hide
Free keywords:
Astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, astro-ph.IM, Astrophysics, Galaxy Astrophysics, astro-ph.GA, Astrophysics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, astro-ph.HE
Abstract:
Einstein@Home aggregates the computer power of hundreds of thousands of
volunteers from 192 countries, to search for new neutron stars using data from
electromagnetic and gravitational-wave detectors. This paper presents a
detailed description of the search for new radio pulsars using PALFA survey
data from the Arecibo Observatory. The enormous computing power allows this
search to cover a new region of parameter space; it can detect pulsars in
binary systems with orbital periods as short as 11 min. We also describe the
first Einstein@Home discovery, the 40.8 Hz isolated pulsar PSR J2007+2722, and
provide a full timing model. PSR J2007+2722's pulse profile is remarkably wide
with emission over almost the entire spin period. This neutron star is most
likely a disrupted recycled pulsar, about as old as its characteristic
spin-down age of 404 Myr. However there is a small chance that it was born
recently, with a low magnetic field. If so, upper limits on the X-ray flux
suggest but can not prove that PSR J2007+2722 is at least ~500 kyr old. In the
future, we expect that the massive computing power provided by volunteers
should enable many additional radio pulsar discoveries.