Binary millisecond pulsar discovery via gamma-ray pulsations
Millisecond pulsars, old neutron stars spun up by accreting matter from a companion star, can reach high rotation rates of hundreds of revolutions per second. Until now, all such “recycled” rotation-powered pulsars have been detected by their spin-modulated radio emission. In a computing-intensive b...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
07 Dec 2012
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| In: |
Science
Year: 2012, Volume: 338, Issue: 6112, Pages: 1314-1317 |
| ISSN: | 1095-9203 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.1229054 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1229054 Verlag, Volltext: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6112/1314 
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| Author Notes: | H.J. Pletsch, L. Guillemot, H. Fehrmann, B. Allen, M. Kramer, C. Aulbert, M. Ackermann, M. Ajello, A. de Angelis, W.B. Atwood, L. Baldini, J. Ballet, G. Barbiellini, D. Bastieri, K. Bechtol, R. Bellazzini, A.W. Borgland, E. Bottacini, T.J. Brandt, J. Bregeon, M. Brigida, P. Bruel, R. Buehler, S. Buson, G.A. Caliandro, R.A. Cameron, P.A. Caraveo, J.M. Casandjian, C. Cecchi, Ö. Çelik, E. Charles, R.C.G. Chaves, C.C. Cheung, J. Chiang, S. Ciprini, R. Claus, J. Cohen-Tanugi, J. Conrad, S. Cutini, F. D’Ammando, C.D. Dermer, S.W. Digel, P.S. Drell, A. Drlica-Wagner, R. Dubois, D. Dumora, C. Favuzzi, E.C. Ferrara, A. Franckowiak, Y. Fukazawa, P. Fusco, F. Gargano, N. Gehrels, S. Germani, N. Giglietto, F. Giordano, M. Giroletti, G. Godfrey, I.A. Grenier, M.-H. Grondin, J.E. Grove, S. Guiriec, D. Hadasch, Y. Hanabata, A.K. Harding, P.R. den Hartog, M. Hayashida, E. Hays, A.B. Hill, X. Hou, R.E. Hughes, G. Jóhannesson, M.S. Jackson, T. Jogler, A.S. Johnson, W.N. Johnson, J. Kataoka, M. Kerr, J. Knödlseder, M. Kuss, J. Lande, S. Larsson, L. Latronico, M. Lemoine-Goumard, F. Longo, F. Loparco, M.N. Lovellette, P. Lubrano, F. Massaro, M. Mayer, M.N. Mazziotta, J.E. McEnery, J. Mehault, P.F. Michelson, W. Mitthumsiri, T. Mizuno, M.E. Monzani, A. Morselli, I.V. Moskalenko, S. Murgia, T. Nakamori, R. Nemmen, E. Nuss, M. Ohno, T. Ohsugi, N. Omodei, M. Orienti, E. Orlando, F. de Palma, D. Paneque, J.S. Perkins, F. Piron, G. Pivato, T.A. Porter, S. Rainò, R. Rando, P.S. Ray, M. Razzano, A. Reimer, O. Reimer, T. Reposeur, S. Ritz, R. W. Romani, C. Romoli, D. A. Sanchez, P. M. Saz Parkinson, A. Schulz, C. Sgrò, E. do Couto e Silva, E. J. Siskind, D. A. Smith, G. Spandre, P. Spinelli, D. J. Suson, H. Takahashi, T. Tanaka, J. B. Thayer, J. G. Thayer, D. J. Thompson, L. Tibaldo, M. Tinivella, E. Troja, T.L. Usher, J. Vandenbroucke, V. Vasileiou, G. Vianello, V. Vitale, A.P. Waite, B.L. Winer, K.S. Wood, M. Wood, Z. Yang, S. Zimmer |
| Summary: | Millisecond pulsars, old neutron stars spun up by accreting matter from a companion star, can reach high rotation rates of hundreds of revolutions per second. Until now, all such “recycled” rotation-powered pulsars have been detected by their spin-modulated radio emission. In a computing-intensive blind search of gamma-ray data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (with partial constraints from optical data), we detected a 2.5-millisecond pulsar, PSR J1311−3430. This unambiguously explains a formerly unidentified gamma-ray source that had been a decade-long enigma, confirming previous conjectures. The pulsar is in a circular orbit with an orbital period of only 93 minutes, the shortest of any spin-powered pulsar binary ever found. A computer-intensive search revealed gamma-ray pulsations from an exotic binary star system in data from the Fermi Telescope. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 06.06.2018 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1095-9203 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.1229054 |