Pulsar timing irregularities: Challenges and prospects

Speaker : Johnson Urama (University of Nigeria) 

Pulsars generally exhibit timing irregularities in the form of glitchesand timing noise. Timing observations of glitches in pulsars are currently one of the best probes of the neutron star interior. Such observations have led to a number of models describing the various components of the neutron star and their mutual coupling. With over four decades of pulsar timing; and more than 600 reported glitches (large and small) in the conventional radio pulsars, binary pulsars, millisecond pulsars, AXPs, and other manifestations of neutron stars, a lot still needs to be understood about these timing irregularities. Here, we highlight some of the challenges in the timing behaviour of pulsars and discuss their implications for the neutron star rotational stability.