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2 thoughts on “Pulsar Star Changed its Beat – Astronomers Puzzled”
Is it not as likely that somehow the data or measuring equipment or methods used were the cause of the 38 millionth of a Hertz glitch?
Maybe many other apparently regular pulses will be found to vary in the same way in future, due to more accurate measuring methods or even natural causes, like torsion field tension release?
AI Answer: It is true that very small glitches, like the 38 microhertz jump in pulsar J1838-0537, could in principle be confused with instrumental effects or timing noise. However, modern pulsar timing uses rigorous Bayesian and Gaussian process methods to distinguish real glitches from noise by modeling timing irregularities separately before and after glitch epochs. This analysis “whitens” the data residuals, confirming true sudden increases in spin frequency rather than random fluctuations or measurement artifacts. While more subtle irregularities may be found in the future with better data, current techniques reliably verify genuine glitches, making it unlikely that such a glitch is a data artifact. Exotic natural causes remain speculative but are constrained by precise timing models
Is it not as likely that somehow the data or measuring equipment or methods used were the cause of the 38 millionth of a Hertz glitch?
Maybe many other apparently regular pulses will be found to vary in the same way in future, due to more accurate measuring methods or even natural causes, like torsion field tension release?
AI Answer: It is true that very small glitches, like the 38 microhertz jump in pulsar J1838-0537, could in principle be confused with instrumental effects or timing noise. However, modern pulsar timing uses rigorous Bayesian and Gaussian process methods to distinguish real glitches from noise by modeling timing irregularities separately before and after glitch epochs. This analysis “whitens” the data residuals, confirming true sudden increases in spin frequency rather than random fluctuations or measurement artifacts. While more subtle irregularities may be found in the future with better data, current techniques reliably verify genuine glitches, making it unlikely that such a glitch is a data artifact. Exotic natural causes remain speculative but are constrained by precise timing models