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Pan Z, Lu JG, Jiang P, Han JL, Chen HL, Han ZW, Liu K, Qian L, Xu RX, Zhang B, Luo JT, Yan Z, Yang ZL, Zhou DJ, Wang PF, Wang C, Li MH, Zhu M. A binary pulsar in a 53-minute orbit. Nature 2023; 620:961-964. [PMID: 37339734 PMCID: PMC10468392 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06308-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Spider pulsars are neutron stars that have a companion star in a close orbit. The companion star sheds material to the neutron star, spinning it up to millisecond rotation periods, while the orbit shortens to hours. The companion is eventually ablated and destroyed by the pulsar wind and radiation1,2. Spider pulsars are key for studying the evolutionary link between accreting X-ray pulsars and isolated millisecond pulsars, pulsar irradiation effects and the birth of massive neutron stars3-6. Black widow pulsars in extremely compact orbits (as short as 62 minutes7) have companions with masses much smaller than 0.1 M⊙. They may have evolved from redback pulsars with companion masses of about 0.1-0.4 M⊙ and orbital periods of less than 1 day8. If this is true, then there should be a population of millisecond pulsars with moderate-mass companions and very short orbital periods9, but, hitherto, no such system was known. Here we report radio observations of the binary millisecond pulsar PSR J1953+1844 (M71E) that show it to have an orbital period of 53.3 minutes and a companion with a mass of around 0.07 M⊙. It is a faint X-ray source and located 2.5 arcminutes from the centre of the globular cluster M71.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Pan
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Guizhou Radio Astronomical Observatory, Guizhou University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - J G Lu
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Guizhou Radio Astronomical Observatory, Guizhou University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - P Jiang
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
- Guizhou Radio Astronomical Observatory, Guizhou University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China.
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
| | - J L Han
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
| | - H-L Chen
- Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, People's Republic of China
| | - Z W Han
- Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - K Liu
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany
| | - L Qian
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Guizhou Radio Astronomical Observatory, Guizhou University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - R X Xu
- Department of Astronomy, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - B Zhang
- Nevada Center for Astrophysics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
| | - J T Luo
- National Time Service Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China
| | - Z Yan
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Z L Yang
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - D J Zhou
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - P F Wang
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - C Wang
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - M H Li
- State Key Laboratory of Public Big Data, Guizhou University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
| | - M Zhu
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Guizhou Radio Astronomical Observatory, Guizhou University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
- College of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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Clark CJ, Kerr M, Barr ED, Bhattacharyya B, Breton RP, Bruel P, Camilo F, Chen W, Cognard I, Cromartie HT, Deneva J, Dhillon VS, Guillemot L, Kennedy MR, Kramer M, Lyne AG, Sánchez DM, Nieder L, Phillips C, Ransom SM, Ray PS, Roberts MSE, Roy J, Smith DA, Spiewak R, Stappers BW, Tabassum S, Theureau G, Voisin G. Neutron star mass estimates from gamma-ray eclipses in spider millisecond pulsar binaries. NATURE ASTRONOMY 2023; 7:451-462. [PMID: 37096051 PMCID: PMC10119022 DOI: 10.1038/s41550-022-01874-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Reliable neutron star mass measurements are key to determining the equation of state of cold nuclear matter, but such measurements are rare. Black widows and redbacks are compact binaries consisting of millisecond pulsars and semi-degenerate companion stars. Spectroscopy of the optically bright companions can determine their radial velocities, providing inclination-dependent pulsar mass estimates. Although inclinations can be inferred from subtle features in optical light curves, such estimates may be systematically biased due to incomplete heating models and poorly understood variability. Using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope, we have searched for gamma-ray eclipses from 49 spider systems, discovering significant eclipses in 7 systems, including the prototypical black widow PSR B1957+20. Gamma-ray eclipses require direct occultation of the pulsar by the companion, and so the detection, or significant exclusion, of a gamma-ray eclipse strictly limits the binary inclination angle, providing new robust, model-independent pulsar mass constraints. For PSR B1957+20, the eclipse implies a much lighter pulsar (1.81 ± 0.07 solar masses) than inferred from optical light curve modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. J. Clark
- Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Hannover, Germany
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - M. Kerr
- Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC USA
| | - E. D. Barr
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany
| | - B. Bhattacharyya
- National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Pune, India
| | - R. P. Breton
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - P. Bruel
- Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École Polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, Palaiseau, France
| | - F. Camilo
- South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - W. Chen
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany
| | - I. Cognard
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace–Université d’Orléans, CNRS, Orléans, France
- Observatoire Radioastronomique de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Université d’Orléans, CNRS, Nançay, France
| | - H. T. Cromartie
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science and Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - J. Deneva
- Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC USA
- College of Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA USA
| | - V. S. Dhillon
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, La Laguna, Spain
| | - L. Guillemot
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace–Université d’Orléans, CNRS, Orléans, France
- Observatoire Radioastronomique de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Université d’Orléans, CNRS, Nançay, France
| | - M. R. Kennedy
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Department of Physics, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - M. Kramer
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany
| | - A. G. Lyne
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - D. Mata Sánchez
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, La Laguna, Spain
- Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - L. Nieder
- Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Hannover, Germany
- Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - C. Phillips
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA USA
| | - S. M. Ransom
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM USA
| | - P. S. Ray
- Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC USA
| | | | - J. Roy
- National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Pune, India
| | - D. A. Smith
- Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Pessac, France
| | - R. Spiewak
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria Australia
- Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria Australia
| | - B. W. Stappers
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - S. Tabassum
- New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV USA
| | - G. Theureau
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace–Université d’Orléans, CNRS, Orléans, France
- Observatoire Radioastronomique de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Université d’Orléans, CNRS, Nançay, France
- Laboratoire Univers et Théories, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Université de Paris, Meudon, France
| | - G. Voisin
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Laboratoire Univers et Théories, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Université de Paris, Meudon, France
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Enoto T, Kisaka S, Shibata S. Observational diversity of magnetized neutron stars. REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS. PHYSICAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN) 2019; 82:106901. [PMID: 31549688 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6633/ab3def] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Young and rotation-powered neutron stars (NSs) are commonly observed as rapidly-spinning pulsars. They dissipate their rotational energy by emitting pulsar wind with electromagnetic radiation and spin down at a steady rate, according to the simple steadily-rotating magnetic dipole model. In reality, however, multiwavelength observations of radiation from the NS surface and magnetosphere have revealed that the evolution and properties of NSs are highly diverse, often dubbed as 'NS zoo'. In particular, many of young and highly magnetized NSs show a high degree of activities, such as sporadic electromagnetic outbursts and irregular changes in pulse arrival times. Importantly, their magnetic field, which are the strongest in the universe, makes them ideal laboratories for fundamental physics. A class of highly-magnetized isolated NSs is empirically divided into several subclasses. In a broad classification, they are, in the order of the magnetic field strength (B) from the highest, 'magnetars' (historically recognized as soft gamma-ray repeaters and/or anomalous x-ray pulsars), 'high-B pulsars', and (nearby) x-ray isolated NSs. This article presents an introductory review for non-astrophysicists about the observational properties of highly-magnetized NSs, and their implications. The observed dynamic nature of NSs must be interpreted in conjunction with transient magnetic activities triggered during magnetic-energy dissipation process. In particular, we focus on how the five fundamental quantities of NSs, i.e. mass, radius, spin period, surface temperature, and magnetic fields, as observed with modern instruments, change with evolution of, and vary depending on the class of, the NSs. They are the foundation for a future unified theory of NSs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teruaki Enoto
- Department of Astronomy and The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8302, Japan
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