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