Timing Observations of PSR J1023+0038 During a Low-Mass X-ray Binary State

Abstract

Transitional millisecond pulsars (tMSPs) switch, on roughly multi-year timescales, between rotation-powered radio millisecond pulsar (RMSP) and accretion-powered low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) states. The tMSPs have raised several questions related to the nature of accretion flow in their LMXB state and the mechanism that causes the state switch. The discovery of coherent X-ray pulsations from PSR J1023+0038 (while in the LMXB state) provides us with the first opportunity to perform timing observations and to compare the neutron star's spin variation during this state to the measured spin-down in the RMSP state. Whereas the X-ray pulsations in the LMXB state likely indicate that some material is accreting onto the neutron star's magnetic polar caps, radio continuum observations indicate the presence of an outflow. The fraction of the inflowing material being ejected is not clear, but it may be much larger than that reaching the neutron star's surface. Timing observations can measure the total torque on the neutron star. We have phase-connected nine XMM-Newton observations of PSR J1023+0038 over the last 2.5 years of the LMXB state to establish a precise measurement of spin evolution. We find that the average spin-down rate as an LMXB is 26.8+/-0.4% faster than the rate (-2.39x10^-15 Hz s-1) determined during the RMSP state. This shows that negative angular momentum contributions (dipolar magnetic braking and outflow) exceed positive ones (accreted material), and suggests that the pulsar wind continues to operate at a largely unmodified level. We discuss implications of this tight observational constraint in the context of possible accretion models.

arXiv comment19 pages, 7 Figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (57)

• The European Photon Imaging Camera on XMM-Newton: The MOS Cameras
• TEMPO2, a new pulsar timing package. I: Overview
• A Radio Pulsar Spinning at 716 Hz
• Time-dependent force-free pulsar magnetospheres: axisymmetric and oblique rotators
• The XMM-Newton Optical/UV Monitor Telescope
• Tempo2, a new pulsar timing package. II: The timing model and precision estimates
• A Radio Pulsar/X-ray Binary Link
• DSPSR: Digital Signal Processing Software for Pulsar Astronomy
• Switched magnetospheric regulation of pulsar spin-down
• A periodically active pulsar giving insight into magnetospheric physics
• Swings between rotation and accretion power in a millisecond binary pulsar
• Nuclear-Powered Millisecond Pulsars and the Maximum Spin Frequency of Neutron Stars
• A millisecond pulsar in a stellar triple system
• X-Ray Flares and Mass Outflows Driven by Magnetic Interaction between a Protostar and its Surrounding Disk
• Spin-Up/Spin-Down of Magnetized Stars with Accretion Disks and Outflows
• A state change in the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270-4859
• MHD simulations of accretion onto a dipolar magnetosphere. II. Magnetospheric ejections and stellar spin-down
• A state change in the missing link binary pulsar system PSR J1023+0038
• Episodic Accretion on to Strongly Magnetic Stars
• Thermonuclear burst oscillations
• The long-term evolution of the spin, pulse shape, and orbit of the accretion-powered millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658
• Accretion Discs Trapped Near Corotation
• A New Accretion Disk Around the Missing Link Binary System PSR J1023+0038
• The Propeller Regime of Disk Accretion to a Rapidly Rotating Magnetized Star
• Discovery of the Optical Counterparts to Four Energetic Fermi Millisecond Pulsars
• Synchronous X-ray and Radio Mode Switches: a Rapid Global Transformation of the Pulsar Magnetosphere
• A Chandra X-ray Observation of the Binary Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• A parallax distance and mass estimate for the transitional millisecond pulsar system J1023+0038
• Torque Enhancement, Spin Equilibrium, and Jet Power from Disk-Induced Opening of Pulsar Magnetic Fields
• X-ray Variability and Evidence for Pulsations from the Unique Radio Pulsar/X-ray Binary Transition Object FIRST J102347.6+003841
• Where May Ultra-Fast Rotating Neutron Stars Be Hidden?
• Is FIRST J102347.6+003841 Really a Cataclysmic Binary?
• Multi-wavelength emissions from the millisecond pulsar binary PSR J1023+0038 during an accretion active state
• The Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsar IGR J00291+5934: Evidence for a Long Timescale Spin Evolution
• X-ray coherent pulsations during a sub-luminous accretion disk state of the transitional millisecond pulsar XSS J12270-4859
• Force-Free Models of Magnetically Linked Star-Disk Systems
• PSR J2021+4026 in the Gamma Cygni region: the first variable gamma-ray pulsar seen by the Fermi LAT
• X-ray states of redback millisecond pulsars
• Radio imaging observations of PSR J1023+0038 in an LMXB state
• Orbital Evolution of an Accreting Millisecond Pulsar: Witnessing the Banquet of a Hidden Black Widow?
• The Optical Counterpart to SAX J1808.4-3658 in Quiescence: Evidence of an Active Radio Pulsar?
• Identification of the High-Energy Gamma-Ray Source 3FGL J1544.6-1125 as a Transitional Millisecond Pulsar Binary in an Accreting State
• On the Spin-Down of Intermittent Pulsars
• Propeller outflows from an MRI disc
• NuSTAR Observations of the State Transition of Millisecond Pulsar Binary PSR J1023+0038
• Accelerated Orbital Expansion And Secular Spin Down of the Accreting Millisecond Pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658
• Engulfing a radio pulsar: the case of PSR J1023+0038
• A Double Outburst from IGR J00291+5934: Implications for Accretion Disk Instability Theory
• An alternative interpretation of the timing noise in accreting millisecond pulsars
• Magnetic Interaction between Stars and Accretion Disks
• Spin down during quiescence of the fastest known accretion-powered pulsar
• The Radiative Efficiency of a Radiatively Inefficient Accretion Flow
• Long-Term evolution of Discs around Magnetic Stars
• Secular spin-down of the AMP XTE J1751-305
• The relative and absolute timing accuracy of the EPIC-pn camera on XMM-Newton, from X-ray pulsations of the Crab and other pulsars
• LOFAR observations of PSR B0943+10: profile evolution and discovery of a systematically changing profile delay in Bright mode
• On the Pulse Intensity Modulation of PSR B0823+26

Cited by in corpus (59)

• The Spin Distribution of Fast Spinning Neutron Stars in Low Mass X-Ray Binaries: Evidence for Two Sub-Populations
• Optical pulsations from a transitional millisecond pulsar
• LOFAR discovery of the fastest-spinning millisecond pulsar in the Galactic field
• Evidence for a minimum ellipticity in millisecond pulsars
• Transitional millisecond pulsars
• Simultaneous Chandra and VLA Observations of the Transitional Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1023+0038: Anti-correlated X-ray and Radio Variability
• Pulsating in unison at optical and X-ray energies: simultaneous high-time resolution observations of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• Are gravitational waves spinning down PSR J1023+0038?
• Accreting pulsars: mixing-up accretion phases in transitional systems
• Galactic Binaries Can Explain the Fermi Galactic Center Excess and 511 keV Emission
• Pulsar wind-heated accretion disk and the origin of modes in transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• Kepler K2 observations of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• The MAVERIC Survey: Chandra/ACIS Catalog of Faint X-ray sources in 38 Galactic globular clusters
• Pressure Balance and Intrabinary Shock Stability in Rotation-Powered State Redback and Transitional Millisecond Pulsar Binary Systems
• Radio pulse search and X-Ray monitoring of SAX J1808.4-3658: What Causes its Orbital Evolution?
• High-Energy emissions from the Pulsar/Be binary system PSR J2032+4127/MT91 213
• Prolonged sub-luminous state of the new transitional pulsar candidate CXOU J110926.4-650224
• Asymmetric accretion and thermal `mountains' in magnetized neutron star crusts
• The first continuous optical monitoring of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 with Kepler
• Orbital Dynamics of Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar 3FGL J1544.6-1125: An unusually face-on system
• Precise optical timing of PSR J1023+0038, the first millisecond pulsar detected with Aqueye+ in Asiago
• A New Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar in the Sub-luminous Disk State: 4FGL J0407.7--5702
• Radio Variability from a Quiescent Stellar Mass Black Hole Jet
• Optical, X-ray, and $\gamma$-ray observations of the candidate transitional millisecond pulsar 4FGL J0427.8-6704
• The MAVERIC survey: A transitional millisecond pulsar candidate in Terzan 5
• The permanent ellipticity of the neutron star in PSR J1023+0038
• Variable polarisation and Doppler tomography of PSR J1023+0038 - Evidence for the magnetic propeller during flaring?
• Probing X-ray emission in different modes of PSR J1023+0038 with a radio pulsar scenario
• Simultaneous broadband observations and high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• Spin equilibrium in strongly-magnetized accreting stars
• The Flare-Dominated Accretion Mode of a Radio-Bright Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar
• The binary millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 -- II. Optical spectroscopy
• Investigating the origin of optical and X-ray pulsations of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• Timing analysis of the 2022 outburst of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4$-$3658: hints of an orbital shrinking
• Accretion And Propeller Torque In The Spin-down Phase Of Neutron Stars: The Case Of Transitional Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• Optical photometry of two transitional millisecond pulsars in the radio pulsar state
• Peering at the outflow mechanisms in the transitional pulsar PSR J1023+0038: simultaneous VLT, XMM-Newton, and Swift high-time resolution observations
• UV and X-ray pulse amplitude variability in the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• On the Torque Reversals of Accreting Neutron Stars
• Multiwavelength evidence for a new flare-mode transitional millisecond pulsar
• Spin-down rate of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 in the optical band with Aqueye+
• On the torque reversals of 4U 1626--67
• Mid-UV Studies of the Transitional Millisecond Pulsars XSS J12270-4859 and PSR J1023+0038 During Their Radio Pulsar States
• Quasi-Simultaneous Radio/X-ray Observations of the Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar 3FGL J1544.6-1125 During its Low-Luminosity Accretion-Disc State
• Constraining the ellipticity of millisecond pulsars with observed spin-down rates
• Central Compact Objects: some of them could be spinning up?
• Long-term evolution of RRAT J1819-1458
• The minimum rotation period of millisecond pulsars
• A decade of transitional millisecond pulsars
• Evidence of intra-binary shock emission from the redback pulsar PSR J1048+2339
• The radiative efficiency of neutron stars at low-level accretion
• Observational evidence for a spin-up line in the P-Pdot diagram of millisecond pulsars
• Polarized multiwavelength emission from pulsar wind - accretion disk interaction in a transitional millisecond pulsar
• A Search for Millisecond-pulsar Radio Emission from the Faint Quiescent Soft X-ray Transient 1H 1905+000
• Hydrodynamical simulations of wind interaction in spider systems : A step toward understanding transitional millisecond pulsars
• Measuring accretion disc properties in the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 using XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, NICER and Chandra
• Probing multi-band variability and mode switching in the candidate transitional millisecond pulsar 3FGL J1544.6-1125
• The 2025 outburst of IGR J17511-3057: timing and spectral insights from NICER and NuSTAR
• There and back again: Mysterious optical pulse profile behavior of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038