2004/03/23 by D. J. Champion, D. R. Lorimer, M. A. McLaughlin +4 · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07862.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 350 (2004) L61 · Accepted MNRAS, 5 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2004/03/23 · openalex publication_date 2004/05/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We report the discovery of a new binary pulsar, PSR J1829+2456, found during a mid-latitude drift-scan survey with the Arecibo telescope. Our initial timing observations show the 41-ms pulsar to be in a 28-h, slightly eccentric, binary orbit. The advance of periastron yr −1 is derived from our timing observations spanning 200 d. Assuming that the advance of periastron is purely relativistic and a reasonable range of neutron star masses for PSR J1829+2456, we constrain the companion mass to be between 1.22 and 1.38 M⊙, making it likely to be another neutron star. We also place a firm upper limit on the pulsar mass of 1.38 M⊙. The expected coalescence time due to gravitational wave emission is long (∼60 Gyr), and this system will not significantly impact upon calculations of merger rates that are relevant to upcoming instruments such as LIGO.