A Cacophony of Echoes from Daily Monitoring of the Crab Pulsar at Jodrell Bank

Researchers analyzing archival data from the Jodrell Bank Observatory's 42-foot telescope have discovered that echoes—delayed pulses caused by intervening material redirecting emission toward Earth—are significantly more common than previously thought. These echoes, observed in the Crab pulsar's giant pulses between 2012 and 2016, suggest highly anisotropic structures with specific dimensions (lengths >4 au, widths ~0.1 au, depths ~5 au) likely originating from substructures within the nebular filaments of the Crab nebula. The study implies that such echoes may arise from offshoot features of larger nebular filaments, providing new insights into the pulsar's emission mechanisms and the surrounding environment.

Serafin Nadeau, T., van Kerkwijk, M. H., Bassa, C. G., Stappers, B. W., Mickaliger, M. B., & Lyne, A. G. (2024). A Cacophony of Echoes from Daily Monitoring of the Crab Pulsar at Jodrell Bank. The Astrophysical Journal, 962(1), 57. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad18c5