Recovering intrinsic pulsar profiles and scattering parameters with a CLEAN-based algorithm for high-precision timing

Abstract In high-precision pulsar timing, the accurate recovery of intrinsic pulsar profiles and their associated scattering parameters is of paramount importance. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study focused on the retrieval of intrinsic pulsar profiles through the use of a CLEAN-based algorithm as described in Bhat et al. (2003, ApJ, 584, 782). The primary objective of this study is to elucidate the capabilities of our pipeline in the context of recovering the intrinsic profiles and associated parameters, such as dispersion measure, frequency scaling index, scattering time, pulse broadening function, and time of arrival residuals. We use simulated profiles to rigorously test and validate the efficiency of our recovery pipeline. These simulated profiles encompass single- and multi-component Gaussians, designed to emulate the diverse nature of pulsar profiles. By comparing the recovered profiles and parameters to their injected values, as derived from simulations, we provide a robust evaluation of the pipeline’s performance along with its drawbacks and limitations.