AFTER LAT PULSAR TIMING MOU TELECON, 26 Feb 2008
Michelson Ritz McEnery Thompson Smith

  ***Draft*** e-mail to pulsar timing consortium
  
  Hello everybody,
  
  A phone conference with Michelson, Ritz, McEnery, Thompson, Smith
  was held on Tuesday, Feb 26, to talk about issues surrounding the
  draft of the "GLAST LAT Memo of Understanding for a Pulsar Timing 
  Consortium".
  
  Referring to the Feb 23 version (v03) we propose some changes,
  which we think simplify the agreement, removing some of the sources of concern.
  We warmly welcome suggestions for text changes from the pulsar timers.
  
  Here we go:
  
  1) Expand the signature list so that each individual signs for him or herself.
  
  2) The 1st paragraph of section 2 cites the list of 231 pulsars with
  Edot >1E34 erg/s in the current public version of the ATNF database.
  
  We would add this new 2nd paragraph:
  
  "This MoU concerns only these pulsars. Sharing of timing solutions and LAT 
  results for other known pulsars, or pulsars discovered subsequently, can be 
  arranged outside of the consortium, as described in section 8."
  
  We think that this removes alot of potentially messy what-if's.
  
  3) At the end of section 3, after saying that Weltvrede coordinates, add this
  sentence:
  
  "He will maintain a table showing which observatories are monitoring the different
  pulsars, to assure that none are neglected."
  
  4) It turns out that the LAT team over-interpreted NASA's desire to see timing
  solutions made public, and that it is *not* a requirement. As resoundingly pointed
  out, NASA *can't* require that. The sentence in the 3rd paragraph of section 4 
  that currently reads "NASA requires the LAT team to make some form of
  a timing database public" would become "NASA encourages...".
  
  5) Article I does not become completely pointless, because of statements made
  to the GLAST User's Group that some kind of ephemerides database will be made
  available. How about this:
  
  "Article I: Consortium members agree to make a best-effort to publish a large fraction
  of the timing solutions acquired in this campaign by the end of Cycle 1. The public 
  database would then contain published results. The database documentation will instruct
  users to cite the timing parameter authors. Users interested in timing solutions not
  in the database will be directed to the astronomers monitoring those objects."
  
  The rest stays as before: "A large number of high Edot...." 
  
  6) Beginning of section 7, change "non-LAT team members" to "radio and X-ray astronomers".

            with regards, David S.