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Black widow pulsars: the price of promiscuity

King, A.R. ; Davies, Melvyn B LU and Beer, M.E. (2003) In Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 345. p.678-682
Abstract
The incidence of evaporating `black widow' pulsars (BWPs) among all millisecond pulsars is far higher in globular clusters than in the field. This implies a special formation mechanism for them in clusters. Cluster millisecond pulsars in wide binaries with white dwarf companions exchange them for turnoff-mass stars. These new companions eventually overflow their Roche lobes because of encounters and tides. The millisecond pulsars eject the overflowing gas from the binary, giving mass loss on the binary evolution time-scale. The systems are only observable as BWPs at epochs where this evolution is slow, making the mass loss transparent and the lifetime long. This explains why observed BWPs have low-mass companions. We suggest that at least... (More)
The incidence of evaporating `black widow' pulsars (BWPs) among all millisecond pulsars is far higher in globular clusters than in the field. This implies a special formation mechanism for them in clusters. Cluster millisecond pulsars in wide binaries with white dwarf companions exchange them for turnoff-mass stars. These new companions eventually overflow their Roche lobes because of encounters and tides. The millisecond pulsars eject the overflowing gas from the binary, giving mass loss on the binary evolution time-scale. The systems are only observable as BWPs at epochs where this evolution is slow, making the mass loss transparent and the lifetime long. This explains why observed BWPs have low-mass companions. We suggest that at least some field BWPs were ejected from globular clusters or entered the field population when the cluster itself was disrupted. (Less)
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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
volume
345
pages
678 - 682
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:0142138673
ISSN
1365-2966
DOI
10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06990.x
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
77a061bc-489c-4dbf-bc3d-c3a7371f416e (old id 768200)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:46:00
date last changed
2022-01-29 22:25:41
@article{77a061bc-489c-4dbf-bc3d-c3a7371f416e,
  abstract     = {{The incidence of evaporating `black widow' pulsars (BWPs) among all millisecond pulsars is far higher in globular clusters than in the field. This implies a special formation mechanism for them in clusters. Cluster millisecond pulsars in wide binaries with white dwarf companions exchange them for turnoff-mass stars. These new companions eventually overflow their Roche lobes because of encounters and tides. The millisecond pulsars eject the overflowing gas from the binary, giving mass loss on the binary evolution time-scale. The systems are only observable as BWPs at epochs where this evolution is slow, making the mass loss transparent and the lifetime long. This explains why observed BWPs have low-mass companions. We suggest that at least some field BWPs were ejected from globular clusters or entered the field population when the cluster itself was disrupted.}},
  author       = {{King, A.R. and Davies, Melvyn B and Beer, M.E.}},
  issn         = {{1365-2966}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{678--682}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}},
  title        = {{Black widow pulsars: the price of promiscuity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06990.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06990.x}},
  volume       = {{345}},
  year         = {{2003}},
}