A Search for Pulsars around Sgr A* in the First Event Horizon Telescope Data Set
Journal article, 2023

In 2017 the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observed the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), at a frequency of 228.1 GHz (lambda = 1.3 mm). The fundamental physics tests that even a single pulsar orbiting Sgr A* would enable motivate searching for pulsars in EHT data sets. The high observing frequency means that pulsars-which typically exhibit steep emission spectra-are expected to be very faint. However, it also negates pulse scattering, an effect that could hinder pulsar detections in the Galactic center. Additionally, magnetars or a secondary inverse Compton emission could be stronger at millimeter wavelengths than at lower frequencies. We present a search for pulsars close to Sgr A* using the data from the three most sensitive stations in the EHT 2017 campaign: the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the Large Millimeter Telescope, and the IRAM 30 m Telescope. We apply three detection methods based on Fourier-domain analysis, the fast folding algorithm, and single-pulse searches targeting both pulsars and burst-like transient emission. We use the simultaneity of the observations to confirm potential candidates. No new pulsars or significant bursts were found. Being the first pulsar search ever carried out at such high radio frequencies, we detail our analysis methods and give a detailed estimation of the sensitivity of the search. We conclude that the EHT 2017 observations are only sensitive to a small fraction (less than or similar to 2.2%) of the pulsars that may exist close to Sgr A*, motivating further searches for fainter pulsars in the region.

Author

Pablo Torne

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Max Planck Society

Kuo Liu

Max Planck Society

Ralph P. Eatough

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Max Planck Society

Jompoj Wongphechauxsorn

Max Planck Society

James M. Cordes

Cornell University

Gregory Desvignes

Max Planck Society

Paris Descartes University

Mariafelicia De Laurentis

Goethe University Frankfurt

University of Naples Federico II

National Institute for Nuclear Physics

Michael Kramer

University of Manchester

Max Planck Society

Scott M. Ransom

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Shami Chatterjee

Cornell University

Robert Wharton

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Ramesh Karuppusamy

Max Planck Society

Lindy Blackburn

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Michael Janssen

Max Planck Society

Chi-Kwan Chan

University of Arizona

Geoffrey B. Crew

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Lynn D. Matthews

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ciriaco Goddi

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

National Institute for Nuclear Physics

University of Sao Paulo (USP)

University of Cagliari

Helge Rottmann

Max Planck Society

Jan Wagner

Max Planck Society

Salvador Sanchez

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Ignacio Ruiz

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Federico Abbate

Max Planck Society

Geoffrey C. Bower

University of Hawaii

Academia Sinica

Juan J. Salamanca

University of Oviedo

Arturo I. Gomez-Ruiz

Inst Nacl Astrofis Optic & Elect

National Council for Science and Technology Mexico

Alfredo Herrera-Aguilar

Benemerita Univ Autonoma Puebla

Wu Jiang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ru-Sen Lu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Max Planck Society

Ue-Li Pen

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

University of Toronto

Academia Sinica

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

Alexander W. Raymond

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Lijing Shao

Max Planck Society

Beijing University of Technology

Zhiqiang Shen

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Gabriel Paubert

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Miguel Sanchez-Portal

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Carsten Kramer

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Manuel Castillo

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Santiago Navarro

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

David John

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Karl-Friedrich Schuster

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Michael D. Johnson

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Kazi L. J. Rygl

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Italian ALMA Regional Centre

Kazunori Akiyama

University of Sao Paulo (USP)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Harvard University

Antxon Alberdi

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Walter Alef

Max Planck Society

Juan Carlos Algaba

University of Malaya

Richard Anantua

University of Texas at San Antonio

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Keiichi Asada

Academia Sinica

Rebecca Azulay

Max Planck Society

Universitat de Valencia

Uwe Bach

Max Planck Society

Anne-Kathrin Baczko

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory

David Ball

University of Arizona

Mislav Balokovic

Yale University

John Barrett

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Michi Baubock

University of Illinois

Bradford A. Benson

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

University of Chicago

Dan Bintley

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

East Asian Observatory

Raymond Blundell

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Katherine L. Bouman

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Hope Boyce

McGill University

Michael Bremer

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Christiaan D. Brinkerink

Radboud University

Roger Brissenden

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Silke Britzen

Max Planck Society

Avery E. Broderick

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Dominique Broguiere

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Thomas Bronzwaer

Radboud University

Sandra Bustamante

University of Massachusetts

Do-Young Byun

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

University of Science and Technology (UST)

John E. Carlstrom

Univ Chicago, Kavli Inst Cosmol Phys, 5640 S Ellis Ave

Univ Chicago, Enrico Fermi Inst, 5640 S Ellis Ave

University of Chicago

Univ Chicago, Dept Phys, 5720 S Ellis Ave

Chiara Ceccobello

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory

Andrew Chael

Princeton University

Dominic O. Chang

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Koushik Chatterjee

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Ming-Tang Chen

Academia Sinica

Yongjun Chen

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Xiaopeng Cheng

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

I. Cho

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Pierre Christian

Fairfield Univ, Dept Phys, 1073 N Benson Rd

Nicholas S. Conroy

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

University of Illinois

John E. Conway

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory

Thomas M. Crawford

Univ Chicago, Kavli Inst Cosmol Phys, 5640 S Ellis Ave

University of Chicago

Alejandro Cruz-Osorio

Max Planck Society

Goethe University Frankfurt

Yuzhu Cui

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Zhejiang Lab

Thomas M. Crawford

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Jordy Davelaar

Radboud University

Flatiron Inst, Ctr Comp Astrophys, 162 Fifth Ave

Columbia University

Roger Deane

University of Pretoria

Rhodes University

University of Witwatersrand

Jessica Dempsey

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

East Asian Observatory

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

Jason Dexter

University of Colorado at Boulder

Vedant Dhruv

University of Illinois

Sheperd S. Doeleman

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Sean Dougal

University of Arizona

Sergio A. Dzib

Max Planck Society

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Razieh Emami

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Heino Falcke

Radboud University

Joseph Farah

University of California at Santa Barbara

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network

Vincent L. Fish

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ed Fomalont

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

H. Alyson Ford

University of Arizona

Marianna Foschi

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Raquel Fraga-Encinas

Radboud University

William T. Freeman

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Google Inc.

Per Friberg

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Cistian M. Fromm

University of Würzburg

Max Planck Society

Goethe University Frankfurt

Antonio Fuentes

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Peter Galison

Harvard University

Charles F. Gammie

University of Illinois

Roberto Garcia

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Olivier Gentaz

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Boris Georgiev

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Roman Gold

University of Southern Denmark

Jose L. Gomez

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Minfeng Gu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Mark Gurwell

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Kazuhiro Hada

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Daryl Haggard

McGill University

Kari Haworth

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Michael H. Hecht

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Ronald Hesper

University of Groningen

Dirk Heumann

University of Arizona

Luis C. Ho

Beijing University of Technology

Paul Ho

East Asian Observatory

Academia Sinica

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Mareki Honma

University of Tokyo

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Chih-Wei L. Huang

Academia Sinica

Lei Huang

Chinese Academy of Sciences

David H. Hughes

Inst Nacl Astrofis Optic & Elect

Shiro Ikeda

University of Tokyo

The Institute of Statistical Mathematics

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

C. M. Violette Impellizzeri

Leiden University

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Makoto Inoue

Academia Sinica

Sara Issaoun

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

David J. James

ASTRAVEO

Appl Mat Inc, 35 Dory Rd

Buell T. Jannuzi

University of Arizona

Britton Jeter

Academia Sinica

Alejandra Jimenez-Rosales

Max Planck Society

Radboud University

Svetlana Jorstad

Boston University

Abhishek V. Joshi

Max Planck Society

University of Illinois

Taehyun Jung

University of Science and Technology (UST)

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Mansour Karami

University of Waterloo

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Tomohisa Kawashima

University of Tokyo

Garrett K. Keating

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Mark Kettenis

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Jae-Young Kim

Kyungpook National University

Max Planck Society

Jongsoo Kim

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Junhan Kim

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Motoki Kino

Kogakuin University of Technology and Engineering

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Jun Yi Koay

Academia Sinica

Prashant Kocherlakota

Goethe University Frankfurt

Yutaro Kofuji

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

University of Tokyo

Shoko Koyama

Niigata University

Academia Sinica

Thomas P. Krichbaum

Max Planck Society

Cheng-Yu Kuo

Academia Sinica

National Sun Yat-Sen University

Noemi La Bella

Radboud University

Tod R. Lauer

National Optical Astronomy Observatory

Daeyoung Lee

University of Illinois

Sang-Sung Lee

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Po Kin Leung

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Aviad Levis

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Zhiyuan Li

Nanjing University

Rocco Lico

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Greg Lindahl

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Michael Lindqvist

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory

Mikhail Lisakov

Max Planck Society

Jun Liu

Max Planck Society

Elisabetta Liuzzo

Italian ALMA Regional Centre

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Wen-Ping Lo

National Taiwan University

Academia Sinica

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Max Planck Society

Laurent Loinard

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Nicholas R. MacDonald

Max Planck Society

Jirong Mao

University of Amsterdam

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nicola Marchili

Italian ALMA Regional Centre

Max Planck Society

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Sera Markoff

University of Amsterdam

Daniel P. Marrone

University of Arizona

Alan P. Marscher

Boston University

Max Planck Society

Ivan Marti-Vidal

Universitat de Valencia

Satoki Matsushita

Academia Sinica

Lia Medeiros

University of Arizona

Institute for Advanced Study

Karl M. Menten

Max Planck Society

Daniel Michalik

University of Chicago

European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)

Izumi Mizuno

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Yosuke Mizuno

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Goethe University Frankfurt

James M. Moran

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Kotaro Moriyama

Goethe University Frankfurt

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Monika Moscibrodzka

Radboud University

Cornelia Mueller

Max Planck Society

Radboud University

Hendrik Mueller

Max Planck Society

Alejandro Mus

Universitat de Valencia

Gibwa Musoke

Radboud University

University of Amsterdam

Ioannis Myserlis

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Andrew Nadolski

University of Illinois

Hiroshi Nagai

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)

Neil M. Nagar

University of Concepcion

Masanori Nakamura

National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College

Academia Sinica

Ramesh Narayan

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Gopal Narayanan

University of Massachusetts

Iniyan Natarajan

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

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Antonios Nathanail

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Joey Neilsen

Villanova University

Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Chunchong Ni

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

University of Waterloo

Aristeidis Noutsos

Max Planck Society

Michael A. Nowak

Washington University in St. Louis

Junghwan Oh

Sejong University

Hiroki Okino

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

University of Tokyo

Hector Olivares

Radboud University

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Max Planck Society

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Tomoaki Oyama

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Feryal Ozel

Georgia Inst Technol, Sch Phys, 837 State St NW

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Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Georgios Filippos Paraschos

Max Planck Society

Jongho Park

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Academia Sinica

Harriet Parsons

East Asian Observatory

James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Nimesh Patel

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

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Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Vincent Pietu

Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)

Richard Plambeck

University of California at Berkeley

Aleksandar PopStefanija

University of Massachusetts

Oliver Porth

Goethe University Frankfurt

University of Amsterdam

Felix M. Potzl

Max Planck Society

Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)

Ben Prather

University of Illinois

Jorge A. Preciado-Lopez

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Dimitrios Psaltis

Georgia Inst Technol, Sch Phys, 837 State St NW

Hung-Yi Pu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

National Taiwan Normal University

Academia Sinica

Venkatessh Ramakrishnan

University of Concepcion

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Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

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East Asian Observatory

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James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Luciano Rezzolla

Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies

Goethe University Frankfurt

Trinity College Dublin

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Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Bart Ripperda

Institute for Advanced Study

Flatiron Inst, Ctr Comp Astrophys, 162 Fifth Ave

Princeton Univ, Peyton Hall, Dept Astrophys Sci

Freek Roelofs

Radboud University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Alan Rogers

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

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Eduardo Ros

Max Planck Society

Cristina Romero-Canizales

Academia Sinica

Arash Roshanineshat

University of Arizona

Alan L. Roy

Max Planck Society

Chet Ruszczyk

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

David Sanchez-Arguelles

National Council for Science and Technology Mexico

Inst Nacl Astrofis Optic & Elect

Mahito Sasada

Hiroshima University

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Tokyo Institute of Technology

Kaushik Satapathy

University of Arizona

Tuomas Savolainen

Max Planck Society

Aalto University

F. Peter Schloerb

University of Massachusetts

Jonathan Schonfeld

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Des Small

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Bong Won Sohn

University of Science and Technology (UST)

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

Yonsei University

Jason SooHoo

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Kamal Souccar

University of Massachusetts

He Sun

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Alexandra J. Tetarenko

University of Lethbridge

Paul Tiede

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard University

Remo P. J. Tilanus

Radboud University

University of Arizona

Leiden University

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

Michael Titus

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Teresa Toscano

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Efthalia Traianou

Max Planck Society

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Tyler Trent

University of Arizona

Sascha Trippe

Seoul National University

Matthew Turk

University of Illinois

Ilse van Bemmel

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Huib Jan van Langevelde

University of New Mexico

Leiden University

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory

Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)

Daniel R. van Rossum

Radboud University

Jesse Vos

Radboud University

Derek Ward-Thompson

University of Central Lancashire

John Wardle

Brandeis University

Jonathan Weintroub

Harvard University

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Norbert Wex

Max Planck Society

Maciek Wielgus

Max Planck Society

Kaj Wiik

University of Turku

University of Illinois

Gunther Witzel

Max Planck Society

Michael F. Wondrak

Radboud University

George N. Wong

Princeton University

Institute for Advanced Study

Qingwen Wu

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Nitika Yadlapalli

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Paul Yamaguchi

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Aristomenis Yfantis

Radboud University

Doosoo Yoon

University of Amsterdam

Andre Young

Radboud University

Ken Young

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Ziri Younsi

University College London (UCL)

Goethe University Frankfurt

Wei Yu

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Feng Yuan

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ye-Fei Yuan

University of Science and Technology of China

J. Anton Zensus

Max Planck Society

Shuo Zhang

Bard College

Guang-Yao Zhao

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Shan-Shan Zhao

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Astrophysical Journal

0004-637X (ISSN) 1538-4357 (eISSN)

Vol. 959 1 14

Onsala space observatory infrastructure

Swedish Research Council (VR) (2017-00648), 2018-01-01 -- 2021-12-31.

Subject Categories

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

DOI

10.3847/1538-4357/acf4f2

More information

Latest update

3/21/2024