The thousand-pulsar-array programme on MeerKAT VII: polarisation properties of pulsars in the Magellanic Clouds. Issue 4 (23rd November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Johnston, S; Parthasarathy, A; Main, R A; Ridley, J P; Koribalski, B S; Bailes, M; Buchner, S J; Geyer, M; Karastergiou, A; Keith, M J; Kramer, M; Serylak, M; Shannon, R M; Spiewak, R; Krishnan, V Venkatraman
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 509:Issue 4(2022)
• Page Start: 5209
• Page End: 5217
• Publication Date: 2021-11-23
• Subjects: pulsars:general -- Magellanic Clouds; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stab3360
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Magellanic Clouds are the only external galaxies known to host radio pulsars. The dispersion and rotation measures of pulsars in the Clouds can aid in understanding their structure, and studies of the pulsars themselves can point to potential differences between them and their Galactic counterparts. We use the high sensitivity of the MeerKAT telescope to observe 17 pulsars in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds in addition to five foreground (Galactic) pulsars. We provide polarisation profiles for 18 of these pulsars, improved measurements of their dispersion and rotation measures, and derive the mean parallel magnetic field along the lines of sight. The results are broadly in agreement with expectations for the structure and strength of the magnetic field in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The Magellanic Cloud pulsars have profiles which are narrower than expected from the period-width relationship and we show this is due to selection effects in pulsar surveys rather than any intrinsic difference between the population of Galactic and Magellanic objects.