Spin-Down of Radio Millisecond Pulsars at Genesis

Abstract

Millisecond pulsars are old neutron stars that have been spun up to high rotational frequencies via accretion of mass from a binary companion star. An important issue for understanding the physics of the early spin evolution of millisecond pulsars is the impact of the expanding magnetosphere during the terminal stages of the mass-transfer process. Here I report binary stellar evolution calculations that show that the braking torque acting on a neutron star, when the companion star decouples from its Roche-lobe, is able to dissipate >50% of the rotational energy of the pulsar. This effect may explain the apparent difference in observed spin distributions between x-ray and radio millisecond pulsars and help account for the noticeable age discrepancy with their young white dwarf companions.

Published in Science, 3 February, 2012 (30 pages, 4 figures, reference numbers corrected in SOM, Fig.2 rotated)

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• Galactic Ultracompact X-ray Binaries: Disk Stability and Evolution
• Implications of an r-mode in XTE J1751-305: Mass, radius and spin evolution
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• The High Time Resolution Universe Survey - XI. Discovery of five recycled pulsars and the optical detectability of survey white dwarf companions
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• Investigation of the Millisecond Pulsar Origins by their Spin Periods at the Wavebands of Radio, X-Ray, and γ-Ray
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