Pulsars are rotating neutron stars that, like lighthouses, emit beams of electromagnetic radiation. The fastest spinning pulsars with a spin period of less than 30 milliseconds are known as millisecond pulsars (MSPs). It is assumed that they form in binary systems, with the neutron star spinning up due to the accretion of matter from the companion star.
The M62H pulsar has a rotation period of regarding 3.7 milliseconds and a dispersion measure (characterizing the number of electrons along the entire path of radiation from the pulsar) of 114.7 parsecs per cubic centimeter. Its companion has a minimum mass of approximately 0.00236 solar masses (2.5 Jupiter masses), making M62H a binary system with the lightest companion known to date. The orbital period of the system was 0.133 days.
The M62I pulsar completes one revolution in regarding 3.3 milliseconds, and its orbital period is regarding 0.51 days. The pulsar has a dispersion measure of 113.35 parsecs per cubic centimeter, and its companion has a minimum mass of 0.15 solar masses. Astronomers also determined the characteristic age of M62I, which was found to be at least 278 million years, and the surface magnetic field, which is estimated to be less than 795 million gauss.
As for M62J, it has a rotation period of 2.76 milliseconds and a dispersion of 111.98 parsecs per cubic centimeter. Its remaining properties remain unknown.
#millisecond #pulsars #discovered
2024-03-30 01:08:36
