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Constraining the luminosity function parameters and population size of radio pulsars in globular clusters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2013

Jayanth Chennamangalam ,
D. R. Lorimer ,
Ilya Mandel  and
Manjari Bagchi
Jayanth Chennamangalam
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, West Virginia University, PO Box 6315, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA email: jchennam@mix.wvu.edu
D. R. Lorimer
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, West Virginia University, PO Box 6315, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA email: jchennam@mix.wvu.edu NRAO, Green Bank Observatory, PO Box 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, USA
Ilya Mandel
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Manjari Bagchi
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, West Virginia University, PO Box 6315, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA email: jchennam@mix.wvu.edu
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Abstract

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The luminosity distribution of Galactic radio pulsars is believed to be log-normal in form. Applying this functional form to populations of pulsars in globular clusters, we employ Bayesian methods to explore constraints on the mean and standard deviation of the function, as well as the total number of pulsars in the cluster. Our analysis is based on an observed number of pulsars down to some limiting flux density, measurements of flux densities of individual pulsars, as well as diffuse emission from the direction of the cluster. We apply our analysis to Terzan 5 and demonstrate, under reasonable assumptions, that the number of potentially observable pulsars is in a 95.45% credible interval of 133+101−58. Beaming considerations would increase the true population size by approximately a factor of two.

Keywords

methods: numerical — methods: statistical — globular clusters: general — globular clusters: individual: Terzan 5 — stars: neutron — pulsars: general
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 8 , Symposium S291: Neutron Stars and Pulsars: Challenges and Opportunities after 80 years , August 2012 , pp. 257 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2013

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