The neutron star mass, distance, and inclination from precision timing of the brilliant millisecond pulsar J0437$-$4715

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Reardon, Daniel J., Bailes, Matthew, Shannon, Ryan M., Flynn, Chris, Askew, Jacob, Bhat, N. D. Ramesh, Chen, Zu-Cheng, Curyło, Małgorzata, Feng, Yi, Hobbs, George B., Kapur, Agastya, Kerr, Matthew, Liu, Xiaojin, Manchester, Richard N., Mandow, Rami, Mishra, Saurav, Russell, Christopher J., Shamohammadi, Mohsen, Zhang, Lei, Zic, Andrew
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909555568410624
author Reardon, Daniel J.
Bailes, Matthew
Shannon, Ryan M.
Flynn, Chris
Askew, Jacob
Bhat, N. D. Ramesh
Chen, Zu-Cheng
Curyło, Małgorzata
Feng, Yi
Hobbs, George B.
Kapur, Agastya
Kerr, Matthew
Liu, Xiaojin
Manchester, Richard N.
Mandow, Rami
Mishra, Saurav
Russell, Christopher J.
Shamohammadi, Mohsen
Zhang, Lei
Zic, Andrew
author_facet Reardon, Daniel J.
Bailes, Matthew
Shannon, Ryan M.
Flynn, Chris
Askew, Jacob
Bhat, N. D. Ramesh
Chen, Zu-Cheng
Curyło, Małgorzata
Feng, Yi
Hobbs, George B.
Kapur, Agastya
Kerr, Matthew
Liu, Xiaojin
Manchester, Richard N.
Mandow, Rami
Mishra, Saurav
Russell, Christopher J.
Shamohammadi, Mohsen
Zhang, Lei
Zic, Andrew
contents The observation of neutron stars enables the otherwise impossible study of fundamental physical processes. The timing of binary radio pulsars is particularly powerful, as it enables precise characterization of their (three-dimensional) positions and orbits. PSR~J0437$-$4715 is an important millisecond pulsar for timing array experiments and is also a primary target for the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). The main aim of the NICER mission is to constrain the neutron star equation of state by inferring the compactness ($M_p/R$) of the star. Direct measurements of the mass $M_p$ from pulsar timing therefore substantially improve constraints on the radius $R$ and the equation of state. Here we use observations spanning 26 years from Murriyang, the 64-m Parkes radio telescope, to improve the timing model for this pulsar. Among the new precise measurements are the pulsar mass $M_p=1.418\pm 0.044$ $M_{\odot}$, distance $D=156.96 \pm 0.11$ pc, and orbital inclination angle $i=137.506 \pm 0.016^\circ$, which can be used to inform the X-ray pulse profile models inferred from NICER observations. We demonstrate that these results are consistent between multiple data sets from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), each modeled with different noise assumptions. Using the longest available PPTA data set, we measure an apparent second derivative of the pulsar spin frequency and discuss how this can be explained either by kinematic effects due to the proper motion and radial velocity of the pulsar or excess low-frequency noise such as a gravitational-wave background.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_07132
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The neutron star mass, distance, and inclination from precision timing of the brilliant millisecond pulsar J0437$-$4715
Reardon, Daniel J.
Bailes, Matthew
Shannon, Ryan M.
Flynn, Chris
Askew, Jacob
Bhat, N. D. Ramesh
Chen, Zu-Cheng
Curyło, Małgorzata
Feng, Yi
Hobbs, George B.
Kapur, Agastya
Kerr, Matthew
Liu, Xiaojin
Manchester, Richard N.
Mandow, Rami
Mishra, Saurav
Russell, Christopher J.
Shamohammadi, Mohsen
Zhang, Lei
Zic, Andrew
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Nuclear Theory
The observation of neutron stars enables the otherwise impossible study of fundamental physical processes. The timing of binary radio pulsars is particularly powerful, as it enables precise characterization of their (three-dimensional) positions and orbits. PSR~J0437$-$4715 is an important millisecond pulsar for timing array experiments and is also a primary target for the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). The main aim of the NICER mission is to constrain the neutron star equation of state by inferring the compactness ($M_p/R$) of the star. Direct measurements of the mass $M_p$ from pulsar timing therefore substantially improve constraints on the radius $R$ and the equation of state. Here we use observations spanning 26 years from Murriyang, the 64-m Parkes radio telescope, to improve the timing model for this pulsar. Among the new precise measurements are the pulsar mass $M_p=1.418\pm 0.044$ $M_{\odot}$, distance $D=156.96 \pm 0.11$ pc, and orbital inclination angle $i=137.506 \pm 0.016^\circ$, which can be used to inform the X-ray pulse profile models inferred from NICER observations. We demonstrate that these results are consistent between multiple data sets from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), each modeled with different noise assumptions. Using the longest available PPTA data set, we measure an apparent second derivative of the pulsar spin frequency and discuss how this can be explained either by kinematic effects due to the proper motion and radial velocity of the pulsar or excess low-frequency noise such as a gravitational-wave background.
title The neutron star mass, distance, and inclination from precision timing of the brilliant millisecond pulsar J0437$-$4715
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.07132