Thesis (Ph.D) - Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Information & Communication Technologies, 2009. / A dissertation presented in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, [Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies], Swinburne University of Technology, 2009. Typescript. Bibliography: p. 207-223.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Met inl. en samenv. i.h. Ned. - Lit. opg.

Thesis (PhD) - Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 2009. / Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, 2009. Typescript. Bibliography: p. 165-186.

An eleven-year series of radio timing observations of 0833- 45 (Vela) and PSR 1641- 45 is presented. During this time, five large spin-ups ("glitches") were observed in 0833- 45 and one in 1641-45. The stellar response to these events is investigated, and the three relat ively long complete inter-glitch intervals in 0833-45 are modeled. The results are of relevance to studies of the interiors of neutron stars. The initial aim of the project - to obtain good observational coverage of large glitches in the Vela pulsar - was successfully achieved, and high quality observations of the periods between glitches were obtained as a by-product. The results of the analysis presented here provide support for the existence of both linear and non-linear coupling in the Vela pulsar, and put a limit on the former in PSR 1641- 45. The recently observed existence of a rapidly recovering component of part of a glitch in Vela was verified in the subsequent glitch, although there is now evidence to contradict the suggestion that this component involves a particular region of the star that is implicated in every glitch. Observations of a recent glitch in the same pulsar have resolved a small component of the spin-up; such a component has not been reported for any other large glitch.

The theory of General Relativity has been in existence for 90 years and has stood up to all tests it has been subjected to in that time. The PPN parameter is a measure of the accuracy of theories of gravity and assumes different values in different theories. By measuring the Shapiro time delay of light it is possible to constrain and thereby constrain gravitational theories. This Shapiro time delay can be measured in our solar system but it is only in the vicinity of extremely compact objects such as pulsars and black holes that it can be tested under the immense gravitational fields that can only be found there. A pulsar in a binary orbit about another compact object is the ideal system in which to test this effect. In this work we have gone from Kepler’s laws of simple planetary motion to deriving the equations that explain binary orbits to incorporating General Relativity into these equations in order to obtain the equations for relativistic particle orbits. We then evolved this theory even further so as to be able to explain relativistic light ray orbits and then used this knowledge to model the Shapiro delay in a binary system. With a working model it became possible to simulate the Shapiro delay in a wide range of possible systems and then to use these simulations to say something about what type of system should be focussed on in future so as to measure the Shapiro delay and thereby constrain more tightly the parameter / Dr. C.A. Engelbrecht Dr. F.A.M. Frescura

In this thesis, a review of the most prominent pulsar glitch mechanisms is presented. This includes a discussion of the internal structure of neutron stars and the way in which glitches may be used to describe that structure. Particular attention is paid to the two-component model. This thesis also includes numerous simulations of the two-component model, which are fitted to observational data in order to determine how suitable this mechanism is as a description of pulsar glitches. The results show that this mechanism is in fact still relevant, in spite of its age. / Dr. C.A. Engelbrecht Dr. F.A.M. Frescura

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014. / No abstract supplied.

Un pulsar est une étoile à neutrons en rotation rapide et dotée d'un fort champ magnétique qui peut se manifester en émettant sur tout le spectre électromagnétique. Dans cette thèse, je m’intéresse au rayonnement radio produit par l’étoile. Je commence ainsi par décrire l'instrumentation de dédispersion cohérente à base de GPUs installée au Radiotélescope de Nançay avec deux autres modes d'observation que j'ai développés : un mode pour la recherche de nouveaux pulsar et un mode spectromètre. Une autre partie de ce travail détaille le retraitement en cours du sondage Foster fait à la fin des années 90 à Nançay ainsi que de nouvelles observations ciblées, sur des candidats HESS notamment. Je présente ensuite les résultats obtenus sur les pulsars relativistes J0737-3039A et J1906+0746 avec respectivement des tests de la Relativité Générale et la mesure de la précession géodétique. Des données de polarimétrie ont ainsi permis de déterminer la géométrie du système de PSR J1906+0746. Enfin, je termine par l'analyse des temps d'arrivées de 20 pulsars millisecondes observés à Nançay dans le cadre de l'EPTA, une collaboration européenne pour un réseau de chronométrage pulsar avec pour objectif la détection d'un fond d'ondes gravitationnelles, possible d'ici 5 à 10 ans. / A pulsar is a highly magnetized and fast-spinning neutron star which can be seen in radio waves. ln this thesis, l first describe the new GPU-based coherent dedispersion backend installed at the Nançay Radio Telescope with two others observing modes l have developped : a filterbank for(pulsar surveysjand a high resolution spectrometer. The second part deals with the ongoing reprocessing of the Foster survey done at Nançay in the late 90s and with new targeted pointings on HESS sources. l then present the results l got on the relativistic binaries J0737-3039A et J1906+0746, with new tests of General Relativity and the measurement of geodetic precession respectively. Polarimetric data has allowed to deduce the geometry of the PSR J1906+0746 system. ln the framework of the EPTA (European Pulsar Timing Array), l finish with the analysis of the times of arrivaIs from 20 millisecond pulsars, which aims to make a detection of the Gravitational Wave Background, which could succeed in the next 5 to 10 years.

Neutron stars are surrounded by dense magnetospheres with nontrivial magnetic field structure. They are sources of multi-band emission from radio waves to very high energy gamma-rays. Pulsar wind nebulae observations also show that a large number of e^± pairs flow from the neutron star, which are produced in the magnetosphere. The structure of the magnetosphere, the mechanism of pair production and particle acceleration in the magnetosphere, and how magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy is a complex problem that only recently has started to be addressed fully from first principles. In this dissertation I describe how I developed a numerical code tailored to study this problem. A detailed description of the code and method is given, then it is used to study the pair discharge mechanism in the magnetosphere of rotating neutron stars whose rotating axis is aligned with the magnetic axis. It was found that to form the an active magnetosphere it is necessary to have pair creation all the way towards the light cylinder. In the dissertation I classify the pulsars into two classes, and describe their differences. The magnetospheres of magnetars are believed to be different from ordinary pulsars, in that they are sustained not by the rotation of the star, but by a twist launched from the stellar surface due to some sudden breakdown of the crust. I apply the same numerical tool to study the particle acceleration and pair creation mechanism in the twisted magnetosphere of the magnetar, showing where the gap is, and how the magnetosphere evolves over time. The magnetic twist was found to live much longer than the Alfvén time of the system, and slowly dissipates through developing a cavity in the inner magnetosphere. This not only explains the long term evolution of the magnetar lightcurve after an outburst, but also explains the observed evolution hotspots on the stellar surface.

Thesis (Ph. D. (Physics and Electronics))--Rhodes University, 2005.