Upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope timing of NGC 1851A: a possible millisecond pulsar-neutron star system

Abstract

(abridged) In this work we present the results of one year of upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope timing measurements of PSR~J0514$-$4002A, a 4.99-ms pulsar in a 18.8-day, eccentric ($e=0.89$) orbit with a massive companion located in the globular cluster NGC~1851. Combining these data with earlier Green Bank Telescope data, we greatly improve the precision of the rate of advance of periastron, $\dot{\omega }=0.0129592(16)°\mathrm{y}{\mathrm{r}}^{-1}$ which, assuming the validity of general relativity, results in a much refined measurement of the total mass of the binary, $M_{\mathrm{tot}}=2.4730(6)M_{\odot }$. Additionally, we measure the Einstein delay parameter, $\gamma ,=0.0216(9)\mathrm{s}$. Furthermore, we measure the proper motion of the system (${\mu }_{\alpha }=5.19(22)$ and ${\mu }_{\delta }=-0.56(25)\mathrm{mas}\mathrm{y}{\mathrm{r}}^{-1}$), which is not only important for analyzing its motion in the cluster, but is also essential for a proper interpretation of $\gamma$, given the latter parameter's correlation with the variation of the projected semi-major axis. The measurements of $\gamma$ and the proper motion enable a separation of the system component masses: we obtain a pulsar mass of $M_p=1.25_{-0.06}^{+0.05}{M}_{\odot }$ and a companion mass of $M_c=1.22_{-0.05}^{+0.06}{M}_{\odot }$. This raises the possibility that the companion is also a neutron star. Searches for radio pulsations from the companion have thus far been unsuccessful, hence we cannot confirm the latter hypothesis. The low mass of this millisecond pulsar - one of the lowest ever measured for such objects - clearly indicates that the recycling process can be achieved with a relatively small amount of mass transfer.

16 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (6)

• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
• Measurement of Orbital Decay in the Double Neutron Star Binary PSR B2127+11C
• The relativistic pulsar-white dwarf binary PSR J1738+0333 I. Mass determination and evolutionary history
• An ultra-massive fast-spinning white dwarf in a peculiar binary system
• The binary pulsar PSR J1811-1736: evidence of a low amplitude supernova kick
• A Highly Eccentric 3.9-Millisecond Binary Pulsar in the Globular Cluster NGC 6652

Cited by in corpus (44)

• On the Rate of Neutron Star Binary Mergers from Globular Clusters
• A pulsar in a binary with a compact object in the mass gap between neutron stars and black holes
• Eight new millisecond pulsars from the first MeerKAT globular cluster census
• FAST Globular Cluster Pulsar Survey: Twenty-Four Pulsars Discovered in Fifteen Globular Clusters
• Maximum gravitational mass $M_{\mathrm{TOV}}=2.25_{-0.07}^{+0.08}{M}_{\odot }$ inferred at about $3\%$ precision with multimessenger data of neutron stars
• PSR J2222--0137. I. Improved physical parameters for the system
• Maximum mass cutoff in the neutron star mass distribution and the prospect of forming supramassive objects in the double neutron star mergers
• Formation and Evolution of Binary Neutron Stars: Mergers and Their Host Galaxies
• Gravity experiments with radio pulsars
• TRAPUM discovery of thirteen new pulsars in NGC 1851 using MeerKAT
• Analytical results for binary dynamics at the first post-Newtonian order in Einstein-Cartan theory with the Weyssenhoff fluid
• Precise mass measurements for the double neutron star system J1829+2456
• Discovery and timing of ten new millisecond pulsars in the globular cluster Terzan 5
• LISA and the Existence of a Fast-Merging Double Neutron Star Formation Channel
• PSR J1641+3627F: a low-mass He white dwarf orbiting a possible high-mass neutron star in the globular cluster M13
• Demographics of neutron stars in young massive and open clusters
• The eccentric millisecond pulsar, PSR J0955$-$6150 I: Pulse profile analysis, mass measurements and constraints on binary evolution
• Upgraded GMRT survey for pulsars in globular clusters. I: Discovery of a millisecond binary pulsar in NGC 6652
• The Role of Baryon Structure in Neutron Stars
• The MPIfR-MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey II. The eccentric double neutron star system PSR J1208-5936 and a neutron star merger rate update
• Missing for 20 years: MeerKAT re-detects the elusive binary pulsar M30B
• The birth mass function of neutron stars
• Mass Distribution and Maximum Mass of Neutron Stars: Effects of Orbital Inclination Angle
• Lower-mass-gap Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters
• Neutron star mass in dark matter clumps
• A comparison of millisecond pulsar populations between globular clusters and the Galactic field
• Relativistic effects in a mildly recycled pulsar binary: PSR J1952+2630
• Stringent Tests of Gravity with Highly Relativistic Binary Pulsars in the Era of LISA and SKA
• Discovery and Timing analysis of new pulsars in globular cluster NGC 5024: new observations from FAST
• Strong post-merger gravitational radiation of GW170817-like events
• Single Millisecond Pulsars from Dynamical Interaction Processes in Dense Star Clusters
• Wideband Monitoring Observations of PSR J1803-3002A in the Globular Cluster NGC 6522
• The double neutron star PSR J1946+2052 I. Masses and tests of general relativity
• Measuring Mass and Radius of the Maximum-mass Nonrotating Neutron Star
• NGC 1851A: Revealing an ongoing three-body encounter in a dense globular cluster
• Direct nonparametric multimessenger constraints on the equation of state of cold dense nuclear matter
• Fastest spinning millisecond pulsars: indicators for quark matter in neutron stars?
• Rapidly Spinning Massive Pulsars as an Indicator of Quark Deconfinement
• PSR J1227$-$6208 and its massive white dwarf companion: pulsar emission analysis, timing update and mass measurements
• Triple trouble with PSR J1618-3921: Mass measurements and orbital dynamics of an eccentric millisecond pulsar
• Analytical model of millisecond pulsar PSR J0514-4002A
• Forming Double Neutron Stars using Detailed Binary Evolution Models with POSYDON: Comparison to the Galactic Systems
• The maximum mass and rotational kinetic energy of rapidly rotating neutron stars
• Long-term timing of the relativistic binary PSR J1906+0746