English

Effect of tides on the orbital evolution of the redback system PSR 1723-2837

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2021-10-13 v1

Abstract

The standard model of stellar evolution in Close Binary Systems assumes that during mass transfer episodes the system is in a synchronised and circularised state. Remarkably, the redback system PSR J1723-2837 has an orbital period derivative P˙orb\dot{P}_{orb} too large to be explained by this model. Motivated by this fact, we investigate the action of tidal forces in between two consecutive mass transfer episodes for a system under irradiation feedback, which is a plausible progenitor for PSR J1723-2837. We base our analysis on Hut's treatment of equilibrium tidal evolution, generalised by considering the donor as a two layers object that may not rotate as a rigid body. We also analyse three different relations for the viscosity with the tidal forcing frequency. We found that the large value measured for P˙orb\dot{P}_{orb} can be reached by systems where the donor star rotates slower (by few percent) than the orbit just after mass transfer episodes. Van Staden & Antoniadis have observed this object and reported a lack of synchronism, opposite to that required by the Hut's theory to account for the observed P˙orb\dot{P}_{orb}. Motivated by this discrepancy, we analyse photometric data obtained by the spacecraft Kepler second mission K2, with the purpose of identifying the periods present in PSR J1723-2837. We notice several periods close to those of the orbit and the rotation. The obtained periods pattern reveals the presence of a more complex phenomenology, which would not be well described in the frame of the weak friction model of equilibrium tides.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2109.13985,
  title  = {Effect of tides on the orbital evolution of the redback system PSR 1723-2837},
  author = {M. L. Novarino and M. Echeveste and O. G. Benvenuto and M. A. De Vito and G. A. Ferrero},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.13985},
  year   = {2021}
}