PSC 2011Team ParkesTeam Parkes

Introduction

• Team Parkes folded the experiences and information imparted by PSC instructors, scientists, and mentors to establish a method of attacking the data most efficiently and to answer the question, “Is it a pulsar or is it Memorex?” Team Parkes’ members determined the most effective approach to analyze data sets. During this initial phase of the data analysis process, team members rated plots. When a plot scored two or higher, the entire team was assembled for input. Team Parkes studied the interesting plots making a final determination. Team members shared data sets to speed the process. Of all the data sets analyzed, five plots were flagged as worthy of further investigation.

Divide and Conquer• Every team member used

Duncan’s Pulsar technique (or some form of it)

Dunc’s Rule of Thumb reduced x2 < 1 bad

reduced x2 < 2 (≈ pulsar/RFI)

reduced x2 > 3 (pulsar/RFI)

Image taken from : http://physics.wvu.edu/people/duncan_lorimer

The Man, the Myth, the Legend…

Duncan Lorimer

“Recipe” for Pulsars 1. Time Domain Plot: Are there

average pulses?

2. Integrated Pulse Profile: Do the pulses match the Time Domain Plot?

3. Sub-band Plot: Vertical or Horizontal line? (Vertical = possible pulsar, Horizontal = RFI)

4. DM curve: look for a peak > 0

5. Reduced x2 and Period

Image taken from: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MadScientist

1. RA/Dec: 1854-0649

2. RA/Dec: 1947-1314

3. RA/Dec: 0049-0622

4. RA/Dec: 0123-0622(P = 0.97649487 ms)

5. RA/Dec: 0123-0622 (P =1.83759364 ms)

Data Distribution

Member

RFI Candidates Das Poop

Total data sets

Judy 30 3 87 120

David 15 0 53 68

Bonnie 17 0 51 68

Rick 10 2 90 102

Lee Ann 12 5 52 69

Total 84 10 333 427

Pictures taken from Google images

versus data

Images from: http://www.purplecrying.info/userfiles/image/Baby%20in%20Crib.jpgand http://citydesk.freedomblogging.com/files/2011/02/grandpa-munster.jpg

undetermined

Discussion Points

Certain• Sift through “stuff” to get

to a possible candidate

• GBT malfunctioned

• GBT was working some of the time

• Good potential candidates

• Ton of noise

Uncertain• If any of our candidates

are pulsars

• Data would have been gathered

• When malfunction began during our scan

• Confirmation

• Causes other than RFI?

Questions do you have…hmmm?

• Are the plots that we didn’t get to run pulsars?

• Will they/when will they be followed up? If so, we will be notified.

• In the future, time permitting, we would run all of our candidates.

Image taken from: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4lN5WbxBz-w/TbImvNzYwDI/AAAAAAAAABQ/VgtE1zXvj4c/s1600/25917_yoda%255B1%255D.jpg

Parkes…. the team that made the Kessel run in less

than 12 parsecs

Taken from: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3IjRgoGWUBo/TA14j1902WI/AAAAAAAAAl0/qaoCn-MRiCE/s1600/never-tell-me-the-odds-demotivator.jpg