2004/01/31 by V. M. Kaspi, S. M. Ransom, D. C. Backer +7 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/425128
published as Astrophys.J. 613 (2004) L137-L140 · 12 pages, 3 figures
openalex publication_date 2004/08/31 · arxiv created 2004/10/14 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We report on the first Green Bank Telescope observations at 427, 820, and 1400 MHz of the newly discovered, highly inclined, and relativistic double pulsar binary. We focus on the brief eclipse of PSR J0737-3039A, the faster pulsar, when it passes behind PSR J0737-3039B. We measure a frequency-averaged eclipse duration of 26.6 ± 0.6 s or 0.00301 ± 0.00008 in orbital phase. The eclipse duration is found to be significantly dependent on radio frequency, with eclipses longer at lower frequencies. Specifically, eclipse duration is well fitted by a linear function having slope (-4.52 ± 0.03) × 10 -7 orbits MHz -1 . We also detect significant asymmetry in the eclipse. Eclipse ingress takes 3.51 ± 0.99 times longer than egress, independent of radio frequency. In addition, the eclipse lasts (40 ± 7) × 10 -5 in orbital phase longer after conjunction, also independent of frequency. We detect significant emission from the pulsar on short timescales during eclipse in some orbits. We discuss these results in the context of a model in which the eclipsing material is a shock-heated plasma layer within the slower PSR J0737-3039B's light cylinder, where the relativistic pressure of the faster pulsar's wind confines the magnetosphere of the slower pulsar.