Intrinsic and Reprocessed Optical Emission from the Companion to PSR J2051-0827
- 1. Universiteit van Amsterdam
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2.
University of Manchester
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3.
Utrecht University
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4.
University of Toronto
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5.
Australia Telescope National Facility
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6.
California Institute of Technology
Abstract
Hubble Space Telescope observations of the companion to the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR J2051-0827 have revealed its "dark" side. The R magnitude at minimum is ~26, while the difference between the side heated by the impinging pulsar radiation and the unirradiated side is ~3.3 mag. For the first time, these data show that there is an asymmetry in the optical light curve of the companion. Furthermore, significant variability is seen in the companion brightness measured after optical maximum on successive orbits. The data are modeled by a gravitationally distorted low-mass secondary star that is irradiated by the pulsar wind. These model fits indicate that the system is only mildly inclined (i ~ 40°) and the unilluminated side of the companion has a temperature likely less than 3000 K.
Additional Information
© 2001. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2000 October 13; accepted 2000 December 22; published 2001 February 19. The observations were obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. The reduction of the optical data was done using the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF), which is developed and maintained by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. We acknowledge support of a NASA Guest Observer grant, a fellowship of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (M. H. v. K.), and an Australian Research Council Fellowship (J. F. B.); B. W. S. is supported by NWO Spinoza grant 08-0 to E. P. J. van den Heuvel.
Attached Files
Published - stappers_01_intrinsicand.pdf?sequence=2.pdf
Funding
We acknowledge support of a NASA Guest Observer grant, a fellowship of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (M. H. v. K.), and an Australian Research Council Fellowship (J. F. B.); B. W. S. is supported by NWO Spinoza grant 08-0 to E. P. J. van den Heuvel.
Copyright and License
© 2001. The American Astronomical Society.
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Stappers_2001_ApJ_548_L183.pdf
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Additional details
Identifiers
- Eprint ID
- 75941
- DOI
- 10.1086/319106
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20170408-142540424
Related works
- Describes
- Journal Article: 10.1086/319106 (DOI)
Funding
- NASA
- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Australian Research Council
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)
- 08-0
Dates
- Created
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2017-04-21Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-15Created from EPrint's last_modified field