Deciphering Profile Stability in Millisecond Pulsars: Timescales, Frequency Evolution, and Implications on Emission Mechanisms

Abstract

Pulse profile stability in millisecond pulsars (MSPs) is a key factor in achieving high-precision timing essential for detecting nanohertz gravitational waves with Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs). In this work, we present a systematic analysis of profile stabilization timescales in MSPs using a direct method based on pulse stacking, applied to long-term multi-epoch observations. Our study utilizes data from the upgraded GMRT (uGMRT) between 300--750 MHz for nine MSPs over 3--5 years and Parkes Ultra-Wideband low-frequency receiver observations (Parkes UWL; covering 704--4032 MHz) for three of them. We find that stable profiles typically require averaging over $10^5$--$10^6$ pulses. This is the first time such a quantitative approach has been applied to MSPs across a wide frequency range, providing an indirect but practical estimate of jitter noise, a dominant noise source in PTA datasets. We observe that stabilization timescales depend on signal-to-noise ratio, pulse morphology, and surface magnetic field strength, with a moderate correlation indicating a possible role of the magnetic field in emission stability. A complementary single-epoch analysis of nine bright MSPs with uGMRT Band-3 (300--500 MHz) reinforces these results and demonstrates the method's applicability to broader MSP populations. We show that a strong correlation exists between profile-stability slope and the jitter parameter, implying that for faint MSPs, profile-stability analysis can act as an effective proxy for intrinsic pulse-shape variability. Our work provides a novel and scalable framework to assess intrinsic profile variability, helping to guide integration time choices and reduce timing noise in PTA experiments.

Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

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