Millisecond pulsars phenomenology under the light of graph theory

Abstract

We compute and apply the minimum spanning tree (MST) of the binary millisecond pulsar population, and discuss aspects of the known phenomenology of these systems in this context. We find that the MST effectively separates different classes of spider pulsars, eclipsing radio pulsars in tight binary systems either with a companion with a mass in the range of approximately 0.1-0.8 solar masses (redbacks) or with a companion of less than or approximately 0.06 solar masses (black widows), into distinct branches. The MST also separates black widows located in globular clusters from those found in the field and groups other pulsar classes of interest, including transitional millisecond pulsars. Using the MST and a defined ranking for similarity, we identify possible candidates likely to belong to these pulsar classes. In particular, based on this approach, we propose the black widows' classification of J1300+1240, J1630+3550, J1317-0157, J1221-0633, J1627+3219, J1737-0314A, and J1701-3006F, discuss that of J1908+2105, and analyze J1723-2837, J1431-4715, and J1902-5105 as possible transitional systems. We introduce an algorithm that quickly locates where new pulsars fall within the MST and use this to examine the positions of the transitional millisecond pulsar IGR J18245-2452 (PSR J1824-2452I), the transitional millisecond pulsar candidate 3FGL J1544.6-1125, and the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. Assessing the positions of these sources in the MST assuming a range for their unknown variables (e.g., the spin period derivative of PSR J1824-2452I) we can effectively narrow down the parameter space necessary for searching and determining key pulsar parameters through targeted observations.

For the millisecond pulsar tree website, see http://www.pulsartree.ice.csic.es/millisecondpulsartree

References in corpus (32)

• A Radio Pulsar/X-ray Binary Link
• Formation of millisecond pulsars with CO white dwarf companions - II. Accretion, spin-up, true ages and comparison to MSPs with He white dwarf companions
• The Third Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars
• Optical spectroscopy and demographics of redback millisecond pulsar binaries
• X-ray states of redback millisecond pulsars
• Orbital Evolution of an Accreting Millisecond Pulsar: Witnessing the Banquet of a Hidden Black Widow?
• Identification of the High-Energy Gamma-Ray Source 3FGL J1544.6-1125 as a Transitional Millisecond Pulsar Binary in an Accreting State
• FAST Globular Cluster Pulsar Survey: Twenty-Four Pulsars Discovered in Fifteen Globular Clusters
• Transitional millisecond pulsars
• Millisecond Pulsars, their Evolution and Applications
• On the timing properties of SAX J1808.4-3658 during its 2015 outburst
• Optical Counterparts of Two Fermi Millisecond Pulsars: PSR J1301+0833 and PSR J1628-3205
• Prolonged sub-luminous state of the new transitional pulsar candidate CXOU J110926.4-650224
• A New Flaring Black Widow Candidate and Demographics of Black Widow Millisecond Pulsars in the Galactic Field
• Search for transitions between states in redbacks and black widows using seven years of Fermi-LAT observations
• The High Time Resolution Universe Survey - XI. Discovery of five recycled pulsars and the optical detectability of survey white dwarf companions
• Measuring the mass of the black widow PSR J1555-2908
• Timing of Eight Binary Millisecond Pulsars Found with Arecibo in Fermi-LAT Unidentified Sources
• Orbital Dynamics of Candidate Transitional Millisecond Pulsar 3FGL J1544.6-1125: An unusually face-on system
• The Green Bank North Celestial Cap Survey. VII. 12 New Pulsar Timing Solutions
• Matter ejections behind the highs and lows of the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038
• Searching for pulsars associated with polarised point sources using LOFAR: Initial discoveries from the TULIPP project
• Timing analysis of the 2022 outburst of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4$-$3658: hints of an orbital shrinking
• Orbital Modulation of Gamma Rays from PSR~J2339$-$0533
• Two New Black Widow Millisecond Pulsars In M28
• New technique for determining a pulsar period: Waterfall principal component analysis
• A Multi-wavelength search for Black Widows and Redbacks counterparts of candidate $\gamma$-ray millisecond pulsars
• Discovery and Timing of Millisecond Pulsars with the Arecibo 327 MHz Drift-Scan Survey
• Visualizing the pulsar population using graph theory
• The Orbit and Companion of PSR J1622-0315: Variable Asymmetry and a Massive Neutron Star
• Topology of Pulsar Profiles (ToPP). I. Graph theory method and classification of the EPN
• Quantitative determination of minimum spanning tree structures: Using the pulsar tree for analyzing the appearance of new classes of pulsars

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Probing multi-band variability and mode switching in the candidate transitional millisecond pulsar 3FGL J1544.6-1125
• Graph-based Summary Statistics for Revealing the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background in Pulsar Timing Arrays