MG14 - Talk detail

Back to previous page

 Participant

Institution

Session

Accepted

Order

Time

Talk

Title

Abstract

PSR J0737-3039A/B is the first and only pulsar-pulsar system to ever be discovered. Its 2.4-hr orbit makes it the most relativistic double neutron star binary known so far and as a consequence it is a formidable testbed for strong-field gravity. Unexpectedly, the double pulsar also provided the first quantitative measurement of geodetic precession from the study of unique radio eclipses of the ‘A’ pulsar by its companion as a consequence of the nearly perfect edge-on orbit. Spin precession of the companion, pulsar ‘B’, has now tilted its spin axis such that its radio beam no longer intercepts our line of sight — it was last seen in 2009. The disappearance of pulsar B does not prevent us from seeing pulsar A’s eclipses and hence we still possess a way of indirectly studying it. In this talk I will report on preliminary results from an extended study of the eclipses covering the period after which pulsar B disappeared.

Pdf file

Session

Accepted

Order

Time

Talk

Title

Abstract

In recent years, the fastest growing class of binary pulsars is that containing an energetic millisecond pulsar strongly irradiating a light, semi-degenerate companion orbiting at close proximity from its host. Dubbed ‘spiders’ because of the cannibalistic behaviour of these pulsar, they in fact subdivide into two sub-classes: ‘black widows’ and ‘redbacks’, which appear to differ only by the mass of the companion — the former being a few 0.01Msun while the latter are ~0.2Msun. Among other things these binaries prove to be good for measuring pulsar masses. The few measurements obtained so far indicate that they likely constitute a rather massive sub-population of neutron stars. In this talk, I will discuss highlight recent mass measurements as well as notable behaviours, such as ‘spotty’ companion surfaces and secular flux changes.

Pdf file

Back to previous page