Compact Binaries and the Origin of Millisecond Pulsars

致密双星和毫秒脉冲星的起源

• 批准号: 2205550
• 负责人: Jay Strader
• 金额: $ 28.09万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2205550&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Compact; Binaries; Origin; Millisecond; Pulsars

Neutron stars are formed when a massive star reaches the end of its life: the outer layers of the star are ejected in a violent explosion (a supernova) but the core of the star collapses to form a small, dense remnant. When neutron stars are formed, they are spinning rapidly – if the neutron star is isolated it will gradually spin down. However, neutron stars that are in a binary system with another star can be “spun up” if material from the companion star is deposited onto the neutron star surface. Neutron stars that have been “spun up” by a companion can rotate hundreds of times per second and are known as millisecond pulsars. Although many millisecond pulsars have been identified, the evolution of these systems, and how they fit within the family of other binaries, is not well understood. A team from Michigan State University (MSU) will undertake a survey of unidentified high energy sources that are likely to contain millisecond pulsars using the 4.3m Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope. The goal of the survey is to find new millisecond pulsars, especially those with companions that may be in process of “spinning up” the pulsar. The Principal Investigator (PI) will expand a program at Michigan State University designed to give first year undergraduates from underrepresented groups the opportunity to participate in summer research. In addition, he will continue a pilot program to provide hands-on activities near the tailgating area for MSU football games. The goal of this program is to engage a wider range of people than is typically reached by traditional observatory nights.Observations with the NASA Fermi Gamma Ray telescope has shown that many millisecond pulsars are bright gamma-ray sources. More than a thousand Fermi gamma-ray sources remain unassociated with known sources, and many of these are undiscovered millisecond pulsars. The team will continue a program to target unidentified Fermi sources with the SOAR telescope. They will use low resolution optical spectroscopy to separate galactic from extragalactic sources and follow up candidate compact binaries with high cadence photometry to search for variability. Follow-up radio and X-ray observations will be used to confirm that a candidate source is indeed a millisecond pulsar. The SOAR observations have proven effective at not only classifying unassociated Fermi but also providing measurements of the orbital properties of gamma-ray emitting binaries: periods, inclinations, distances, and component masses. A major goal of the program is to find “transitional” sources: a low mass binary that transition to a rotation powered state.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

中子星是在大质量恒星生命结束时形成的：恒星的外层在剧烈爆炸（超新星）中被抛射出去，但恒星的核心坍塌形成一个小而致密的残骸。当中子星形成时，它们旋转得很快——如果中子星是孤立的，它会逐渐旋转下来。然而，如果伴星的物质沉积到中子星表面，与另一颗恒星在双星系统中的中子星就会“旋转”起来。被伴星“旋转”起来的中子星每秒可以旋转数百次，被称为毫秒脉冲星。虽然已经发现了许多毫秒脉冲星，但这些系统的演变，以及它们如何与其他双星家族相适应，还没有得到很好的理解。密歇根州立大学（MSU）的一个研究小组将使用4.3米的南方天体物理研究（SOAR）望远镜对可能包含毫秒脉冲星的未知高能源进行调查。这项调查的目标是寻找新的毫秒脉冲星，特别是那些可能正在“旋转”脉冲星的伴星。首席研究员（PI）将扩大密歇根州立大学的一个项目，该项目旨在为来自代表性不足群体的一年级本科生提供参加暑期研究的机会。此外，他将继续一项试点计划，在密歇根州立大学橄榄球比赛的尾随区附近提供实践活动。这个项目的目标是吸引比传统的天文台之夜更广泛的人群。美国宇航局费米伽马射线望远镜的观测表明，许多毫秒脉冲星是明亮的伽马射线源。超过一千个费米伽玛射线源仍然与已知源无关，其中许多是未被发现的毫秒脉冲星。该团队将继续使用SOAR望远镜瞄准未识别的费米源。他们将使用低分辨率光谱学来分离星系和星系外的源，并使用高节奏的光度法跟踪候选致密双星以寻找变异性。后续的无线电和x射线观测将用于确认候选源确实是一颗毫秒脉冲星。事实证明，SOAR的观测不仅能有效地对非相关费米星系进行分类，而且还能测量出伽马射线发射双星的轨道特性：周期、倾角、距离和组成质量。该计划的一个主要目标是找到“过渡”源：过渡到旋转供电状态的低质量二进制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

A New Flaring Black Widow Candidate and Demographics of Black Widow Millisecond Pulsars in the Galactic Field

• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aca2ac
• 发表时间: 2022-10
• 期刊: The Astrophysical Journal
• 作者: S. Swihart;J. Strader;L. Chomiuk;E. Aydi;K. Sokolovsky;P. Ray;M. Kerr

Multiwavelength Observations of a New Redback Millisecond Pulsar 4FGL J1910.7−5320

• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acae8a
• 发表时间: 2022-12
• 期刊: The Astrophysical Journal
• 作者: Ka-Yui Au;J. Strader;S. Swihart;L. Lin;A. Kong;J. Takata;C. Hui;T. Panurach;I. Molina;E. Aydi;K. Sokolovsky;Kwan-Lok Li

An observationally derived kick distribution for neutron stars in binary systems

双星系统中中子星的观测推导的冲击分布

• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad680
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• 影响因子: 4.8
• 作者: O’Doherty, Tyrone N.;Bahramian, Arash;Miller-Jones, James C. A.;Goodwin, Adelle J.;Mandel, Ilya;Willcox, Reinhold;Atri, Pikky;Strader, Jay
• 通讯作者: Strader, Jay