Speaker
Description
The idea of finding a pulsar in orbit around the supermassive black hole Sgr A at the center of our Galaxy has fascinated pulsar astronomers for decades. The number and precision of tests of gravity that could be performed would far exceed those that can be performed nowadays. Further discoveries in the Galactic center have the potential of being revolutionary also for uncovering the nature of Dark Matter and for studies of the surrounding ionized matter.
The MeerKAT telescope, thanks to the favourable geographical location in the Southern hemisphere and the very high instantaneous sensitivity is poised to play a significant role in uncovering the pulsar population at the Galactic center. The current efforts are, however, hampered by the effects of scattering that can severely limit our sensitivity in particular to fast MSPs. To solve this, we need to observe at higher frequencies.
A collaborative effort between INAF and SARAO is currently providing new receivers to each MeerKAT antenna in the band 5B (8.3 – 15.4 GHz). This new frequency band will transform MeerKAT into the best possible instrument in the world for discovering pulsars in close orbit around Sgr A and for discovering MSPs throughout the Galactic center.
| Topics | Pulsars & GW detection (PTAs) |
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