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Science 23 April 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5670, pp. 542 - 546
DOI: 10.1126/science.1097649
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Review

Observational Properties of Pulsars

R. N. Manchester

Pulsars are remarkable clocklike celestial sources that are believed to be rotating neutron stars formed in supernova explosions. They are valuable tools for investigations into topics such as neutron star interiors, globular cluster dynamics, the structure of the interstellar medium, and gravitational physics. Searches at radio and x-ray wavelengths over the past 5 years have resulted in a large increase in the number of known pulsars and the discovery of new populations of pulsars, posing challenges to theories of binary and stellar evolution. Recent images at radio, optical, and x-ray wavelengths have revealed structures resulting from the interaction of pulsar winds with the surrounding interstellar medium, giving new insights into the physics of pulsars.

Australia Telescope National Facility, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Post Office Box 76, Epping, New South Wales 1710, Australia.

E-mail: dick.manchester{at}csiro.au

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Pulsars in Binary Systems: Probing Binary Stellar Evolution and General Relativity.
I. H. Stairs (2004)
Science 304, 547-552
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)