Brief description
Using data collected at 408 MHz over several years with the One
Mile Telescope in Cambridge, you will determine the slowdown rate
of the pulsar in the
Crab Nebula.
There are two ways to do this. The first involves carrying out
a Fourier transform of a number of observations and making the appropriate
frequency corrections for the Earth's motion (from the Astronomical
Almanac in the library). The second involved folding the data in
time, at the period of the pulsar, to reveal the pulse profile.
You will also consider other corrections factors to the observations.
What about dispersion in the interstellar medium.? Are general relativistic
effects important?
Recommended software: MATLAB
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