Tomasz Nowakowski is a writer for Phys.org.
Astronomers have studied a black widow millisecond pulsar called PSR J0610 The results of this research were published on the arXiv pre-print repository.
The most rapidly rotating pulsars, those with rotation periods below 30 milliseconds, are known as millisecond pulsars. They are thought to be formed in a pair of systems when one component becomes a neutron star and the other becomes a secondary star.
spider pulsars are a class of extreme binary pulsars with semi-degenerate companion stars. If the companion has less than 0.1 solar mass, they are called black widows, while if the secondary star is heavier, they are called redbacks.
A black widow MSP with a spin period of about 3.86 milliseconds was discovered in 2003 The companion object has a mass of 0.02 solar mass and is in the vicinity of the star every 6.86 hours. The system has been found to show optical variations, but no evidence of radio eclipses.
The ASTRON Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy in Dwingeloo, the Netherlands, led by Emma van der Vateren, decided to conduct radio observations of PSR J0610 with several radio telescopes and optical observations of the companion using the European Southern Observatory.
The researchers wrote in the paper that they reported on radio timing observations of the black widow.
There was no evidence of radio eclipses down to low frequencies or significant period variations over the 16 year period. The absence of radio eclipses in PSR J0610 is not unique as it was reported in several other black widow systems. They say that the absence of eclipses can be caused by either the ionized material or the material missing the line of sight.
The irradiation of this object by the pulsar is confirmed by the modeling of the optical light curve. The researchers said that the companion is unlikely to fill the region around a star in a system in which material is bound to it, while having a relatively high inclination, and that the irradiated hemisphere has a surprisingly low temperature.
The authors of the paper think that the low temperature of the companion and relatively low spin-down rate of PSR J0610 causes less mass lost in the wind. The scientists theorize that the absence of radio eclipses may be due to this.
More information: E. van der Wateren et al, Irradiated but not eclipsed, the case of PSR J0610−2100. arXiv:2203.05872v2 [astro-ph.HE], arxiv.org/abs/2203.05872The Science X Network will be launched in 2022.
Citation: Study investigates behavior of the 'black widow' millisecond pulsar PSR J0610−2100 (2022, March 21) retrieved 21 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-behavior-black-widow-millisecond-pulsar.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
