Observations and Modelling of Relativistic Spin Precession in PSR J1141-6545

Abstract

Observations of the binary pulsar PSR J1141-6545 using the Parkes radio telescope over 9.3 years show clear time-variations in pulse width, shape and polarization. We interpret these variations in terms of relativistic precession of the pulsar spin axis about the total angular momentum vector of the system. Over the nine years, the pulse width at the 50% level has changed by more than a factor of three. Large variations have also been observed in the 1400-MHz mean flux density. The pulse polarization has been monitored since 2004 April using digital filterbank systems and also shows large and systematic variations in both linear and circular polarization. Position angle variations, both across the pulse profile and over the data span, are complex, with major differences between the central and outer parts of the pulse profile. Modelling of the observed position angle variations by relativistic precession of the pulsar spin axis shows that the spin-orbit misalignment angle is about 110 deg and that the precessional phase has passed through 180 deg during the course of our observations. At the start of our observations, the line-of-sight impact parameter was about 4 deg in magnitude and it reached a minimum very close to 0 deg around early 2007, consistent with the observed pulse width variations. We have therefore mapped approximately one half of the emission beam, showing that it is very asymmetric with respect to the magnetic axis. The derived precessional parameters imply that the pre-supernova star had a mass of about 2 Msun and that the supernova recoil kick velocity was relatively small. With the reversal in the rate of change of the impact parameter, we predict that over the next decade we will see a reversed "replay" of the variations observed in the past decade.

45 pages, 19 figures, 6 tables, accepted by Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (9)

• TEMPO2, a new pulsar timing package. I: Overview
• Tests of general relativity from timing the double pulsar
• PSRCHIVE and PSRFITS An Open Approach to Radio Pulsar Data Storage and Analysis
• Pulsar Nulling and Mode Changing
• Gravitational-radiation losses from the pulsar-white-dwarf binary PSR J1141-6545
• Fitting Pulsar Wind Tori. II. Error Analysis and Applications
• Gamma-ray and Radio Properties of Six Pulsars Detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• The Formation of the Double Pulsar PSR J0737-3039A/B
• On the Formation and Progenitor of PSR J0737-3039: New Constraints on the Supernova Explosion Forming Pulsar B

Cited by in corpus (48)

• The Australia Telescope Compact Array Broadband Backend (CABB)
• Strong-field Gravity Tests with the Double Pulsar
• Detection of 107 glitches in 36 southern pulsars
• A Comprehensive Study of Relativistic Gravity using PSR B1534+12
• PSR J1756$-$2251: a pulsar with a low-mass neutron star companion
• General-relativistic precession in a black-hole binary
• Polarization observations of 20 millisecond pulsars
• A new limit on local Lorentz invariance violation of gravity from solitary pulsars
• On the 1/c Expansion of f(R) Gravity
• Radio emission from a pulsar's magnetic pole revealed by general relativity
• The Evolution of PSR J0737-3039B and a Model for Relativistic Spin Precession
• Profile shape stability and phase jitter analyses of millisecond pulsars
• Lense-Thirring frame dragging induced by a fast-rotating white dwarf in a binary pulsar system
• Pulsar-black hole binaries: prospects for new gravity tests with future radio telescopes
• A Fan Beam Model for Radio Pulsars. I. Observational Evidence
• Modelling annual and orbital variations in the scintillation of the relativistic binary PSR J1141$-$6545
• Gravity experiments with radio pulsars
• The Relativistic Binary Programme on MeerKAT: Science objectives and first results
• The Period-Width relationship for radio pulsars revisited
• Pulsar Binary Birthrates with Spin-Opening Angle Correlations
• Frequency dependence of pulse width for 150 radio normal pulsars
• A coherent acceleration search of the Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey - techniques and the discovery and timing of 16 pulsars
• Frame-dragging effect in the field of non rotating body due to unit gravimagnetic moment
• A transient component in the pulse profile of PSR J0738-4042
• Relativistic effects due to gravimagnetic moment of a rotating body
• Rotation measure variations for 20 millisecond pulsars
• A white dwarf companion to the relativistic pulsar PSR J1141-6545
• The origin of the frequency-dependent behaviour of pulsar radio profiles
• Correlated spin-down rates and radio emission in PSR B1859+07
• Polarized Curvature Radiation in Pulsar Magnetosphere
• Revisiting the Galactic Double Neutron Star merger and LIGO detection rates
• The Discovery of Six Recycled Pulsars from the Arecibo 327-MHz Drift-Scan Pulsar Survey
• Relativistic spin precession in the binary PSR J1141$-$6545
• Multi-scale Constraints on Scalar-Field couplings to Matter: The Geodetic and Frame-Dragging Effects
• A broadband radio study of PSR J0250+5854: the slowest-spinning radio pulsar known
• New constraints on the kinematic, relativistic and evolutionary properties of the PSR J1757$-$1854 double neutron star system
• Multi-frequency study of the peculiar pulsars PSR B0919+06 and PSR B1859+07
• Realistic Modeling of the Pulse Profile of PSR J0737-3039A
• A short review of the pulsar magnetic inclination angles (II)
• A MeerKAT view of the double pulsar eclipses -- Geodetic precession of pulsar B and system geometry
• Arecibo Pulsar Beam Geometry at Lower Frequencies Radio Pulsar Beam Geometry Down to the 100-MHz Band: 76 Additional Sources Within the Arecibo Sky
• PSR J1906+0746: From relativistic spin-precession to beam modeling
• The Relativistic Spin Precession in the Compact Double Neutron Star System PSR~J1946+2052
• Effect of geodetic precession on the evolution of pulsar high-energy pulse profiles as derived with the striped-wind model
• The ratio of profile peak separations as a probe of pulsar radio-beam structure
• Imprint of magnetic obliquity in apparent spin-down of radio pulsars
• The fan beam model for the pulse evolution of PSR J0737-3039B
• Measuring the crust-superfluid coupling time-scale for 105 UTMOST pulsars with a Kalman filter