ON THE TRANSITION FROM ACCRETION-POWERED TO ROTATION-POWERED MILLISECOND PULSARS

Journal Article · Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/723/1/L68· OSTI ID:21452714

Takata, J; Cheng, K S ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong)

The heating associated with the deposition of {gamma}-rays in an accretion disk is proposed as a mechanism to facilitate the transformation of a low-mass X-ray binary to the radio millisecond pulsar (MSP) phase. The {gamma}-ray emission produced in the outer gap accelerator in the pulsar magnetosphere likely irradiates the surrounding disk, resulting in its heating and the possible escape of matter from the system. We apply the model to PSR J1023+0038, which has recently been discovered as a newly born rotation-powered MSP. The predicted {gamma}-ray luminosity {approx}6 x 10{sup 34} erg s{sup -1} can be sufficient to explain the disappearance of the truncated disk existing during the 8 month-2 yr period prior to the 2002 observations of J1023+0038 and the energy input required for the anomalously bright optical emission of its companion star.

• OSTI ID: 21452714
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 723, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/723/1/L68; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCRETION DISKS
EMISSION
GAMMA RADIATION
LUMINOSITY
MAGNETIC FIELDS
NEUTRONS
PULSARS
ROTATION
STARS
BARYONS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
HADRONS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MOTION
NUCLEONS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATIONS