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A 100 KW Class Applied-field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster
Published on: December 22, 2018
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A highly magnetized environment in a pulsar binary system
Dongzi Li1, Anna Bilous2, Scott Ransom3
1Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. dongzili@caltech.edu.
Nature
|May 17, 2023
Summary
Spider pulsars, like PSR B1744-24A, exhibit highly magnetized environments. Evidence suggests these magnetic fields influence pulsar emission and may be similar to conditions found in some fast radio bursts (FRBs).
Area of Science:
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pulsar Physics
- Binary Star Systems
Background:
- Spider pulsars are millisecond pulsars in close orbits with low-mass companion stars.
- These systems exhibit phenomena like plasma ablation, time delays, and eclipses of pulsar radio emission.
- The companion star's magnetic field is hypothesized to influence binary system evolution and eclipse properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the magnetized environment of the spider pulsar system PSR B1744-24A.
- To analyze polarization and rotation measure variations to understand magnetic field properties.
- To explore potential connections between spider pulsar behavior and Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).
Main Methods:
- Observation of circular polarization (V) changes in PSR B1744-24A.
- Analysis of irregular, fast changes in Rotation Measure (RM) at various orbital phases.
- Comparison of observed polarization behavior with known FRB characteristics.
Main Results:
- Semi-regular circular polarization profile changes indicate Faraday conversion, constraining the companion magnetic field to >10 G.
- Irregular, rapid RM variations suggest a stellar wind magnetic field strength >10 mG.
- Observed polarization behavior shows similarities to repeating Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).
Conclusions:
- PSR B1744-24A possesses a highly magnetized environment, with significant magnetic fields from both the companion and its stellar wind.
- The observed phenomena, including Faraday conversion and RM variations, provide strong evidence for these magnetic fields.
- Similarities with FRBs suggest that a fraction of FRBs may originate from binary systems like spider pulsars.
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