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...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Pletsch, Holger Johannes (VerfasserIn) , Grondin, Marie-Hélène (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 07 Dec 2012
In: Science
Year: 2012, Jahrgang: 338, Heft: 6112, Pages: 1314-1317
ISSN:1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1229054
Online-Zugang:Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1229054
Verlag, Volltext: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6112/1314
Volltext
Verfasserangaben: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
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung: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.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 06.06.2018
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1229054