Utilizing the MeerKAT radio telescope, astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany and elsewhere, have detected 13 new pulsars within the globular cluster Omega Centauri. The discovering was detailed in a paper revealed within the Month-to-month Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Pulsars are extremely magnetized, rotating neutron stars emitting a beam of electromagnetic radiation. They’re often detected within the type of quick bursts of radio emission; nevertheless, a few of them are additionally noticed by way of optical, X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes.
Now, a staff of astronomers led by MPIfR’s Weiwei Chen stories the invention of latest pulsars in Omega Centauri (often known as NGC 5139)—the biggest globular cluster in our galaxy, situated some 17,000 light years away. Up to now, solely 5 pulsars have been recognized on this cluster.
“We used the superior sensitivity of the MeerKAT radio telescope to seek for pulsars in Omega Centauri…. On this paper, we introduced the invention of 13 new pulsars in Omega Centauri, which greater than tripled the inhabitants of recognized pulsars on this cluster,” the researchers wrote.
The brand new pulsars (designated from PSR J1326−4728F to PSR J1326−4728R) have been discovered throughout the core and likewise between the core and half mild radius of Omega Centauri. All the brand new objects could be categorized as millisecond pulsars (MSPs) as they’ve rotation durations under 30 milliseconds (between 2.27 and 18.95 ms). Seven of them turned out to be binary systems, whereas the remaining six are remoted pulsars.
The pulsars reported within the examine have dispersion measures throughout the vary of 94.27 pc/cm3. In the case of the orbital durations of the seven binaries, it was discovered that they’re between roughly 0.094 and 1.18 days. The astronomers added that six binaries have very mild companions and two of them have obvious eclipses.
The invention made by Chen’s staff will increase the variety of pulsars in Omega Centauri to 18 and makes the pulsar inhabitants of this cluster dominated by the remoted ones (10 pulsars). Furthermore, all of the binary pulsars on this GC, except for PSR J1326−4728Q, have very low-mass companions (with a mass smaller than 0.1 solar masses), typical for the so-called “black widow” methods.
The authors of the paper hope to seek out extra pulsars in Omega Centauri as a part of the continuing Transient and Pulsars with MeerKAT (TRAPUM) survey.
“We additionally be aware that future TRAPUM observations with UHF-band (550–1100 MHz) and S-band (1750–3500 MHz) receivers will very doubtless additional improve the inhabitants of recognized pulsars in Omega Centauri in all areas by probing completely different spectral home windows,” the researchers wrote.
Extra data:
W Chen et al, MeerKAT discovery of 13 new pulsars in Omega Centauri, Month-to-month Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2023). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad029. On arXiv: DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2301.03864
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