A search for radio pulsars: from millisecond pulsars to magnetars

Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit radiation in beams observable with telescopes at various wavelengths. They are used to study a wide variety of physical and astrophysical phenomena, e.g. for the detection of gravitational waves. This thesis describes the search for pulsars as part of the southern High Time Resolution Universe survey currently underway at the Parkes Radio Telescope. The searched sub-survey returned 104 previously unknown pulsars, including 26 sources that belong to the group of millisecond pulsars. A major find in the survey is the radio magnetar PSR J1622-4950. Magnetars are slowly rotating neutron stars with extremely large surface magnetic field strengths, that occasionally undergo large outbursts of radiation. PSR J1622-4950 is the first of its kind to be discovered by its radio emission alone.