Parkes observations for project P1342 semester 2024OCTS_03

We have discovered an eclipsing binary millisecond pulsar in image-plane searches. Follow-up work confirmed that the source has pulsations and a Fermi association, revealing that it is a millisecond pulsar (MSP). The MSP is in a compact binary orbit with an optical companion. The duration of the eclipses suggests that this is a ``spider'' system, with an eclipsing material. The formation and evolution of spider systems are still poorly understood. Timing of this system will allow us to constrain the orbit of the system so that we can explore the eclipse cut-off frequency and change in electron column density of the eclipse. It would also improve predictions of the eclipsing binary pulsar and MSP population detectable by upcoming, highly sensitive image-plane surveys at low frequencies using precursors to, and eventually, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) itself. The detection of MSPs also provides compelling evidence that the Fermi gamma-ray excess is coming from thousands of MSPs.

我们在像平面巡天搜索中发现了一颗凌食双星毫秒脉冲星（eclipsing binary millisecond pulsar）。后续跟进观测证实该源存在脉冲辐射且与费米（Fermi）望远镜存在天体关联，由此确认其为毫秒脉冲星（millisecond pulsar, MSP）。该毫秒脉冲星与一颗光学伴星构成致密双星轨道。凌食持续时长表明其属于‘蜘蛛’系统，存在凌食遮挡物质。目前学界对蜘蛛系统的形成与演化机制仍缺乏充分认知。对该系统的计时观测将帮助我们约束其轨道参数，进而探究凌食现象的截止频率以及凌食区域的电子柱密度变化。此项研究还将完善凌食双星脉冲星与毫秒脉冲星种群的预测模型，助力我们通过即将开展的低频高灵敏度像平面巡天项目——这些项目将依托平方千米阵列（Square Kilometre Array, SKA）的先期观测设备乃至阵列本身——探测到更多此类天体。此次发现的毫秒脉冲星也为“费米伽马射线超出”源自数千颗毫秒脉冲星这一论断提供了极具说服力的观测证据。