The eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR 1957 + 20

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Astrophysical Journal; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/168502· OSTI ID:6851794

Fruchter, A S; Berman, G; Bower, G; Convery, M; Goss, W M ^[1]

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1. Princeton Univ., NJ (USA) Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC (USA) National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM (USA)

Information obtained over the past year on the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR 1957 + 20 and its orbiting companion is discussed. The pulsar is found to be similar in many ways to other millisecond pulsars: its spin parameters are extremely stable, its period derivative is very small, its profile has a strong interpulse, and its radio spectrum has a steep power-law index. The orbit is nearly circular, and the mass function implies a companion mass not much greater than 0.022 solar. Eclipses last for approximately 56 and 50 min at 318 and 430 MHz, respectively, corresponding to a nu exp - 0.41 + or - 0.09 dependence of eclipse duration on frequency. The available evidence points strongly toward a system in which the radiation from the pulsar heats the companion to the point of ablation, thereby driving a stellar wind that trails outward and behind the companion. 28 refs.

• OSTI ID: 6851794
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal; (USA), Vol. 351; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BINARY STARS
STELLAR WINDS
PULSARS
ORBITS
ECLIPSE
HEATING
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MASS
POLARIZATION
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
ROTATION
STELLAR RADIATION
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
MOTION
RADIATIONS
STARS
STELLAR ACTIVITY
640102* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources