2013/02/28 by R. D. Ferdman, I. H. Stairs, M. Krämer +10
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Angular momentum #Astrophysics #Binary pulsar #Classical mechanics #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Millisecond pulsar #Neutron star #Orbital motion #Orbital period #Physics #Pulsar #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Spin (aerodynamics) #Stars #Supernova #X-ray binary #X-ray pulsar #astro-ph.HE #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/767/1/85
12 pages, 2 tables, 5 figures. Accepted for publication by the Astrophysical Journal
arxiv created 2013/03/01 · openalex publication_date 2013/03/28 · arxiv updated 2015/06/15 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The double pulsar system PSR J0737−3039A/B is a double neutron star binary, with a 2.4 hr orbital period, which has allowed measurement of relativistic orbital perturbations to high precision. The low mass of the second-formed neutron star, as well as the low system eccentricity and proper motion, point to a different evolutionary scenario compared to most other known double neutron star systems. We describe analysis of the pulse profile shape over 6 years of observations and present the resulting constraints on the system geometry. We find the recycled pulsar in this system, PSR J0737−3039A, to be a near-orthogonal rotator with an average separation between its spin and magnetic axes of 90° ± 11° ± 5°. Furthermore, we find a mean 95% upper limit on the misalignment between its spin and orbital angular momentum axes of 3 2, assuming that the observed emission comes from both magnetic poles. This tight constraint lends credence to the idea that the supernova that formed the second pulsar was relatively symmetric, possibly involving electron capture onto an O–Ne–Mg core.