PSR J0348+0432

PSR J0348+0432 is a neutron star in a binary system with a white dwarf. It was discovered in 2007 with the Green Bank Telescope in a drift-scan survey.

In 2013, a mass measurement for this neutron star was announced: . This measurement was done with a combination of radio timing and precise spectroscopy of the white dwarf companion. This is slightly higher, but statistically indistinguishable, from the mass of PSR J1614–2230, which was measured using the Shapiro delay. This measurement confirmed the existence of such massive neutron stars using a different measuring technique.

The notable feature of this binary pulsar is its combination of high neutron star mass and short orbital period: 2 hours and 27 minutes. This allowed a measurement of the orbital decay due to the emission of gravitational waves, as observed for PSR B1913+16 and PSR J0737-3039.

Background

Pulsars were discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell and her adviser Antony Hewish using the Interplanetary Scintillation Array.Franco Pacini and Thomas Gold quickly put forth the idea that pulsars are highly magnetized rotating neutron stars, which form as a result of a supernova at the end of the life of stars more massive than about 10 times the mass of the Sun (M_☉). The radiation emitted by pulsars is caused by interaction of the plasma surrounding the neutron star with its rapidly rotating magnetic field. This interaction leads to emission "in the pattern of a rotating beacon," as emission escapes along the magnetic poles of the neutron star. The "rotating beacon" property of pulsars arises from the misalignment of their magnetic poles with their rotational poles. Historically, pulsars have been discovered at radio wavelengths where emission is strong, but space telescopes that operate in the gamma ray wavelengths have also discovered pulsars.

PSR

PSR may refer to:

Abell 1835 IR1916

Abell 1835 IR1916 (also known as Abell 1835, Galaxy Abell 1835, or Galaxy Abell 1835 IR1916) was a candidate for being the most distant galaxy ever observed, although that claim has not been verified by additional observations. It was claimed to lie behind the galaxy cluster Abell 1835, in the Virgo constellation.

Initial observation

Abell 1835 was discovered by French and Swiss astronomers of the European Southern Observatory, namely Roser Pelló, Johan Richard, Jean-François Le Borgne, Daniel Schaerer, and Jean-Paul Kneib. The astronomers used a near-infrared instrument on the Very Large Telescope to detect the galaxy; other observatories were then used to make an image of it possible. The Observatory, in conjunction with the Swiss National Science Foundation, the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, issued a press release on 1 March 2004 announcing the discovery. It was believed to be more distant than the galaxy lensed by Abell 2218.

PSR J1719-1438

PSR J1719-1438 is a millisecond pulsar with a spin period of 5.8 ms located about 4000 ly from Earth in the direction of Serpens Cauda, one minute from the border with Ophiuchus. Millisecond pulsars are generally thought to begin as normal pulsars and then spin up by accreting matter from a binary companion.

Diamond planet

PSR J1719-1438 was discovered in 2011 by the High Time Resolution Survey, a radio astronomy search for astronomical objects that rapidly vary in radio brightness, such as pulsars. Timing measurements using the Parkes Telescope and Lovell Telescope showed that it has a low-mass companion: PSR J1719-1438 b. The companion has a mass similar to that of Jupiter, but 40% of the diameter. It orbits the pulsar with a period of 2 hours 10 minutes and 37 seconds, at a distance of around 600,000 km (0.89 solar radii). The companion is likely the remnant of a star whose outer layers were siphoned off by the more massive pulsar. Calculations show the companion has a minimum density of 23 grams per cubic centimeter and is probably an ultra-low-mass carbon–oxygen white dwarf.