Speaker
Description
Transients and Pulsars with MeerKAT (TRAPUM) is a collection of pulsar surveys covering globular clusters, the Galactic plane, nearby galaxies, unidentified Fermi sources, and TeV/SNR/PWNe sources in the Milky Way. These surveys are both targeted and wide-field, and they represent the first pulsar searches with an SKA pathfinder, using hundreds of coherent beams during each observation. They have driven advancements in beamforming and distribution, radio-frequency interference mitigation, and precise sky localization of discoveries. However, they also present significant challenges, such as increased data rates and computational demands. Understanding both these opportunities and technical hurdles is a crucial step toward implementing wide-field pulsar searches with future SKA facilities. With more than 270 discoveries, TRAPUM has demonstrated the feasibility and impact of interferometric pulsar surveys, paving the way for pulsar searches in the SKA era. This talk will review the TRAPUM science objectives, implementation, and results, as well as key lessons learned and their implications for pulsar searches with future SKA facilities.
| Topics | Pulsars & GW detection (PTAs) |
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