Discovery of Two Relativistic Neutron Star-White Dwarf Binaries
Abstract
We have discovered two recycled pulsars in relativistic orbits as part of the first high-frequency survey of intermediate Galactic latitudes. PSR J1157-5112 is a 44 ms pulsar and the first recycled pulsar with an ultra-massive (M > 1.14 Mo) white dwarf companion. Millisecond pulsar J1757-5322 is a relativistic circular-orbit system which will coalesce due to the emission of gravitational radiation in less than 9.5 Gyr. Of the ~40 known circular orbit pulsars, J1757-5322 and J1157-5112 have the highest projected orbital velocities. There are now three local neutron-star/white-dwarf binaries that will coalesce in less than a Hubble time, implying a large coalescence rate for these objects in the local Universe. Systems such as J1141-6545 (Kaspi et al. 2000) are potential gamma-ray burst progenitors and dominate the coalescence rate, whilst lighter systems make excellent progenitors of millisecond pulsars with planetary or ultra-low mass companions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0010599,
title = {Discovery of Two Relativistic Neutron Star-White Dwarf Binaries},
author = {R. T. Edwards and M. Bailes},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0010599},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
4 pages, to appear in ApJ Letters. Uses aastex v 5.0, emulateapj5.sty, apjfonts.sty