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Discovery of the Millisecond Pulsar PSR J2043+1711 in a Fermi Source with the Nancay Radio TelescopeWe report the discovery of the millisecond pulsar PSR J2043+1711 in a search of a Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) source with no known associations, with the Nancay Radio Telescope. The new pulsar, confirmed with the Green Bank Telescope, has a spin period of 2.38 ms, is relatively nearby (d approx. < 2 kpc) and is in a 1.48-d orbit around a low-mass companion, probably an He-type white dwarf. Using an ephemeris based on Arecibo, Nancay and Westerbork timing measurements, pulsed gamma-ray emission was detected in the data recorded by the Fermi LAT. The gamma-ray light curve and spectral properties are typical of other gamma-ray millisecond pulsars seen with Fermi. X-ray observations of the pulsar with Suzaku and the Swift X-ray Telescope yielded no detection. At 1.4 GHz, we observe strong flux density variations because of interstellar diffractive scintillation; however, a sharp peak can be observed at this frequency during bright scintillation states. At 327 MHz, the pulsar is detected with a much higher signal-to-noise ratio and its flux density is far more steady. However, at that frequency the Arecibo instrumentation cannot yet fully resolve the pulse profile. Despite that, our pulse time-of-arrival measurements have a post-fit residual rms of 2 micro s. This and the expected stability of this system have made PSR J2043+1711 one of the first new Fermi-selected millisecond pulsars to be added to pulsar gravitational wave timing arrays. It has also allowed a significant measurement of relativistic delays in the times of arrival of the pulses due to the curvature of space-time near the companion, but not yet with enough precision to derive useful masses for the pulsar and the companion. Nevertheless, a mass for the pulsar between 1.7 and 2.0 solar Mass can be derived if a standard millisecond pulsar formation model is assumed. In this paper, we also present a comprehensive summary of pulsar searches in Fermi LAT sources with the Nancay Radio Telescope to date.
Document ID
20140009251
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20694.x
Authors
Guillemot, L. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
Freire, P. C. C. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
Cognard, I. (Observatoire de Paris Nancay, France)
Johnson, T. J. (National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council Washington, DC, United States)
Takahashi, Y. (Waseda Univ. Tokyo, Japan)
Kataoka, J. (Waseda Univ. Tokyo, Japan)
Desvignes, G. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
Camilo, F. (Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Ferrara, E. C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Harding, A. K. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Janssen, G. H. (Manchester Univ. United Kingdom)
Keith, M. (Australia Telescope National Facility Epping, Australia)
Kerr, M. (Stanford Univ. Stanford, CA, United States)
Kramer, M. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Radioastronomie Bonn, Germany)
Parent, D. (Naval Research Lab. Washington, DC, United States)
Ransom, S. M. (National Radio Astronomy Observatory Charlottesville, VA, United States)
Ray, P. S. (Naval Research Lab. Washington, DC, United States)
Saz Parkinson, P. M. (California Univ. Santa Cruz, CA, United States)
Smith, D. A. (Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires Bordeaux-Gradignan, France)
Stappers, W. (Manchester Univ. United Kingdom)
Theureau, G. (Observatoire de Paris Nancay, France)
Date Acquired
July 16, 2014
Publication Date
May 11, 2012
Publication Information
Publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher: The Royal Astronomical Society
Volume: 422
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0035-8711
Subject Category
Astronomy
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN9913
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
general aEuro" pulsars
PSR J2043+1711
Radio Telescope

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