A new population of neutron stars has emerged during the last decade: compact binary millisecond pulsars (CBMSPs). Because these pulsars and their companion stars are in tight orbits with typical separations of $10^{11}$ cm, their winds interact stro
ngly forming an intrabinary shock. Electron-positron pairs reaccelerated at the shock can reach energies of about 10 TeV, which makes this new population a potential source of GeV-TeV cosmic ray positrons. We present an analytical model for the fluxes and spectra of positrons from intrabinary shocks of CBMSPs. We find that the minimum energy $E_{min}$ of the pairs that enter the shock is critical to quantify the energy spectrum with which positrons are injected into the interstellar medium. We measure for the first time the Galactic scale height of CBMSPs, $z_e=0.4pm0.1$ kpc, after correcting for an observational bias against finding them close to the Galactic plane. From this, we estimate a local density of 5-9 kpc$^{-3}$ and an extrapolated total of 2-7 thousand CBMSPs in the Galaxy. We then propagate the pairs in the isotropic diffusion approximation and find that the positron flux from the total population is about two times higher than that from the 52 currently known systems. For $E_{min}$ between 1 and 50 GeV, our model predicts only a minor contribution from CBMSPs to the diffuse positron flux at 100 GeV observed at Earth. We also quantify the effects of anisotropic transport due to the ordered Galactic magnetic field, which can change the diffuse flux from nearby sources drastically. Finally, we find that a single hidden CBMSP close to the Galactic plane can yield a positron flux comparable to the AMS-02 measurements at 600 GeV if its line-of-sight to Earth is along the ordered Galactic field lines, while its combined electron and positron flux at higher energies would be close to the measurements of CALET, DAMPE and Fermi-LAT.
The maximum mass of a neutron star has important implications across multiple research fields, including astrophysics, nuclear physics and gravitational wave astronomy. Compact binary millisecond pulsars (with orbital periods shorter than about a day
) are a rapidly-growing pulsar population, and provide a good opportunity to search for the most massive neutron stars. Applying a new method to measure the velocity of both sides of the companion star, we previously found that the compact binary millisecond pulsar PSR J2215+5135 hosts one of the most massive neutron stars known to date, with a mass of 2.27$pm$0.16 M$_odot$ (Linares, Shahbaz & Casares, 2018). We reexamine the properties of the 0.33 M$_odot$ companion star, heated by the pulsar, and argue that irradiation in this redback binary is extreme yet stable, symmetric and not necessarily produced by an extended source. We also review the neutron star mass distribution in light of this and more recent discoveries. We compile a list of all (nine) systems with published evidence for super-massive neutron stars, with masses above 2 M$_odot$. We find that four of them are compact binary millisecond pulsars (one black widow, two redbacks and one redback candidate). This shows that compact binary millisecond pulsars are key to constraining the maximum mass of a neutron star.
New millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in compact binaries provide a good opportunity to search for the most massive neutron stars. Their main-sequence companion stars are often strongly irradiated by the pulsar, displacing the effective center of light from
their barycenter and making mass measurements uncertain. We present a series of optical spectroscopic and photometric observations of PSR J2215+5135, a redback binary MSP in a 4.14 hr orbit, and measure a drastic temperature contrast between the dark/cold (T$_mathrm{N}$=5660$^{+260}_{-380}$ K) and bright/hot (T$_mathrm{D}$=8080$^{+470}_{-280}$ K) sides of the companion star. We find that the radial velocities depend systematically on the atmospheric absorption lines used to measure them. Namely, the semi-amplitude of the radial velocity curve of J2215 measured with magnesium triplet lines is systematically higher than that measured with hydrogen Balmer lines, by 10%. We interpret this as a consequence of strong irradiation, whereby metallic lines dominate the dark side of the companion (which moves faster) and Balmer lines trace its bright (slower) side. Further, using a physical model of an irradiated star to fit simultaneously the two-species radial velocity curves and the three-band light curves, we find a center-of-mass velocity of K$_2$=412.3$pm$5.0 km s$^{-1}$ and an orbital inclination i=63.9$^circ$$^{+2.4}_{-2.7}$. Our model is able to reproduce the observed fluxes and velocities without invoking irradiation by an extended source. We measure masses of M$_1$=2.27$^{+0.17}_{-0.15}$ M$_odot$ and M$_2$=0.33$^{+0.03}_{-0.02}$ M$_odot$ for the neutron star and the companion star, respectively. If confirmed, such a massive pulsar would rule out some of the proposed equations of state for the neutron star interior.
We present the discovery of the variable optical and X-ray counterparts to the radio millisecond pulsar (MSP) PSR J1306-40, recently discovered by Keane et al. We find that both the optical and X-ray fluxes are modulated with the same period, which a
llows us to measure for the first time the orbital period P$_{rm orb}$=1.09716[6] d. The optical properties are consistent with a main sequence companion with spectral type G to mid K and, together with the X-ray luminosity (8.8$times$10$^{31}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the 0.5-10 keV band, for a distance of 1.2 kpc), confirm the redback classification of this pulsar. Our results establish the binary nature of PSR J1306-40, which has the longest P$_{rm orb}$ among all known compact binary MSPs in the Galactic disk. We briefly discuss these findings in the context of irradiation and intrabinary shock emission in compact binary MSPs.
We present the discovery of a variable optical counterpart to the unidentified gamma-ray source 3FGL J0212.1+5320, and argue this is a new compact binary millisecond pulsar (MSP) candidate. We show 3FGL J0212.1+5320 hosts a semi-detached binary with
a 0.86955$pm$0.00015 d orbital period and a F6-type companion star at an estimated distance of D=1.1$pm$0.2 kpc, with a radial velocity curve semi-amplitude K$_2$=214.1$pm$5.0 km s$^{-1}$ and a projected rotational velocity of Vsin(i)=73.2$pm$1.6 km s$^{-1}$. We find a hard X-ray source at the same location with a 0.5$-$10 keV luminosity L$_mathrm{X}$=2.6$times$10$^{32}$ (D/1.1 kpc)$^2$ erg s$^{-1}$, which strengthens the MSP identification. Our results imply a mass ratio q=M$_2$/M$_1$=0.26$^{+0.02}_{-0.03}$ if the companion star fills its Roche lobe, and q$gtrsim$0.26 in any case. This classifies 3FGL J0212.1+5320 as a redback binary MSP; if its MSP nature is confirmed, this will be the brightest compact binary MSP in the optical band (r$simeq$14.3 mag) and will have the longest orbital period among Galactic field systems (nearly 21 hr). Based on the light curve peak-to-peak amplitude ($Delta$r=0.19 mag), we further suggest that the orbital inclination is high and the putative pulsar mass is close to canonical (M$_1$$simeq$1.3$-$1.6 M$_odot$). Finally, we discuss the lack of heating signatures and asymmetric optical light curves in the context of other redback MSPs.
Tracking the spectral evolution of transiently accreting neutron stars between outburst and quiescence probes relatively poorly understood accretion regimes. Such studies are challenging because they require frequent monitoring of sources with lumino
sities below the thresholds of current all-sky X-ray monitors. We present the analysis of over 30 observations of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary SAX J1750.8-2900 taken across four years with the X-ray telescope aboard Swift. We find spectral softening with decreasing luminosity both on long ($sim$1 year) and short ($sim$days to week) timescales. As the luminosity decreases from $4times10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$ to $ sim1times10^{35} $ erg s$^{-1}$ (0.5-10 keV), the power law photon index increases from from 1.4 to 2.9. Although not statistically required, our spectral fits allow an additional soft component that displays a decreasing temperature as the luminosity decreases from $4 times 10^{36} $ to $6 times 10^{34}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Spectral softening exhibited by SAX J1750.8-2900 is consistent both with accretion emission whose spectral shape steepens with decreasing luminosity and also with being dominated by a changing soft component, possibly associated with accretion onto the neutron star surface, as the luminosity declines.
Compact binary millisecond pulsars with main-sequence donors, often referred to as redbacks, constitute the long-sought link between low-mass X-ray binaries and millisecond radio pulsars, and offer a unique probe of the interaction between pulsar win
ds and accretion flows. We present a systematic study of eight nearby redbacks, using more than 100 observations obtained with Swifts X-ray Telescope. We distinguish between three main states: pulsar, disk and outburst states. We find X-ray mode switching in the disk state of PSR J1023+0038 and XSS J12270-4859, similar to what was found in the other redback which showed evidence for accretion: rapid, recurrent changes in X-ray luminosity (0.5-10 keV, L$_mathrm{X}$), between [6-9]$times$10$^{32}$ erg s$^{-1}$ (disk-passive state) and [3-5]$times$10$^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$ (disk-active state). This strongly suggests that mode switching $-$which has not been observed in quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries$-$ is universal among redback millisecond pulsars in the disk state. We briefly explore the implications for accretion disk truncation, and find that the inferred magnetospheric radius in the disk state of PSR J1023+0038 and XSS J12270-4859 lies outside the light cylinder. Finally, we note that all three redbacks which have developed accretion disks have relatively high L$_mathrm{X}$ in the pulsar state ($>$10$^{32}$ erg s$^{-1}$).
The X-ray transient IGR J18245-2452 in the globular cluster M28 contains the first neutron star (NS) seen to switch between rotation-powered and accretion-powered pulsations. We analyse its 2013 March-April 25d-long outburst as observed by Swift, whi
ch had a peak bolometric luminosity of ~6% of the Eddington limit (L$_{E}$), and give detailed properties of the thermonuclear burst observed on 2013 April 7. We also present a detailed analysis of new and archival Chandra data, which we use to study quiescent emission from IGR J18245-2452 between 2002 and 2013. Together, these observations cover almost five orders of magnitude in X-ray luminosity (L$_X$, 0.5-10 keV). The Swift spectrum softens during the outburst decay (photon index $Gamma$ from 1.3 above L$_X$/L$_{E}$=10$^{-2}$ to ~2.5 at L$_X$/L$_{E}$=10$^{-4}$), similar to other NS and black hole (BH) transients. At even lower luminosities, deep Chandra observations reveal hard ($Gamma$=1-1.5), purely non-thermal and highly variable X-ray emission in quiescence. We therefore find evidence for a spectral transition at L$_X$/L$_{E}$~10$^{-4}$, where the X-ray spectral softening observed during the outburst decline turns into hardening as the source goes to quiescence. Furthermore, we find a striking variability pattern in the 2008 Chandra light curves: rapid switches between a high-L$_X$ active state (L$_Xsimeq$3.9x10$^{33}$ erg/s) and a low-L$_X$ passive state (L$_Xsimeq$5.6x10$^{32}$ erg/s), with no detectable spectral change. We put our results in the context of low luminosity accretion flows around compact objects and X-ray emission from millisecond radio pulsars. Finally, we discuss possible origins for the observed mode switches in quiescence, and explore a scenario where they are caused by fast transitions between the magnetospheric accretion and pulsar wind shock emission regimes.
XTE J1701-407 is a new transient X-ray source discovered on June 8th, 2008. More than one month later it showed a rare type of thermonuclear explosion: a long type I X-ray burst. We report herein the results of our study of the spectral and flux evol
ution during this burst, as well as the analysis of the outburst in which it took place. We find an upper limit on the distance to the source of 6.1 kpc by considering the maximum luminosity reached by the burst. We measure a total fluence of 3.5*10^{-6} erg/cm^2 throughout the ~20 minutes burst duration and a fluence of 2.6*10^{-3} erg/cm^2 during the first two months of the outburst. We show that the flux decay is best fitted by a power law (index ~1.6) along the tail of the burst. Finally, we discuss the implications of the long burst properties, and the presence of a second and shorter burst detected by Swift ten days later, for the composition of the accreted material and the heating of the burning layer.
SWIFT J1756.9-2508 is one of the few accreting millisecond pulsars (AMPs) discovered to date. We report here the results of our analysis of its aperiodic X-ray variability, as measured with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer during the 2007 outburst of
the source. We detect strong (~35%) flat-topped broadband noise throughout the outburst with low characteristic frequencies (~0.1 Hz). This makes SWIFT J1756.9-2508 similar to the rest of AMPs and to other low luminosity accreting neutron stars when they are in their hard states, and enables us to classify this AMP as an atoll source in the extreme island state. We also find a hard tail in its energy spectrum extending up to 100 keV, fully consistent with such source and state classification.
