PSR J1311-3430: A HEAVYWEIGHT NEUTRON STAR WITH A FLYWEIGHT HELIUM COMPANION

Journal Article · Sat Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/760/2/L36· OSTI ID:22078399

Romani, Roger W ^[1]; Filippenko, Alexei V; Silverman, Jeffrey M; Cenko, S Bradley ^[2]; Greiner, Jochen; Rau, Arne; Elliott, Jonathan ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
2. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)
3. Max-Planck-Instituet fuer Extraterrestrische Physik, D-85748 Garching (Germany)

We have obtained initial spectroscopic observations and additional photometry of the newly discovered P{sub b} = 94 minute {gamma}-ray black-widow pulsar PSR J1311-3430. The Keck spectra show a He-dominated, nearly H-free photosphere and a large radial-velocity amplitude of 609.5 {+-} 7.5 km s{sup -1}. Simultaneous seven-color GROND photometry further probes the heating of this companion, and shows the presence of a flaring infrared excess. We have modeled the quiescent light curve, constraining the orbital inclination and masses. Simple heated light-curve fits give M{sub NS} = 2.7 M{sub Sun }, but show systematic light-curve differences. Adding extra components allows a larger mass range to be fit, but all viable solutions have M{sub NS} > 2.1 M{sub Sun }. If confirmed, such a large M{sub NS} substantially constrains the equation of state of matter at supernuclear densities.

• OSTI ID: 22078399
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 760; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
COLOR
DENSITY
EQUATIONS OF STATE
FLARING
HEATING
HELIUM
INCLINATION
INFRARED RADIATION
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
NEUTRON STARS
PHOTOMETRY
PHOTOSPHERE
PULSARS
RADIAL VELOCITY
SPECTRA
VISIBLE RADIATION