Constraining the ellipticity of millisecond pulsars with observed spin-down rates

Abstract

A spinning neutron star (NS) that is asymmetric with respect to its spin axis can emit continuous gravitational wave (GW) signals. The spin frequencies and their distribution of radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) and accreting MSPs provide some evidences of GW radiation, and MSPs are ideal probes detecting high frequency GW signals. It is generally thought that MSPs originate from the recycled process, in which the NS accretes the material and angular momentum from the donor star. The accreted matter would be confined at the polar cap zone by an equatorial belt of compressed magnetic field fixed in the deep crust of the NS, and yields "magnetic mountain". Based on an assumption that the spin-down rates of three transitional MSPs including PSR J1023+0038 are the combinational contribution of the accretion torque, the propeller torque, and the GW radiation torque, in this work we attempt to constrain the ellipticities of MSPs with observed spin-down rates. Assuming some canonical parameters of NSs, the ellipticities of three transitional MSPs and ten redbacks are estimated to be $\epsilon =(0.9-23.4)\times 10^{-9}$. The electrical resistivities of three transitional MSPs are also derived to be in the range $\eta =(1.2-15.3)\times 10^{-31}\mathrm{s}$, which display an ideal power law relation with the accretion rate. The characteristic strains ($h_{\mathrm{c}}=(0.6-2.5)\times 10^{-27}$) of GW signals emitting by these sources are obviously beyond the sensitivity scope of the aLIGO. We expect that the third-generation GW detectors like the Einstein Telescope can seize the GW signals from these sources in the future.

arXiv comment7 pages, 2 figures. PRD in press

References in corpus (72)

• Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
• Science Case for the Einstein Telescope
• A Radio Pulsar Spinning at 716 Hz
• The Second Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars
• A Radio Pulsar/X-ray Binary Link
• Gravitational Radiation and Rotation of Accreting Neutron Stars
• Swings between rotation and accretion power in a millisecond binary pulsar
• Nuclear-Powered Millisecond Pulsars and the Maximum Spin Frequency of Neutron Stars
• A state change in the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270-4859
• Maximum elastic deformations of compact stars with exotic equations of state
• A state change in the missing link binary pulsar system PSR J1023+0038
• The Ocean and Crust of a Rapidly Accreting Neutron Star: Implications for Magnetic Field Evolution and Thermonuclear Flashes
• Detecting gravitational wave emission from the known accreting neutron stars
• Maximum elastic deformations of relativistic stars
• Eight New Millisecond Pulsars in NGC 6440 and NGC 6441
• The Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey - I: Survey Description, Data Analysis, and Initial Results
• Upper limits on gravitational wave emission from 78 radio pulsars
• Formation of black widows and redbacks -- two distinct populations of eclipsing binary millisecond pulsars
• A New Accretion Disk Around the Missing Link Binary System PSR J1023+0038
• Discovery of PSR J1227-4853: A transition from a low-mass X-ray binary to a redback millisecond pulsar
• Propeller effect in action in the ultraluminous accreting magnetar M82 X-2
• Evidence for "Propeller" Effects In X-ray Pulsars GX 1+4 And GROJ1744-28
• Gravitational Radiation from an Accreting Millisecond Pulsar with a Magnetically Confined Mountain
• Burial of the polar magnetic field of an accreting neutron star. I. Self-consistent analytic and numerical equilibria
• Discovery of short-period binary millisecond pulsars in four globular clusters
• A High Braking Index for a Pulsar
• An eclipsing millisecond pulsar with a possible main-sequence companion in NGC 6397
• Optical spectroscopy and demographics of redback millisecond pulsar binaries
• X-ray follow-ups of XSSJ12270-4859: a low-mass X-ray binary with gamma ray FERMI-LAT association
• Where May Ultra-Fast Rotating Neutron Stars Be Hidden?
• The Spin Distribution of Fast Spinning Neutron Stars in Low Mass X-Ray Binaries: Evidence for Two Sub-Populations
• The intriguing nature of the high energy gamma ray source XSSJ12270-4859
• Modelling the spin equilibrium of neutron stars in LMXBs without gravitational radiation
• Spin-Down of Radio Millisecond Pulsars at Genesis
• Spectral State Transitions in Aql X-1: Evidence for `Propeller' Effects
• Understanding the evolution of close binary systems with radio pulsars
• Evidence for a minimum ellipticity in millisecond pulsars
• Timing Observations of PSR J1023+0038 During a Low-Mass X-ray Binary State
• Searches for continuous gravitational waves from nine young supernova remnants
• PSR J1740-5340: accretion inhibited by radio-ejection in a binary millisecond pulsar in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397
• PSR J1723-2837: An Eclipsing Binary Radio Millisecond Pulsar
• Propeller outflows from an MRI disc
• First all-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from unknown sources in binary systems
• Gravitational Waves and the Maximum Spin Frequency of Neutron Stars
• Gamma-ray Timing of Redback PSR J2339-0533: Hints for Gravitational Quadrupole Moment Changes
• Unveiling the redback nature of the low-mass X-ray binary XSSJ1227.0-4859 through optical observations
• Multiwavelength Observations of the Redback Millisecond Pulsar J1048+2339
• Ballooning Instability in Polar Caps of Accreting Neutron Stars
• The Effect of Transient Accretion on the Spin-Up of Millisecond Pulsars
• Long-Term Radio Timing Observations of the Transition Millisecond Pulsar PSR~J1023+0038
• A physical scenario for the high and low X-ray luminosity states in the transitional pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• Resistive relaxation of a magnetically confined mountain on an accreting neutron star
• Are gravitational waves spinning down PSR J1023+0038?
• Improved estimate of the detectability of gravitational radiation from a magnetically confined mountain on an accreting neutron star
• First low frequency all-sky search for continuous gravitational wave signals
• Search for dark matter produced in association with a Higgs boson decaying to two bottom quarks in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV with the ATLAS detector
• The Spin Distribution of Millisecond X-ray Pulsars
• Sinking of a magnetically confined mountain on an accreting neutron star
• Gravitational-wave spin-down and stalling lower limits on the electrical resistivity of the accreted mountain in a millisecond pulsar
• The High Time Resolution Universe Survey - XI. Discovery of five recycled pulsars and the optical detectability of survey white dwarf companions
• Ejector and propeller spin-down: How might a superluminous supernova millisecond magnetar become the 6.67 hr pulsar in RCW103
• The Quasi-Roche lobe overflow state in the evolution of Close Binary Systems containing a radio pulsar
• Frequency spectrum of gravitational radiation from global hydromagnetic oscillations of a magnetically confined mountain on an accreting neutron star
• Timing of Five PALFA-Discovered Millisecond Pulsars
• Formation of redbacks via accretion induced collapse
• Accretion And Propeller Torque In The Spin-down Phase Of Neutron Stars: The Case Of Transitional Millisecond Pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• The Observed Spin Distributions of Millisecond Radio and X-ray Pulsars
• High braking index pulsar PSR J1640-4631: low-mass neutron star with a large inclination angle?
• X-ray study of high-and-low luminosity modes and peculiar low-soft-and-hard activity in the transitional pulsar XSS J12270-4859

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Searches for Continuous-Wave Gravitational Radiation
• Searches for continuous gravitational waves from neutron stars: A twenty-year retrospective
• Ultra-compact X-ray binaries as dual-line gravitational-wave sources
• Gravitational waves from neutron-star mountains
• Spin evolution of neutron stars in two modes: implication for millisecond pulsars
• Ultra-compact binary pulsars as continuous dual-line gravitational wave sources
• On the minimum spin period of accreting pulsars
• On the Gravitational Wave Counterpart to a Gamma-ray Galactic Center Signal from Millisecond Pulsars