Detection of giant pulses in PSR J1047-6709

We report the emission variations in PSR J1047-6709 observed at 1369 MHz using the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. This pulsar shows two distinct emission states: a weak state and a bright emission state. We detected giant pulses (GPs) in the bright state for the first time. We found 75 GPs with pulse width ranging from 0.6 to 2.6 ms. The energy of GPs follows a power-law distribution with the index alpha = -3.26 +/- 0.22. The peak flux density of the brightest GP is 19 Jy which is 110 times stronger than the mean pulse profile. The polarization properties of the average profile of GPs are similar to that of the pulses with energy less than 10 times average pulse energy in the bright state. This indicates that the emission mechanism is basically the same for them. Our results provide a new insight into the origin of the GPs in pulsars.

Automated summary

By observing the emission variations in PSR J1047-6709, we detected giant pulses for the first time in the bright state, with 75 GPs found and their energy following a power-law distribution. The brightest GP observed was 110 times stronger than the mean pulse profile. Furthermore, the polarization properties of the average profile of GPs in the bright state were similar to those of pulses with energy less than 10 times the average pulse energy, indicating a shared emission mechanism.