Summary

This volume, edited by Antony Hewish, compiles lectures from the 1979 Scottish Universities Summer School in Physics, focusing on the astrophysical and theoretical implications of pulsars. The central thesis is that pulsars—rapidly rotating neutron stars—serve as unique laboratories for testing high-energy physics, particularly under extreme gravitational and magnetic fields. Key ideas include the mechanisms of pulsar emission, the role of neutron star crusts in glitches, and the use of pulsar timing to probe general relativity and interstellar medium. The book also addresses the equation of state of dense nuclear matter, linking observational data to particle physics models. Readers gain a concrete understanding of how pulsar observations constrain theories of matter at supra-nuclear densities and strong magnetic fields, bridging astronomy with fundamental physics.

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Key concepts

Pulsar glitches — Sudden increases in a pulsar's rotation rate, attributed to starquakes or vortex unpinning in the neutron star's superfluid interior.
Equation of state of neutron star matter — The theoretical relationship between pressure, density, and composition of matter at densities exceeding atomic nuclei, constrained by pulsar mass and radius measurements.
Magnetic dipole radiation model — The mechanism by which a rotating neutron star's magnetic field emits electromagnetic waves, gradually slowing its spin and powering observed pulses.
Shapiro delay — A relativistic effect where pulsar signals passing near a massive object (e.g., a companion star) are delayed, used to test general relativity.
Interstellar dispersion — The frequency-dependent delay of pulsar radio pulses as they travel through ionized interstellar gas, allowing measurement of electron column density.