DISCOVERY OF AN UNIDENTIFIED FERMI OBJECT AS A BLACK WIDOW-LIKE MILLISECOND PULSAR

The Fermi gamma -ray Space Telescope has revolutionized our knowledge of the gamma -ray pulsar population, leading to the discovery of almost 100 gamma -ray pulsars and dozens of gamma -ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Although the outer-gap model predicts different sites of emission for the radio an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2012-03, Vol.747 (1), p.1-5
Main Authors: Kong, A K H, Huang, R H H, Cheng, K S, Takata, J, Yatsu, Y, Cheung, C C, Donato, D, Lin, L C C, Kataoka, J, Takahashi, Y, Maeda, K, Hui, C Y, Tam, P H T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Companion stars
COSMIC GAMMA SOURCES
COSMIC RAY SOURCES
DETECTION
GAMMA ASTRONOMY
GAMMA RADIATION
LUMINOSITY
Mathematical models
Millisecond pulsars
PULSARS
Pulsation
PULSATIONS
Radio
SPACE
Space telescopes
SPIN
STARS
TELESCOPE COUNTERS
VISIBLE RADIATION
X RADIATION
X-rays
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Summary:The Fermi gamma -ray Space Telescope has revolutionized our knowledge of the gamma -ray pulsar population, leading to the discovery of almost 100 gamma -ray pulsars and dozens of gamma -ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Although the outer-gap model predicts different sites of emission for the radio and gamma -ray pulsars, until now all of the known gamma -ray MSPs have been visible in the radio. Here we report the discovery of a "radio-quiet" gamma -ray-emitting MSP candidate by using Fermi, Chandra, Swift, and optical observations. The X-ray and gamma -ray properties of the source are consistent with known gamma -ray pulsars. We also found a 4.63 hr orbital period in optical and X-ray data. We suggest that the source is a black widow-like MSP with a ~0.1 M sub([middot in circle]) late-type companion star. Based on the profile of the optical and X-ray light curves, the companion star is believed to be heated by the pulsar while the X-ray emissions originate from pulsar magnetosphere and/or from intrabinary shock. No radio detection of the source has been reported yet, and although no gamma -ray/radio pulsation has been found we estimate that the spin period of the MSP is ~3-5 ms based on the inferred gamma -ray luminosity.
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/747/1/L3