| Description: | Giant pulses (GPs) represent very intense, vanishingly short bursts of radio emission, miraculously known only for a few pulsars. Yet, the physics of their emission mechanism remains unclear. The connection of GPs with high-energy emission seems to be secure, thus making the Crab pulsar, with its bright pulsed emission known throughout all of the electromagnetic spectrum, the unique case in which to study the GP phenomenon. The peculiar evolution of the average profile of the Crab pulsar with frequency and the unique properties of profile components provide an excellent test-bed for different models of GP emission to be tested. I will present the current state of our knowledge about giant pulses, including previous and new multi-wavelength studies of Crab pulsar GPs, and discuss the latest results of our ongoing campaign of radio observations simultaneously with the Fermi Space Telescope. |
