Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/37409

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Title

An eccentric binary millisecond pulsar in the galactic plane

Author(s)

Champion, David J.;  Ransom, Scott M.;  Lazarus, Patrick;  Camilo, Fernando;  Bassa, Cees;  Kaspi, Victoria M.;  Nice, David J.;  Freire, Paulo C. C.;  Stairs, Ingrid H.;  Van Leeuwen, Joeri;  Stappers, Benjamin W.;  Cordes, James M.;  Hessels, Jason W.;  Lorimer, Duncan R.;  Arzoumanian, Zaven;  Backer, Donald C.;  Bhat, N. D. R.;  Chatterjee, Shami;  Cognard, Ismael;  Deneva, Julia S.;  Faucher-Giguere, Claude-Andre;  Gaensler, Bryan M.;  Han, Jinlin Lin;  Jenet, Fredrick A.;  Kasian, Laura;  Kondratiev, Vlad I.;  Kramer, Michael;  Lazio, Joseph;  McLaughlin, Maura A.;  Venkataraman, Arun;  Vlemmings, Wouter

Abstract

Binary pulsar systems are superb probes of stellar and binary evolution and the physics of extreme environments. In a survey with the Arecibo telescope, we have found PSR J1903+0327, a radio pulsar with a rotational period of 2.15 milliseconds in a highly eccentric (e = 0.44) 95-day orbit around a solar mass (M circle-dot) companion. Infrared observations identify a possible main-sequence companion star. Conventional binary stellar evolution models predict neither large orbital eccentricities nor main-sequence companions around millisecond pulsars. Alternative formation scenarios involve recycling a neutron star in a globular cluster, then ejecting it into the Galactic disk, or membership in a hierarchical triple system. A relativistic analysis of timing observations of the pulsar finds its mass to be 1.74 ± 0.04 M circle-dot, an unusually high value.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing

Source

Science, Vol. 320, no. 5881 (Jun 2008), pp. 1309-1312

Publication year

2008

Keyword(s)

Arecibo telescope;  Binary pulsar systems;  PSR J1903+0327;  Radio pulsars

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science

ISSN

0036-8075

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1157580

Copyright

Copyright © 2008 The authors. The authors grant the American Association for the Advancement of Science exclusive rights to use and authorize use of their Work, however, they retain copyright in the Work as well as rights to make certain uses of the Work. The accepted manuscript is reproduced in accordance with this policy.

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