Evaluating the Prospects of Cyclic Deconvolution across 312 Pulsars

Abstract We use the cyclic figure of merit to determine the likelihood of achieving cyclic deconvolution for 312 pulsars with sub−40 ms spin periods across 15 different telescope−observing frequency combinations. We find that the optimal frequency range for achieving cyclic deconvolution for most pulsars is between ∼80 and 300 MHz, making low-frequency observatories such as the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT), Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), and Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) the best-suited instruments for the technique. Moreover, we find that, as quantified by the total number of sources with sufficient cyclic merits that are observed within the full deconvolution regime, uGMRT is likely the best current instrument for cyclic spectroscopy among the 10 telescopes we considered, with LOFAR being the second best, although our simulations predict that the Deep Synoptic Array may become the top instrument once a greater fraction of galactic millisecond pulsars are discovered. The relatively high cyclic merit of the Crab pulsar in the frequency ranges considered for Green Bank Telescope, MWA, LOFAR, and uGMRT suggests that some faster-spinning canonical pulsars may be able to achieve cyclic deconvolution, and we discuss potential follow-up analyses on other nonrecycled pulsars. We conclude by advocating for near−real-time cyclic spectroscopy backends to be considered for current and upcoming low-frequency telescopes to increase the accessibility of this technique.