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On the orbital properties of millisecond pulsar binaries

Hui, CY; Wu, K; Han, Q; Kong, AKH; Tam, PHT; (2018) On the orbital properties of millisecond pulsar binaries. The Astrophysical Journal, , 864 (1) , Article 30. 10.3847/1538-4357/aad5ec. Green open access

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Abstract

We report a detailed analysis of the orbital properties of a binary millisecond pulsar (MSP) with a white dwarf (WD) companion. Positive correlations between the orbital period P b and eccentricity epsilon are found in two classes of MSP binaries with a He WD and with a CO/ONeMg WD, though their trends are different. The distribution of P b is not uniform. Deficiency of sources at P b ~ 35–50 days (Gap 1) have been mentioned in previous studies. On the other hand, another gap at P b ~ 2.5–4.5 days (Gap 2) is identified for the first time. Inspection of the relation between P b and the companion masses M c revealed the subpopulations of MSP binaries with a He WD separated by Gap 1, above which P b is independent of M c (horizontal branch) but below which P b correlates strongly with M c (lower branch). A distinctive horizontal branch and a lower branch separated by Gap 2 were identified for the MSP binaries with a CO/ONeMg WD at shorter P b and higher M c. Generally, M c are higher in the horizontal branch than in the lower branch for the MSP binaries with a He WD. These properties can be explained in terms of a binary orbital evolution scenario in which the WD companion was ablated by a pulsar wind in the post-mass-transfer phase.

Type: Article
Title: On the orbital properties of millisecond pulsar binaries
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aad5ec
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad5ec
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10056488
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