ION Technical Content
Limits to the Stability of Pulsar Time
| Abstract: | The regularity of the rotation rate of millisecond pulsars is the underlying hypothesis for using these neutron stars as "celestial clocks." Given their remote location in our galaxy and to our lack of precise knowledge on the galactic environment, a number of phenomena affect the apparent rotation rate observed on earth. This paper reviews these phenomena and estimates the order of magnitude of their effect. It concludes that an ensemble pulsar time based on a number of selected millisecond pulsars should have a fractional frequency stability close to 2x10^-15 for an averaging time of a few years. |
| Published in: |
Proceedings of the 27th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting November 29 - 1, 1995 The Doubletree Hotel at Horton Plaza San Diego, California |
| Pages: | 387 - 396 |
| Cite this article: | Petit, Gerard, "Limits to the Stability of Pulsar Time," Proceedings of the 27th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, San Diego, California, November 1995, pp. 387-396. |
| Full Paper: |
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