We present the results of a survey for low frequency radio emission from 17 known exoplanetary systems with the Murchison Widefield Array. This sample includes 13 systems that have not previously been targeted with radio observations. We detected no
radio emission at 154 MHz, and put 3 sigma upper limits in the range 15.2-112.5 mJy on this emission. We also searched for circularly polarised emission and made no detections, obtaining 3 sigma upper limits in the range 3.4-49.9 mJy. These are comparable with the best low frequency radio limits in the existing literature and translate to luminosity limits of between 1.2 x 10^14 W and 1.4 x 10^17 W if the emission is assumed to be 100% circularly polarised. These are the first results from a larger program to systematically search for exoplanetary emission with the MWA.
We report the optical identification of the companion to the {it Fermi} black widow millisecond pulsar PSR J1544+4937. We find a highly variable source on Keck LRIS images at the nominal pulsar position, with 2 magnitude variations over orbital perio
d in the B, g, R, and I bands. The nearly achromatic light curves are difficult to explain with a simply irradiated hemisphere model, and suggest that the optical emission is dominated by a nearly isothermal hot patch on the surface of the companion facing the pulsar. We roughly constrain the distance to PSR J1544+4937 to be between 2 and 5 kpc. A more reliable distance measurement is needed in order to constrain the composition of the companion.
The hierarchical triple system PSR J0337+1715 offers an unprecedented laboratory to study secular evolution of interacting systems and to explore the complicated mass-transfer history that forms millisecond pulsars and helium-core white dwarfs. The l
atter in particular, however, requires knowledge of the properties of the individual components of the system. Here we present precise optical spectroscopy of the inner companion in the PSR J0337+1715 system. We confirm it as a hot, low-gravity DA white dwarf with Teff=15,800+/-100 K and log(g)=5.82+/-0.05. We also measure an inner mass ratio of 0.1364+/-0.0015, entirely consistent with that inferred from pulsar timing, and a systemic radial velocity of 29.7+/-0.3 km/s. Combined with the mass (0.19751 Msun) determined from pulsar timing, our measurement of the surface gravity implies a radius of 0.091+/-0.005 Rsun; combined further with the effective temperature and extinction, the photometry implies a distance of 1300+/-80 pc. The high temperature of the companion is somewhat puzzling: with current models, it likely requires a recent period of unstable hydrogen burning, and suggests a surprisingly short lifetime for objects at this phase in their evolution. We discuss the implications of these measurements in the context of understanding the PSR J0337+1715 system, as well as of low-mass white dwarfs in general.
We present high-quality ULTRACAM photometry of the eclipsing detached double-white dwarf binary NLTT 11748. This system consists of a carbon/oxygen white dwarf and an extremely-low mass (< 0.2 Msun) helium-core white dwarf in a 5.6 hr orbit. To date
such extremely-low mass WDs, which can have thin, stably-burning outer layers, have been modeled via poorly-constrained atmosphere and cooling calculations where uncertainties in the detailed structure can strongly influence the eventual fates of these systems when mass-transfer begins. With precise (individual precision ~1%) high-cadence (~2 s) multi-color photometry of multiple primary and secondary eclipses spanning >1.5 yr, we constrain the masses and radii of both objects in the NLTT 11748 system to a statistical uncertainty of a few percent. However, we find that overall uncertainty in the thickness of the envelope of the secondary carbon/oxygen white dwarf leads to a larger (~13%) systematic uncertainty in the primary He WDs mass. Over the full range of possible envelope thicknesses we find that our primary mass (0.136-0.162 Msun) and surface gravity (log(g)=6.32-6.38; radii are 0.0423-0.0433 Rsun) constraints do not agree with previous spectroscopic determinations. We use precise eclipse timing to detect the Romer delay at 7 sigma significance, providing an additional weak constraint on the masses and limiting the eccentricity to e*cos(omega)= -4e-5 +/- 5e-5. Finally, we use multi-color data to constrain the secondarys effective temperature (7600+/-120 K) and cooling age (1.6-1.7 Gyr).
Significant new opportunities for astrophysics and cosmology have been identified at low radio frequencies. The Murchison Widefield Array is the first telescope in the Southern Hemisphere designed specifically to explore the low-frequency astronomica
l sky between 80 and 300 MHz with arcminute angular resolution and high survey efficiency. The telescope will enable new advances along four key science themes, including searching for redshifted 21 cm emission from the epoch of reionisation in the early Universe; Galactic and extragalactic all-sky southern hemisphere surveys; time-domain astrophysics; and solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric science and space weather. The Murchison Widefield Array is located in Western Australia at the site of the planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA) low-band telescope and is the only low-frequency SKA precursor facility. In this paper, we review the performance properties of the Murchison Widefield Array and describe its primary scientific objectives.
The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will give us an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the transient sky at radio wavelengths. In this paper we present VAST, an ASKAP survey for Variables and Slow Transients. VAST will expl
oit the wide-field survey capabilities of ASKAP to enable the discovery and investigation of variable and transient phenomena from the local to the cosmological, including flare stars, intermittent pulsars, X-ray binaries, magnetars, extreme scattering events, interstellar scintillation, radio supernovae and orphan afterglows of gamma ray bursts. In addition, it will allow us to probe unexplored regions of parameter space where new classes of transient sources may be detected. In this paper we review the known radio transient and variable populations and the current results from blind radio surveys. We outline a comprehensive program based on a multi-tiered survey strategy to characterise the radio transient sky through detection and monitoring of transient and variable sources on the ASKAP imaging timescales of five seconds and greater. We also present an analysis of the expected source populations that we will be able to detect with VAST.
