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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Anne ArchibaldORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.The average pulse shape of a pulsar is typically stable over decadal timescales, enabling estimation of pulse times of arrival to better than a small fraction of the pulse width using matched filtering techniques. However, in North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) observations of PSR J1713+0747, three discrete timing events that depart from the prevailing timing model have been seen in the last 20 yr. All three correspond to morphological changes in pulse shape. Using principal component analysis, we analyze the pulse profiles of nine NANOGrav pulsars, including seven with profiles from the 15 yr data set and two with additional profiles from the forthcoming 20 yr data set. We recover the three known pulse shape change events in PSR J1713+0747 and another previously known event in PSR J1643−1224. We implement a ranking metric for candidate events and address four highly ranked candidates in this nine-pulsar sample. We also recover known slow pulse shape variations in PSR J1643−1224, PSR J1903+0327, and PSR B1937+21 and report an unexpected recurrence after ∼10 yr of one such variation in PSR B1937+21.
Author(s): Jacobson-Bell B, Cordes JM, Chatterjee S, Niedbalski S, Agazie G, Anumarlapudi A, Archibald AM, Arzoumanian Z, Baier JG, Baker PT, Brook PR, Cromartie HT, Crowter K, DeCesar ME, Demorest PB, Dey L, Dolch T, Ferrara EC, Fiore W, Fonseca E, Freedman GE, Garver-Daniels N, Gentile PA, Glaser J, Good DC, Hazboun JS, Jennings RJ, Jones ML, Kaplan DL, Kerr M, Lam MT, Larsen B, Lorimer DR, Lowes GA, Luo J, Lynch RS, Martsen A, McEwen A, McLaughlin MA, McMann N, Meyers BW, Meyers PM, Ng C, Ng M, Nice DJ, Nichols S, Oliver DJ, Pennucci TT, Perera BBP, Pol NS, Radovan HA, Ransom SM, Ray PS, Saffer A, Schmiedekamp A, Schmiedekamp C, Shapiro-Albert BJ, Stairs IH, Stovall K, Susobhanan A, Swiggum JK, Thompson MS, Tresnjic A, Wahl HM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Astrophysical Journal
Year: 2026
Volume: 1005
Issue: 1
Print publication date: 01/07/2026
Online publication date: 24/06/2026
Acceptance date: 12/05/2026
Date deposited: 07/07/2026
ISSN (print): 0004-637X
ISSN (electronic): 1538-4357
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6db6
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae6db6
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