A LOFAR census of non-recycled pulsars: extending to frequencies below 80 MHz^⋆

¹ Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
e-mail: A.Bilous@uva.nl
² LPC2E – Université d’Orléans/CNRS, 45071 Orléans Cedex 2, France
³ ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Postbus 2, 7990 Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁴ Astro Space Centre, Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya Str. 84/32, 117997 Moscow, Russia
⁵ Station de Radioastronomie de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Univ. Orléans, OSUC, 18330 Nançay, France
⁶ Laboratoire Univers et Théories LUTh, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS/INSU, Université Paris Diderot, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
⁷ Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁸ Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
⁹ CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, PO Box 1130, Bentley 6102, Australia

Received: 3 September 2019
Accepted: 17 October 2019

Abstract

We present the results from the low-frequency (40–78 MHz) extension of the first pulsar census of non-recycled pulsars carried out with the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR). We used the low-band antennas of the LOFAR core stations to observe 87 pulsars out of 158 that had been previously detected using high-band antennas. We present flux densities and flux-calibrated profiles for the 43 pulsars we detected. Of this sample, 17 have not, to our knowledge, previously been detected at such low frequencies. Here we recalculate the spectral indices using the new low-frequency flux density measurements from the LOFAR census and discuss the prospects of studying pulsars at very low frequencies using current and upcoming facilities, such as the New Extension in Nançay Upgrading LOFAR (NenuFAR).