[Paper Review] The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue

G. Hobbs, R. N. Manchester+2 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Sep 8, 2003

Pulsars and Gravitational Waves ResearchPhysics and Astronomy1,343 citations

TL;DR

The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue is a comprehensive, web- and command-line-accessible database containing detailed parameters for 1,300 known pulsars, including rotation-powered pulsars, anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), with full bibliographic references and support for 120+ parameters and 39 derived quantities. It enables researchers to query, customize, and visualize pulsar data through an interactive interface or programmatic access, significantly enhancing data accessibility and analysis efficiency in high-energy astrophysics.

ABSTRACT

The number of known pulsars has significantly increased over the previous few years. We have searched the literature to find papers announcing the discovery of pulsars or giving improved parameters for them. Data from the papers have been entered into a new pulsar catalogue that can be accessed via a web interface or from the command line (on Solaris or Linux machines). The user may request over 120 different parameters, select pulsars of interest, generate custom variables and choose between different ways of displaying or tabulating the data. Full bibliographic references are available on all observed parameters.

Motivation & Objective

• To compile and maintain a centralized, up-to-date, and publicly accessible database of all known rotation-powered pulsars, AXPs, and SGRs with coherent pulsations.
• To address the growing complexity and volume of pulsar data by providing a standardized, searchable, and extensible catalog with full bibliographic references.
• To enable researchers to efficiently retrieve, analyze, and visualize pulsar parameters through both web and command-line interfaces.
• To support advanced data analysis by allowing users to generate custom variables and merge personal catalogs with the public database without affecting other users.

Proposed method

• The catalogue was compiled by systematically reviewing published literature to extract pulsar discovery papers and improved parameter measurements.
• Data entry involved recording up to 90 individual parameters per pulsar, including positions, rotational frequencies, pulse widths, orbital elements, and associations with globular clusters or supernova remnants.
• A web interface was developed using Java-enabled applets to allow interactive graphical visualization of data, including 2D plots and histograms, with a 'long-form' tabular output option.
• A command-line interface was implemented for programmatic access on Solaris and Linux systems, supporting the same query functionality as the web interface, excluding plotting.
• The system supports the calculation and display of 39 derived parameters based on observed data, enhancing data utility for scientific analysis.
• The database is hosted by the Australia Telescope National Facility and is accessible via anonymous FTP for software and data retrieval.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can researchers efficiently access and analyze a comprehensive, up-to-date collection of pulsar parameters with full bibliographic provenance?
• RQ2 What methods can be used to standardize and centralize pulsar data from diverse publications into a single, queryable database?
• RQ3 How can interactive and programmatic access to pulsar data be simultaneously supported to serve both casual and expert users?
• RQ4 What derived parameters can be reliably computed from published pulsar observations to enhance scientific utility?
• RQ5 How can users customize and extend the public database with personal data without affecting other users?

Key findings

• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue currently contains data on 1,300 pulsars, including rotation-powered pulsars, AXPs, and SGRs with coherent pulsations.
• The database supports retrieval of up to 120 different parameters per pulsar, with full bibliographic references for all observed values.
• The system enables users to generate custom variables and select specific pulsars based on user-defined criteria through both web and command-line interfaces.
• The web interface includes an interactive graphical component that allows users to visualize data as 2D plots or histograms using Java-enabled browsers.
• The command-line interface provides programmatic access to the database on Solaris and Linux systems, with C function libraries available for direct data access.
• The expert mode allows users to upload and merge personal catalogs with the public database without persistent changes, preserving data integrity for other users.