FAST Pulsar and Transient Search of the M31 Bulge

We are searching the bulge of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). HEINDALL and FETCH are used to search for single pulses and bursts. PRESTO is used for the periodicity search.

The maximum expected Galactic contribution to the DM along the M31 line of sight is 68 (NE2001 model) and 61 (YMW16 model) pc cm-3.

This research has used the Franklin and Marshall College compute cluster which was funded through NSF grant 1925192.

Project Participants

  • Fronefield Crawford (F&M)
  • Natalia Lewandowska (Swarthmore)
  • Maura McLaughlin (WVU)
  • Duncan Lorimer (WVU)
  • Jim Cordes (Cornell)
  • Shami Chatterjee (Cornell)
  • Pei Wang (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
  • Shinnosuke Hisano (Kumamoto University)

    Data Files and Results 

      Source: PSR B0136+57 (P=272.49 ms, DM=73.8)

  Obs Date:   20211207 (MJD 59555)
  FITS Files: B0136+57_tracking-M01_[0001,0139].fits
  FIL File:   B0136+57_tracking-M01_20211207.fil
  Obs Length: 1781 sec 

  Processing Results: 
  * RFI: mask plot 
  * prepfold direct fold: B0136+57 detection (sigma=9400)
  * presto perodicity search (no acceleration, DM_max 2000): B0136+57 detection (sigma=7755)
  * presto perodicity search (zmax 1200, DM_max 2000): B0136+57 detection (sigma=9546) 
  * presto single pulse search (DM vs time, 20 sec window, DM_max 2000): B0136+57 detection 
  * heimdall/fetch single pulse search (max boxcar 512, DM_max 10000): B0136+57 detection (there were 2394 pulses with p > 90%)
  * riptide FFA search:

  
  Source: PSR B0136+57 (P=272.49 ms, DM=73.8)

  Obs Date:   20211216 (MJD 59564)
  FITS Files: B0136+57_tracking-M01_[0001,0139].fits
  FIL File:   B0136+57_tracking-M01_20211216.fil
  Obs Length: 1781 s

  Processing Results: 
  * RFI: mask plot
  * prepfold direct fold: B0136+57 detection (sigma=6821)
  * presto perodicity search (no acceleration, DM_max 2000): B0136+57 detection (sigma=5773)
  * presto perodicity search (zmax 1200, DM_max 2000): B0136+57 detection (sigma=5630) 
  * presto single pulse search (DM vs time, 20 sec window, DM_max 2000): B0136+57 detection
  * heimdall/fetch single pulse search (max boxcar 512, DM_max 10000): B0136+57 detection (there were 3496 pulses with p > 90%)
  * riptide FFA search:


  Source: M31

  Obs Date:   20211207 (MJD 59555) 
  FITS Files: M31_snapshot-M01_[0001,0607].fits
  FIL File:   M31_snapshot-M01_20211207.fil 
  Obs Length: 7821 s

  Processing Results:
  * RFI: mask plot
  * presto perodicity search (no acceleration, DM_max 2000): no candidates above prepfold sigma 5.0
  * presto perodicity search (zmax 1200, DM_max 2000): 9 candidates above prepfold sigma 5.0 
  * presto chunk processing (zmax 1200, DM_max 2000, prep sigma above 6, min chunk of 600 s): no candidates 
  * presto single pulse search (plots in 900 sec windows, DM_max 2000): no good candidates above S/N 6.0
  * heimdall/fetch single pulse search (max boxcar 512, DM_max 10000): 1 candidate above S/N 7.0 (DM=70, S/N=7.2, p=0.99977976)
  * riptide FFA search:  


  Source: M31 

  Obs Date:   20211216 (MJD 59564)
  FITS Files: M31_snapshot-M01_[0001,0607].fits
  FIL File:   M31_snapshot-M01_20211216.fil
  Obs Length: 7821 s

  Processing Results:
  * RFI: mask plot
  * presto perodicity search (no acceleration, DM_max 2000): no candidates above prepfold sigma 5.0
  * presto perodicity search (zmax 1200, DM_max 2000): 1 candidate above prepfold sigma 5.0
  * presto chunk processing (zmax 1200, DM_max 2000, prep sigma above 6, min chunk of 600 s): no candidates
  * presto single pulse search (plots in 900 sec windows, DM_max 2000): no good candidates above S/N 6.0
  * heimdall/fetch single pulse search (max boxcar 512, DM_max 10000): no candidates above S/N 7.0
  * riptide FFA search:

    Below: (left) Image of M31 with the search region indicated by the green circle, and (right) the FAST telescope (image credit: Ou Dongqu/Xinhua/ZUMA).