# Pulsars and neutron stars/Key discoveries and the literature
## Key discoveries

| Date | Discovery |
| Nov 28th 1967 | First pulsar discovered |
| 1968 | Discovery of Crab pulsar |
| 1974 | First pulsar in binary system (PSR B1913+16) |
| 1982 | Discovery of the first millisecond pulsar (PSR B1937+21) |
| 1992 | Discovery of the first extra-Solar planets (around PSR B1257+12) |
| 2003 | Discovery of the first double pulsar system |

## Top cited papers each year

The following has been obtained from ADS by searching for the word "pulsar" in the abstract for papers in a given year. We list the top two cited papers for each year. Note that it is likely that this "ranking" may change for publications in recent years.
| Year | Reference | Title |
| 2014 | Will Olausen & Kaspi | The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment The McGill Magnetar Catalog |
| 2013 | Antoniadis et al. Abdo et al. | A Massive Pulsar in a Compact Relativistic Binary The Second Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-Ray Pulsars |
| 2012 | Profumo Abazajian & Kaplinghat | Dissecting cosmic-ray electron-positron data with Occam's razor: the role of known pulsars Detection of a gamma-ray source in the Galactic Center consistent with extended emission from dark matter annihilation and concentrated astrophysical emission |
| 2011 | Uzan van Haasteren et al. | Varying Constants, Gravitation and Cosmology Placing limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background using European Pulsar Timing Array data |
| 2010 | Demorest et al. Abadie et al. | A two-solar-mass neutron star measured using Shapiro delay TOPICAL REVIEW: Predictions for the rates of compact binary coalescences observable by ground-based gravitational-wave detectors |
| 2009 | Abdo et al. Hooper, Balsi & Dario Serpico | Fermi/Large Area Telescope Bright Gamma-Ray Source List Pulsars as the sources of high energy cosmic ray positrons |
| 2008 | Chang et al. Mereghetti | An excess of cosmic ray electrons at energies of 300-800GeV The strongest cosmic magnets: soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars |
| 2007 | Lattimer & Prakash Lorimer et al. | Neutron star observations: Prognosis for equation of state constraints A Bright Millisecond Radio Burst of Extragalactic Origin |
| 2006 | Will Woosley & Heger | The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment The Progenitor Stars of Gamma-Ray Bursts |
| 2005 | Manchester et al. Hobbs et al. | The Australia Telescope National Facility Pulsar Catalogue A statistical study of 233 pulsar proper motions |
| 2004 | Lattimer & Prakash Lyne et al. | The Physics of Neutron Stars A Double-Pulsar System: A Rare Laboratory for Relativistic Gravity and Plasma Physics |
| 2003 | Burgay et al. Chakrabarty et al. | An increased estimate of the merger rate of double neutron stars from observations of a highly relativistic system Nuclear-powered millisecond pulsars and the maximum spin frequency of neutron stars |
| 2002 | Cordes & Lazio Sarangi & Tye | NE2001.I. A New Model for the Galactic Distribution of Free Electrons and its Fluctuations Cosmic string production towards the end of brane inflation |
| 2001 | Manchester et al. Will | The Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey - I. Observing and data analysis systems, discovery and timing of 100 pulsars The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment |
| 2000 | van der Klis Maeder & Meynet | Millisecond Oscillations in X-ray binaries The evolution of rotating stars |
| 1999 | Hartman et al. Thorsett & Chakrabarty | The Third EGRET Catalog of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources Neutron Star Mass Measurements. I. Radio Pulsars |
| 1998 | Kouveliotou et al. | An X-ray pulsar with a superstrong magnetic field in the soft γ-ray repeater SGR1806 - 20 |
| 1997 | Bildsten et al. Becker & Truemper | Observations of Accreting Pulsars The X-ray luminosity of rotation-powered neutron stars |
| 1996 | Thompson & Duncan Romani | The Soft Gamma Repeaters as Very Strongly Magnetized Neutron Stars. II. Quiescent Neutrino, X-Ray, and Alfven Wave Emission Gamma-Ray Pulsars: Radiation Processes in the Outer Magnetosphere |
| 1995 | Thompson & Duncan Burrows, Hayes & Fryxell | The soft gamma repeaters as very strongly magnetized neutron stars - I. Radiative mechanism for outbursts On the Nature of Core-Collapse Supernova Explosions |
| 1994 | Lyne & Lorimer Kaspi, Taylor & Ryba | High birth velocities of radio pulsars High-precision timing of millisecond pulsars. 3: Long-term monitoring of PSRs B1855+09 and B1937+21 |
| 1993 | Taylor & Cordes Taylor, Manchester & Lyne ] | Pulsar distances and the galactic distribution of free electrons Catalog of 558 pulsars |
| 1992 | Duncan & Thompson Wolszczan & Frail | Formation of very strongly magnetized neutron stars - Implications for gamma-ray bursts A planetary system around the millisecond pulsar PSR1257 + 12 |
| 1991 | Bhattacharya & van den Heuvel Phinney | Formation and evolution of binary and millisecond radio pulsars The rate of neutron star binary mergers in the universe - Minimal predictions for gravity wave detectors |
| 1990 | Rickett Coroniti | Radio propagation through the turbulent interstellar plasma Magnetically striped relativistic magnetohydrodynamic winds - The Crab Nebula revisited |
| 1989 | Eichler et al. Taylor & Weisberg | Nucleosynthesis, neutrino bursts and gamma-rays from coalescing neutron stars Further experimental tests of relativistic gravity using the binary pulsar PSR 1913 + 16 |
| 1987 | Dewey & Cordes Lyne et al. | Monte Carlo simulations of radio pulsars and their progenitors The discovery of a millisecond pulsar in the globular cluster M28 |
| 1986 | Chen, Ho & Ruderman Chen, Ho & Ruderman | Energetic radiation from rapidly spinning pulsars. I - Outer magnetosphere gaps. II - VELA and Crab Energetic Radiation from Rapidly Spinning Pulsars. II. VELA and Crab |
| 1985 | Example | Example |
| 1984 | Example | Example |
| 1983 | Example | Example |
| 1982 | Example | Example |
| 1981 | Example | Example |
| 1980 | Example | Example |
| 1979 | Example | Example |
| 1978 | Example | Example |
| 1977 | Rickett Flowers & Ruderman | Interstellar scattering and scintillation of radio waves Evolution of pulsar magnetic fields |
| 1976 | Example | Example |
| 1975 | Example | Example |
| 1974 | Rees & Gunn Manchester | The origin of the magnetic field and relativistic particles in the Crab Nebula Structure of the Local Galactic Magnetic Field |
| 1973 | Example | Example |
| 1972 | Example | Example |
| 1971 | Example | Example |
| 1970 | Gunn & Ostriker Shklovskii | On the Nature of Pulsars. III. Analysis of Observations Possible Causes of the Secular Increase in Pulsar Periods |
| 1969 | Goldreich & Julian Ostriker & Gunn | Pulsar Electrodynamics On the Nature of Pulsars. I. Theory |
| 1968 | Pacini Large, Vaughan, Mills | Rotating Neutron Stars, Pulsars and Supernova Remnants A Pulsar Supernova Association? |