Related papers: Atmospheric Circulation on Black Widow Companions

The optical study of the heated substellar companions of `Black Widow' (BW) millisecond pulsars (MSP) provides unique information on the MSP particle and radiation output and on the neutron star mass. Here we present analysis of optical…

Multi-wavelength observations of the black-widow binary system 2FGL J2339.6-0532 are reported. The Fermi gamma-ray source 2FGL J2339.6-0532 was recently categorized as a black widow in which a recycled millisecond pulsar (MSP) is…

Binary systems composed of a recycled millisecond pulsar and a stellar companion in close orbit could be excellent sites to diagnose pulsar winds. In such systems, the pulsar outflow irradiates and heats up the companion atmosphere, which…

Eclipsing millisecond pulsars in close ($P_b < 1$~day) binary systems provide a different view of pulsar winds and shocks than do isolated pulsars. Since 2009, the numbers of these systems known in the Galactic field has increased…

The companions of evaporating binary pulsars (black widows and related systems) show optical emission suggesting strong heating. In a number of cases large observed temperatures and asymmetries are inconsistent with direct radiative heating…

We report on the determination of the astrometric, spin and orbital parameters for PSR J1953+1846A, a "black widow" binary millisecond pulsar in the globular cluster M71. By using the accurate position and orbital parameters obtained from…

Black widows are extreme millisecond pulsar binaries where the pulsar wind ablates their low-mass companion stars. Their optical light curves vary periodically due to the high irradiation and tidal distortion of the companion, which allows…

The incidence of evaporating 'black widow' pulsars (BWPs) among all millisecond pulsars (MSPs) is far higher in globular clusters than in the field. This implies a special formation mechanism for them in clusters. Cluster MSPs in wide…

We model millisecond pulsars winds colliding with radiatively-driven companion winds in black widow and redback systems. For the redbacks, the geometry of this intrabinary shock (IBS) is quite sensitive to the expected equatorial…

The low mass companions of evaporating binary pulsars (black widows and their ilk) are strongly heated on the side facing the pulsar. However in high-quality photometric and spectroscopic data the heating pattern does not match that…

Black widows are close binary systems in which a millisecond pulsar is orbited by a companion a few per cent the mass of the sun. It has been suggested that the pulsar's rotationally powered $\gamma$-ray luminosity gradually evaporates the…

Black widows (BWs) are millisecond pulsars ablating their companion stars. The out-flowing material from the companion can block the radio emission of the pulsar, resulting in eclipses. In this paper, we construct a model for the radio…

The detected population of "spiders" has significantly grown in the past decade thanks to multiwavelength follow-up investigations of unidentified Fermi sources. These systems consist of low-mass stellar companions orbiting rotation-powered…

We have measured dramatic flux and spectral variations through the 0.193d orbit of the optical counterpart of the unidentified gamma-ray source 0FGL J2339.8-0530. This compact object companion is strongly heated, with T_eff varying from…

We collect new and archival optical observations of nine "black-widow" millisecond pulsar binaries. New measurements include direct imaging with the Keck, Gemini-S, MDM, and LCO 2~m telescopes. This is supplemented by synthesized colors…

B1957+20 is a millisecond pulsar located in a black widow type compact binary system with a low mass stellar companion. The interaction of the pulsar wind with the companion star wind and/or the interstellar plasma is expected to create…

A significant amount of the millisecond pulsars has been discovered within binary systems. In several such binary systems the masses of the companion stars have been derived allowing to distinguish two classes of objects, called the Black…

The most massive neutron stars constrain the behavior of ultra-dense matter, with larger masses possible only for increasingly stiff equations of state. Here, we present evidence that the black widow pulsar, PSR B1957+20, has a high mass.…

We report on a series of spectroscopic observations of PSR J1311-3430, an extreme black-widow gamma-ray pulsar with a helium-star companion. In a previous study we estimated the neutron star mass as M_NS= 2.68+/-0.14M_Sun (statistical…

We report the radio observations of the eclipsing black widow pulsar J1720-0534, a 3.26 ms pulsar in orbit with a low mass companion of mass 0.029 to 0.034 M$_{\odot}$. We obtain the phase-connected timing ephemeris and polarization profile…