A PRECISE MASS MEASUREMENT OF THE INTERMEDIATE-MASS BINARY PULSAR PSR J1802 - 2124

Journal Article · Wed Mar 10 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/711/2/764· OSTI ID:21394168

Ferdman, R D; Cognard, I; Desvignes, G; Theureau, G ^[1]; Stairs, I H ^[2]; Kramer, M ^[3]; McLaughlin, M A; Lorimer, D R ^[4]; Nice, D J ^[5]; Manchester, R N; Hobbs, G ^[6]; Lyne, A G; Faulkner, A ^[7]; Camilo, F ^[8]; Possenti, A ^[9]; Demorest, P B ^[10]

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1. Station de Radioastronomie de Nancay, Observatoire de Paris, 18330 Nancay (France)
2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada)
3. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, 53121, Bonn (Germany)
4. Department of Physics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505 (United States)
5. Physics Department, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 (United States)
6. Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia)
7. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, Alan Turing Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom)
8. Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
9. INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Loc. Poggio dei Pini, 09012 Capoterra (Italy)
10. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22901 (United States)

PSR J1802 - 2124 is a 12.6 ms pulsar in a 16.8 hr binary orbit with a relatively massive white dwarf (WD) companion. These properties make it a member of the intermediate-mass class of binary pulsar (IMBP) systems. We have been timing this pulsar since its discovery in 2002. Concentrated observations at the Green Bank Telescope, augmented with data from the Parkes and Nancay observatories, have allowed us to determine the general relativistic Shapiro delay. This has yielded pulsar and WD mass measurements of 1.24 +- 0.11 M{sub sun} and 0.78 +- 0.04 M{sub sun} (68% confidence), respectively. The low mass of the pulsar, the high mass of the WD companion, the short orbital period, and the pulsar spin period may be explained by the system having gone through a common-envelope phase in its evolution. We argue that selection effects may contribute to the relatively small number of known IMBPs.

• OSTI ID: 21394168
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 711, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/711/2/764; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
MASS
ORBITS
PULSARS
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
SPIN
STAR EVOLUTION
TELESCOPES
WHITE DWARF STARS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DWARF STARS
ENERGY RANGE
EVOLUTION
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
STARS