Selection effects in supernova remnant and pulsar searches

Details Selection effects in supernova remnant and pulsar searches Selection effects in supernova remnant and pulsar searches

Apr 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994pasau..11...80j&link_type=abstract

Astronomical Society of Australia, Proceedings, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 80

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Pulsars, Radio Emission, Stellar Evolution, Supernova Remnants, Astrophysics, H Ii Regions, Luminosity, Radio Astronomy

Scientific paper

We know of 26 pulsars in our Galaxy which are less than 105 years old, and assuming a reasonable birthrate, this is only aproximately 3% of the total number present. In contrast, about approximately 180 supernova remnants are known and this is likely to be about 30% of the total population. The detection of pulsars is thus much more prone to selection effects than that of supernova remnants. A study of the selection effects involved in SNR searches was done by Helfand et al. (1989, Astrophys. J., 341, 151). They concluded that pulsar nebulae or 'plerions' were extremely difficult to detect because of their resemblance to compact HII regions, and that they were thus grossly under-represented in the current catalogue. They further concluded that the radial distribution of SNRs had not been resolved. When attempting to consider the importance of selection effects in pulsar searches, three factors are crucial. First, the beaming fraction of young pulsars remains unknown despite advances in recent years. Different models of the shape of the pulsar emission cone lead to differences in the beaming fraction of a factor up to two (e.g. Biggs, 1990, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 245, 514). Secondly, the luminosity function of pulsars is a contentious issue with rival groups claiming that young pulsars are no more luminous than the majority of pulsars (Lorimer et. al., 1993, Mon. Not. R. Astron.

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