Variations in the Radiation Intensity of Pulsar B0950+08: Nine Years of Monitoring at 110 MHz

Abstract

Variations in the radiation intensity of pulsar B0950+08 from 2014 to 2022 with scales from minutes to years were analyzed. The observations were obtained in daily survey using the Large Phased Array (LPA) radio telescope. The high variability of radiation is shown both from pulse to pulse and on scales greater than 3 min. The average value of the estimated amplitude of these variations in 3.2 min is 25 Jy, the modulation index is unity. The average relative amplitude of the interpulse (IP) is \(2.00 \pm 0.28\% \) of the main pulse. In individual pulses, the amplitude of the interpulse may exceed the amplitude of the main pulse (MP), but this is a rare event. Radiation is observed in almost the entire period of the pulsar. For the first time, the relative amplitude of radiation between the main pulse and the interpulse (radiation bridge) was measured. When averaging for ~10 h, it varies from 0.8 to 1.31% with an average value of \(1.04 \pm 0.28\% \). A high correlation between MP and IP amplitude variations both when averaging profiles over 3.2 min and when averaging over years was found. This correlation is due to refractive interstellar scintillation. The frequency scale of IP diffraction interstellar scintillation was measured for the first time, and that the spectral shapes for IP and MP were shown to be well correlated and have the same frequency scale. There are strong variations in the frequency scale of scintillation \({{f}_{{{\text{dif}}}}}\) from session to session (time interval from one day) on scales of 200–800 kHz. The refractive scale of scintillation of 1–2 days was determined. A modulation of radiation with a characteristic scale of ~130 days, which, apparently, is also associated with refractive scintillation, was found.