Can we see pulsars around Sgr A� the latest searches with the Effelsberg telescope

Abstract

Radio pulsars in relativistic binary systems are unique tools to study the curved space-time around massive compact objects. The discovery of a pulsar closely orbiting the super-massive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy, Sgr Aâ†, would provide a superb test-bed for gravitational physics. To date, the absence of any radio pulsar discoveries within a few arc minutes of Sgr A↠has been explained by one principal factor: extreme scattering of radio waves caused by inhomogeneities in the ionized component of the interstellar medium in the central 100 pc around Sgr Aâ†. Scattering, which causes temporal broadening of pulses, can only be mitigated by observing at higher frequencies. Here we describe recent searches of the Galactic centre region performed at a frequency of 18.95 GHz with the Effelsberg radio telescope. © 2013 International Astronomical Union.