Gravitational Physics
Probing the pulsar recycling mechanism
Speaker: Amruta Jaodand (Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy)
Date: Friday 20 January 2017
Time: 11.15
Venue: Chart Room (N/3.23)
Pulsars in low mass X-ray binaries are spun up to rapid rotation rates through accretion of mass and angular momentum from their companion. This ‘pulsar recycling’ mechanism can now be investigated using a recently discovered class of pulsars, called transitional millisecond pulsars (tMSPs). The tMSPs switch between a rotation powered radio millisecond pulsar (RMSP) and an accretion powered X-ray pulsar state, allowing us to study the underlying accretion process. Previously, we have timed the tMSP J1023+0038, in the RMSP state and recently, using a dedicated XMM-Newton campaign we have for the first time been able to precisely measure the spin period derivative of a tMSP in the accreting state. Moreover, using this timing solution and our new estimate of orbital period derivative, we are analysing the Fermi data to understand the origin of excess gamma-ray emission when tMSPs switch states from RMSP to the accreting state. I will present results from these campaigns and highlight their implications while trying to provide relevant overview about pulsars.