Targeted search for young radio pulsars in the SMC: discovery of two new pulsars

Abstract

We report the first rotation powered pulsars discovered in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) in more than a decade. PSR J0043–73 and PSR J0052–72 were discovered during a Parkes Multi-Beam (PMB) survey of MCSNR J0127–7332, and five new, optically selected, supernova remnant (SNR) candidates identified by the XMM–Newton survey. In addition to the candidates, we adjusted the PMB rotation to include additional nine SNRs and pulsar wind nebulae. We searched for young pulsars (1–200 ms) employing a Fourier analysis with PRESTO, as well as a search for longer period pulsars (200 ms–360 s) with a fast folding algorithm. Our targeted survey had a limiting flux density of 0.039 mJy for periods greater than 50 ms. Although not the main target of this search it was also sensitive to millisecond pulsars. PSR J0043–73 has a period and dispersion measure of 937.429 37 (26) ms and 115.1 (3.4) pc cm−3, respectively, and PSR J0052–72 has a period of 191.444 328 (46) ms and a DM of 158.6 (1.6) pc cm−3.