Improving Binary Millisecond Pulsar Distances with Gaia

Abstract

Improved distance measurements to millisecond pulsars can enhance pulsar timing array (PTA) sensitivity to gravitational-waves, improve tests of general relativity with binary pulsars, improve constraints on fuzzy dark matter, and more. Here we report the parallax and distance measurements to seven Gaia DR2 objects associated with seven International PTA pulsars: J0437-4715, J1012+5307, J1024-0719, J1732-5049, J1910+1256, J1843-1113, and J1949+3106. By multiplying the posteriors of the PTA-based parallax measurements with the Gaia parallax measurement to the pulsar's companion, we improve the distance measurements from a few percent to a factor of five, and a tentative detection of a binary companion to J1843-1113. We also find an order of magnitude improvement in the parallax measurement to J1949+3106.

Updated results, resubmitted to ApJ. See Moran et al. (2022) for Gaia DR3 results

References in corpus (25)

• SciPy 1.0--Fundamental Algorithms for Scientific Computing in Python
• The NumPy array: a structure for efficient numerical computation
• Gaia Data Release 2. Summary of the contents and survey properties
• Gaia Data Release 3: Summary of the content and survey properties
• Estimating distances from parallaxes. V: Geometric and photogeometric distances to 1.47 billion stars in Gaia Early Data Release 3
• Estimating distances from parallaxes IV: Distances to 1.33 billion stars in Gaia Data Release 2
• A New Electron Density Model for Estimation of Pulsar and FRB Distances
• Gaia Early Data Release 3: Photometric content and validation
• Gaia Data Release 2: Catalogue validation
• The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: High-precision timing of 45 Millisecond Pulsars
• Galactic Reddening in 3D from Stellar Photometry - An Improved Map
• Gaia Early Data Release 3 -- Catalogue validation
• The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Observations and Timing of 68 Millisecond Pulsars
• The International Pulsar Timing Array: Second data release
• Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties
• Extremely high precision VLBI astrometry of PSR J0437-4715 and implications for theories of gravity
• A comparison of Galactic electron density models using PyGEDM
• Binary Pulsar Distances and Velocities from Gaia Data Release 2
• PSR J1024-0719: A Millisecond Pulsar in an Unusual Long-Period Orbit
• A millisecond pulsar in an extremely wide binary system
• PSR J1012+5307: a millisecond pulsar with an extremely low-mass white dwarf companion
• Gaia pulsars and where to find them
• Very long baseline astrometry of PSR J1012+5307 and its implications on alternative theories of gravity
• Milky Way Accelerometry via Millisecond Pulsar Timing
• Constraints on Undetected Long-Period Binaries in the Known Pulsar Population

Cited by in corpus (6)

• A Pulsar-Based Map of Galactic Acceleration
• NE2025: An Updated Electron Density Model for the Galactic Interstellar Medium
• Ultralight Dark Matter Statistics for Pulsar Timing Detection
• Probing Picohertz Gravitational Waves with Pulsars
• The systemic recoil velocity distribution and the scale height of field millisecond pulsar systems: Implications on neutron star retention fractions in star clusters
• Probing the magneto-ionic medium of the Milky Way using pulsars