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Register a new userA puzzling millisecond pulsar companion in NGC 6266
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G. Cocozza
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We report on the optical identification of the companion to the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR J1701$-$3006B in the globular cluster NGC 6266. A relatively bright star with an anomalous red colour and an optical variability ($sim$ 0.2 mag) that nicely correlates with the orbital period of the pulsar ($sim$ 0.144 days) has been found nearly coincident with the pulsar nominal position. This star is also found to lie within the error box position of an X-ray source detected by Chandra observations, thus supporting the hypothesis that some interaction is occurring between the pulsar wind and the gas streaming off the companion. Although the shape of the optical light curve is suggestive of a tidally deformed star which has nearly completely filled its Roche lobe, the luminosity ($sim 1.9 L_odot$) and the surface temperature ($sim 6000$ K) of the star, deduced from the observed magnitude and colours, would imply a stellar radius significantly larger than the Roche lobe radius. Possible explanations for this apparent inconsistency are discussed.
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PSR,J1723$-$2837 is a redback millisecond pulsar (MSP) with a low-mass companion in a 14.8,h orbit. The systems properties closely resemble those of transitional MSPs that alternate between spin-down and accretion-powered states. In this paper we report on long-term photometry of the 15.5,mag companion to the pulsar. We use our data to illustrate that the star experiences sporadic activity, which we attribute to starspots. We also find that the companion is not tidally locked and infer $P_{rm s}/P_{rm b}= 0.9974(7)$ for the ratio between the rotational and orbital periods. Finally, we place constraints on various parameters, including the irradiation efficiency and pulsar mass. We discuss similarities with other redback MSPs and conclude that starspots may provide the most likely explanation for the often seen irregular and asymmetric optical lightcurves.
Using results from radio and X-ray observations of millisecond pulsars in 47 Tucanae, and extensive HST U, V, I imaging of the globular cluster core, we have derived a common astrometric solution good to < 0.1. A close positional coincidence is found for 47 Tuc U, a 4.3 ms pulsar in a 0.429 day orbit, detected in radio and X-rays, with an m_V = 20.9 blue star. Analysis of extensive time series data for this optical candidate shows a 0.004 magnitude semi-amplitude variation at the period and phase expected from the radio ephemeris, and the optical variations are spatially coincident with the candidate. This provides secure optical detection of the white dwarf companion to the millisecond pulsar, the first such detection in a globular cluster, allowing for comparisons to recent models for such companions with dependencies on mass and age.
We have used phase-resolved high-resolution images and low resolution spectra taken at the ESO Very Large Telescope, to study the properties of the low-mass Helium White Dwarf companion to the millisecond pulsar psr (hereafter COM J1911$-$5958A), in the halo of the Galactic Globular Cluster NGC 6752. The radial velocity curve confirms that com is orbiting the pulsar and allows to derive a systemic velocity of the binary system nicely in agreement with that of NGC 6752. This strongly indicates that the system is a member of the cluster, despite its very offset position ($sim 74$ core radii) with respect to the core. Constraints on the orbital inclination ($gapp 70^circ$) and pulsar mass ($1.2-1.5 {rm M_odot}$) are derived from the mass ratio $M_{PSR}/M_{COM}= 7.49pm0.64$ and photometric properties of COM J1911$-$5958A. The light curve in B-band shows two phases of unequal brightening ($Delta$mag$sim 0.3$ and 0.2, respectively) located close to quadratures and superimposed on an almost steady baseline emission: this feature is quite surprising and needs to be further investigated.
We present the discovery of a binary millisecond pulsar (MSP), PSR J2322$-$2650, found in the Southern section of the High Time Resolution Universe survey. This system contains a 3.5-ms pulsar with a $sim10^{-3}$ M$_{odot}$ companion in a 7.75-hour circular orbit. Follow-up observations at the Parkes and Lovell telescopes have led to precise measurements of the astrometric and spin parameters, including the period derivative, timing parallax, and proper motion. PSR J2322$-$2650 has a parallax of $4.4pm1.2$ mas, and is thus at an inferred distance of $230^{+90}_{-50}$ pc, making this system a candidate for optical studies. We have detected a source of $Rapprox26.4$ mag at the radio position in a single $R$-band observation with the Keck Telescope, and this is consistent with the blackbody temperature we would expect from the companion if it fills its Roche lobe. The intrinsic period derivative of PSR J2322$-$2650 is among the lowest known, $4.4(4)times10^{-22}$ s s$^{-1}$, implying a low surface magnetic field strength, $4.0(4)times10^7$ G. Its mean radio flux density of 160 $mu$Jy combined with the distance implies that its radio luminosity is the lowest ever measured, $0.008(5)$ mJy kpc$^2$. The inferred population of these systems in the Galaxy may be very significant, suggesting that this is a common MSP evolutionary path.
We report identification of the optical counterpart to the companion of the millisecond pulsar J2317+1439. At the timing position of the pulsar, we find an object with $g=22.96pm0.05$, $r=22.86pm0.04$ and $i=22.82pm0.05$. The magnitudes and colors of the object are consistent with it being a white dwarf. By comparing with white dwarf cooling models, we estimate that it has a mass of $0.39^{+0.13}_{-0.10}$ M$_{odot}$, an effective temperature of $8077^{+550}_{-470}$ K and a cooling age of $10.9pm0.3$ Gyr. Combining our results with published constraints on the orbital parameters obtained through pulsar timing, we estimate the pulsar mass to be $3.4^{+1.4}_{-1.1}$ M$_{odot}$. Although the constraint on the pulsar mass is still weak, there is a significant possibility that the pulsar could be more massive than two solar mass.
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