the normal state to the slow-drift mode were preceded by the presence of nulling with typical durations of 5 to 10 periods. Our observations however seem to suggest that the transition to nulling follows shortly after the pulsar switches to the slow-drift mode and not at the boundary between the modes, with one instance of complete absence of nulling between mode switching. In addition, we also detected a second type of short-duration nulls not associated with the mode changing that showed quasi-periodic behaviour with periodicity PN ∼ 44 ± 7. The variety of features revealed in the single pulse sequence makes PSR B0809+74 an ideal candidate to understand the physical processes in the Partially Screened Gap dominated by non-dipolar magnetic fields.

Single-pulse Emission Variation of Two Pulsars Discovered by FAST

We investigate the single-pulse emission variations of two pulsars, PSRs J0211+4235 and J0553+4111, observed with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope at the 1.25 GHz central frequency. The observation sessions span from 2020 December to 2021 July, with 21 and 22 observations for them respectively. The integrated pulse profile of PSR J0211+4235 shows that there is a weak pulse component following the main component, and PSR J0553+4111 displays a bimodal profile with a bridge component in the middle. PSR J0211+4235 presents significant nulling phenomenon with nulling duration lasting from 2 to 115 pulses and burst duration lasting from 2 to 113 pulses. The NF of each observation is determined to be 45%–55%. No emission greater than three σ is found in the mean integrated profile of all nulling pulses. In most cases, the pulse energy changes abruptly during the transition from null to burst, while in the transition from burst to null there are two trends: abrupt and gradual. We find that the nulling phenomenon of PSR J0211+4235 is periodic by the Fourier transform of the null and burst state. In addition, the single-pulse modulation characteristics of these two pulsars are investigated, and the distributions of modulation index, LRFS and 2DFS are analyzed with PSRSALSA. The left peak of PSR J0553+4111 has intensity modulation. Finally, the polarization properties of these two pulsars are obtained through polarization calibration, and their characteristics are analyzed. The possible physical mechanisms of these phenomena are discussed.

The Discovery of a Rotating Radio Transient J1918–0449 with Intriguing Emission Properties with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope

In this study, we report on a detailed single-pulse analysis of the radio emission from a rotating radio transient (RRAT) J1918−0449, which is discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The sensitive observations were carried out on 2021 April 30 using the FAST with a central frequency of 1250 MHz and a short time resolution of 49.152 μs, which forms a reliable basis to probe single-pulse emission properties in detail. The source was successively observed for around 2 hr. A total of 83 dispersed bursts with significance above 6σ are detected over 1.8 hr. The source’s dispersion measure (DM) and rotational period are determined to be 116.1 ± 0.4 pc cm−3 and 2479.21 ± 0.03 ms, respectively. The share of registered pulses from the total number of observed periods is 3.12%. No underlying emission is detected in the averaged off-pulse profile. For bursts with fluence larger than 10 Jy ms, the pulse energy follows a power-law distribution with an index of −3.1 ± 0.4, suggesting the existence of bright pulse emission. We find that the distribution of time between subsequent pulses is consistent with a stationary Poisson process and find no evidence of clustering over the 1.8 hr observations, giving a mean burst rate of one burst every 66 s. Close inspection of the detected bright pulses reveals that 21 pulses exhibit well-defined quasiperiodicities. The subpulse drifting is present in nonsuccessive rotations with periodicity of 2.51 ± 0.06 periods. Finally, possible physical mechanisms are discussed.

Physical condition for single-pulse emission in PQS microchip laser with good performance

Physical condition for single-pulse emission in PQS microchip laser with good performance

Emission Variation of a Long-period Pulsar Discovered by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)

We report on the variation in the single-pulse emission from PSR J1900+4221 (CRAFTS 19C10) observed at frequency centered at 1.25 GHz using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope. The integrated pulse profile shows two distinct components, referred to here as the leading and trailing components, with the latter component also containing a third weak component. The single-pulse sequence reveals different emissions demonstrating as nulling, regular, and bright pulses, each with a particular abundance and duration distribution. There also exists pulses that follow a log-normal distribution suggesting the possibility of another emission, in which the pulsar is radiating weakly. Changes in the profile shape are seen across different emissions. We examine the emission variations in the leading and trailing components collectively and separately, and find moderate correlation between the two components. The inclination angle is estimated to be about 7° based on pulse-width, and we discuss that nulling in this pulsar does not seem to show correlation with age and rotation period.

Multifrequency Study of Periodic Nulling and Subpulse Drifting in Pulsar J2048−1616

Abstract We have carried out a detailed study of single-pulse emission from the pulsar J2048−1616 (B2045−16), observed at 732, 1369, and 3100 MHz frequencies using the Parkes 64 m radio telescope. The pulsar possesses three well-resolved emission components, with the central component resembling core emission. The single pulses show the presence of two distinct periodic modulations using fluctuation spectral analysis. About 12% nulls are found to create alternating bunches of nulls and bursts in a quasiperiodic manner with longer periodicities of 83, 28, and 14 rotational periods for simultaneous observations at 732 and 3100 MHz. At 1369 MHz, the quasiperiodic nulling is detected, as well, to modulate across the entire profile both in the core and conal components simultaneously with a fluctuation rate of about 50 rotational periods, and the nulling fraction is estimated to be around 10%. Additionally, the quasiperiodic modulations are significantly dependent on time. In addition to nulling, the pulsar also presents subpulse drifting in the single-pulse sequences with shorter periodicity. The subpulse drifting is presented in the conal components and is absent in the central core emission. The leading component is modulated in longitude with a period of three pulses. The trailing component remains phase stationary within the pulse window but periodically modulates in amplitude with a period of three pulses. Finally, possible physical mechanisms are discussed.

First Discovery of New Pulsars and RRATs with CHIME/FRB

Abstract We report the discovery of seven new Galactic pulsars with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment’s Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) backend. These sources were first identified via single pulses in CHIME/FRB, then followed up with CHIME/Pulsar. Four sources appear to be rotating radio transients, pulsar-like sources with occasional single-pulse emission with an underlying periodicity. Of those four sources, three have detected periods ranging from 220 ms to 2.726 s. Three sources have more persistent but still intermittent emission and are likely intermittent or nulling pulsars. We have determined phase-coherent timing solutions for the latter two. These seven sources are the first discovery of previously unknown Galactic sources with CHIME/FRB and highlight the potential of fast radio burst detection instruments to search for intermittent Galactic radio sources.

Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey. V. Flux Density, Component Spectral Variation, and Emission States

Abstract We present the flux density measurements of the pulsars observed in the Meterwavelength Single-pulse Polarimetric Emission Survey. The average flux densities were estimated in 113 pulsars at two frequencies of 325 and 610 MHz using interferometric imaging. The average profile and single-pulse emission in each pulsar were calibrated using the estimated flux density. We have used the flux-calibrated average profile to study the variation of the spectral index across the emission beam in 21 pulsars where the core, inner cone, and the outer conal components could be clearly identified. The central core component showed a steeper increase in emission at the lower frequency compared with conal emission, with an average difference in spectral index δα core-cone ∼ −0.7 between the core and the conal components in this frequency range. In contrast, the inner conal components had positive difference in their spectral index compared to the outer cones with average difference δα in-out ∼ +0.3. The variation in the spectral index across the pulse window should provide valuable inputs for constraining the radio emission processes. The single-pulse emission showed the presence of emission mode changing in 12 pulsars, with three cases where the phenomenon is being reported for the first time. In addition, we have also detected enhanced emission for short durations or flaring, in parts or across the entire emission window in 14 pulsars. The sudden changes in the emission during mode changing, as well as these bursting states, are unrelated to the emission mechanism and suggest the presence of rapid and repetitive changes during the plasma generation process.

The New Magnetar SGR J1830−0645 in Outburst

Abstract The detection of a short hard X-ray burst and an associated bright soft X-ray source by the Swift satellite in 2020 October heralded a new magnetar in outburst, SGR J1830−0645. Pulsations at a period of ∼10.4 s were detected in prompt follow-up X-ray observations. We present here the analysis of the Swift/Burst Alert Telescope burst, of XMM-Newton and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array observations performed at the outburst peak, and of a Swift/X-ray Telescope monitoring campaign over the subsequent month. The burst was single-peaked, lasted ∼6 ms, and released a fluence of ≈5 × 10−9 erg cm−2 (15–50 keV). The spectrum of the X-ray source at the outburst peak was well described by an absorbed double-blackbody model plus a power-law component detectable up to ∼25 keV. The unabsorbed X-ray flux decreased from ∼5 × 10−11 to ∼2.5 × 10−11 erg cm−2 s−1 one month later (0.3–10 keV). Based on our timing analysis, we estimate a dipolar magnetic field ≈5.5 × 1014 G at pole, a spin-down luminosity ≈2.4 × 1032 erg s−1, and a characteristic age ≈24 kyr. The spin modulation pattern appears highly pulsed in the soft X-ray band, and becomes smoother at higher energies. Several short X-ray bursts were detected during our campaign. No evidence for periodic or single-pulse emission was found at radio frequencies in observations performed with the Sardinia Radio Telescope and Parkes. According to magneto-thermal evolutionary models, the real age of SGR J1830−0645 is close to the characteristic age, and the dipolar magnetic field at birth was slightly larger, ∼1015 G.

The Two Emission States of PSR B1534+12

Abstract We have observed PSR B1534+12 (J1537+1155), a pulsar with a neutron star companion, using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope. We found that this pulsar shows two distinct emission states: a weak state with a wide pulse profile and a burst state with a narrow pulse profile. The weak state is always present. We cannot, with our current data, determine whether the pulse energy of the weak state follows a normal or a log-normal distribution. The burst state energy distribution follows a power law. The amplitude of the single-pulse emission in the burst state varies significantly; the peak flux intensity of the brightest pulse is 334 times stronger than that of the average pulse. We also examined the timing precision achievable using only bright pulses, which showed no demonstrable improvement because of pulse jitter and therefore quantified the jitter noise level for this pulsar.

Subpulse drifting and periodic nulling in single pulse emission of PSR B2000+40

ABSTRACT We have carried out a detailed study of single pulse emission from the pulsar B2000+40 (J2002+4050), observed at 1.6-GHz frequencies using the Effelsberg radio telescope. The pulsar has three components, which are not well separated, with the central component resembling core emission. We have investigated modulations in single pulse behaviour using the fluctuation spectral analysis, which showed the presence of two prominent periodicities, around 2.5P and 40P, respectively. The shorter periodicity was associated with the phenomenon of subpulse drifting and was seen to be absent in the central core component. Drifting showed large phase variations in conal components. Additionally, the periodic modulations had significant evolution with time, varying between very sharp and highly diffuse features. In addition to drifting the pulsar also had the presence of nulling in the single pulse sequence. The longer periodic feature in the fluctuation spectra was associated with nulling behaviour. The pulsar joins a select group, which shows the presence of the phase-modulated drifting as well as periodic nulling in the presence of core emission. This provides further evidence for the two phenomena to be distinct from each other with different physical origins.

Terahertz Second-Harmonic Generation from Lightwave Acceleration of Symmetry-Breaking Nonlinear Supercurrents.

We report terahertz (THz) light-induced second harmonic generation, in superconductors with inversion symmetry that forbid even-order nonlinearities. The THz second harmonic emission vanishes above the superconductor critical temperature and arises from precession of twisted Anderson pseudospins at a multicycle, THz driving frequency that is not allowed by equilibrium symmetry. We explain the microscopic physics by a dynamical symmetry breaking principle at sub-THz-cycle by using quantum kinetic modeling of the interplay between strong THz-lightwave nonlinearity and pulse propagation. The resulting nonzero integrated pulse area inside the superconductor leads to light-induced nonlinear supercurrents due to subcycle Cooper pair acceleration, in contrast to dc-biased superconductors, which can be controlled by the band structure and THz driving field below the superconducting gap.

Pulse Morphology of the Galactic Center Magnetar PSR J1745–2900

Abstract We present results from observations of the Galactic Center magnetar, PSR J1745–2900, at 2.3 and 8.4 GHz with the NASA Deep Space Network 70 m antenna, DSS-43. We study the magnetar’s radio profile shape, flux density, radio spectrum, and single pulse behavior over a ∼1 year period between MJDs 57233 and 57621. In particular, the magnetar exhibits a significantly negative average spectral index of when the 8.4 GHz profile is single-peaked, which flattens considerably when the profile is double-peaked. We have carried out an analysis of single pulses at 8.4 GHz on MJD 57479 and find that giant pulses and pulses with multiple emission components are emitted during a significant number of rotations. The resulting single pulse flux density distribution is incompatible with a log-normal distribution. The typical pulse width of the components is ∼1.8 ms, and the prevailing delay time between successive components is ∼7.7 ms. Many of the single pulse emission components show significant frequency structure over bandwidths of ∼100 MHz, which we believe is the first observation of such behavior from a radio magnetar. We report a characteristic single pulse broadening timescale of at 8.4 GHz. We find that the pulse broadening is highly variable between emission components and cannot be explained by a thin scattering screen at distances ≳ 1 kpc. We discuss possible intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms for the magnetar’s emission and compare our results to other magnetars, high magnetic field pulsars, and fast radio bursts.