contact info
- Address: NRAO, 520 Edgemont Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22903
- Office: 308 Edgemont
- Phone: 434 244 6838
- Email: pdemores at nrao
research
My main research focus is on observations of radio pulsars, especially the areas of data analysis and instrumentation. High-precision timing of millisecond pulsars gives us a unique "laboratory" for fundamental physics and astrophysics, including tests of general relativity and potential use as a very low frequency (nHz) gravitational wave detector. I am involved in designing and building specialized instrumentation for pulsar observations, with the goal of obtaining the best possible timing precision. I am also exploring new methods for characterizing and compensating for the effect of the interstellar medium (ISM) on the pulsar signals. In addition to improving timing results, this research provides a unique view on the structure of the ionized ISM present in our galaxy.
current projects
- NANOGrav - the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves. Research collaboration working to detect nHz-frequency gravitational radiation using a pulsar timing array.
- GUPPI - the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument. Next-generation FPGA/GPU-based pulsar instrument for the GBT. Records large-bandwidth, high dynamic range, full-Stokes data in both filterbank and (soon) coherent dedispersion modes.
- PSRCHIVE - Data analysis software for pulsar timing, calibration and polarimetry.