Timing observations of the millisecond pulsar

Abstract

Following the discovery of the rapidly spinning pulsar 1937+214 on 7 November 1982¹ a program of accurate pulse arrival time measurements was initiated at the Arecibo Observatory. These observations, which were conducted at 1,408 MHz centre frequency, indicate that pulse arrival times follow a simple spindown equation with an accuracy of 1.5 µs for intervals between 2 min and 14 days. The apparent period derivative of 1.2 × 10⁻¹⁹ s s⁻¹ leads to a characteristic tune scale P/Ṗ for period evolution of 4 × 10⁸ yr. If the observed stability of this pulsar persists for decades, we will be able to reduce present uncertainties on the masses of the distant planets.