Is the Bursting Radio-source GCRT J1745-3009 a Double Neutron Star Binary ?

Abstract

GCRT J1745-3009 is a peculiar transient radio-source in the direction of the Galactic Center. It was observed to emit a series of ~ 1 Jy bursts at 0.33 GHz, with typical duration ~ 10 min and at apparently regular intervals of ~ 77 min. If the source is indeed at the distance of the Galactic Center as it seems likely, we show that its observational properties are compatible with those expected from a double neutron star binary, similar to the double pulsar system J0737-3039. In the picture we propose the (coherent) radio emission comes from the shock originating in the interaction of the wind of the more energetic pulsar with the magnetosphere of the companion. The observed modulation of the radio signal is the consequence of an eccentric orbit, along which the separation between the two stars varies. This cyclically drives the shock inside the light cylinder radius of the less energetic pulsar.

5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, comment on geodetic precession added

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• A powerful bursting radio source towards the Galactic Centre
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• GCRT J1745-3009 as a Transient White Dwarf Pulsar
• A Faint, Steep Spectum Burst from the Radio Transient GCRT J1745-3009
• A New Radio Detection of the Bursting Source GCRT J1745-3009
• GCRT J1745-3009: A precessing radio pulsar?
• A Search for the Near-Infrared Counterpart to GCRT J1745-3009
• Circularly polarized emission from the transient bursting radio source GCRT J1745-3009
• The CRAFT Coherent (CRACO) upgrade I: System Description and Results of the 110-ms Radio Transient Pilot Survey
• A new perspective on GCRT J1745-3009
• Astrophysics in 2005
• Revealing the nature of long-period transients with space-based gravitational-wave interferometers
• A Bursting Radio Transient in the Direction of the Galactic Center