Multi-wavelength Studies of Black Widow-Type Millisecond Pulsars
Abstract
Four years of observations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) have revolutionized our knowledge of the millisecond pulsar (MSP) population. In particular, a growing number of gamma-ray emitting MSPs in the field are found to be in binaries with tight orbits (< 1 day). By combining multi-wavelength observing facilities, it is now possible to study their properties as a population commonly known as black widows. One of the successes of the LAT is the discovery of radio-quiet gamma-ray MSP binary candidates and this opens a new window to study pulsars. Although radio-quiet gamma-ray MSPs are predicted by theories, they are observationally challenging. By combining X-ray and optical data, we have discovered the first candidate 2FGL J2339.6-0532. With a similar approach, a number of candidates have been found and they are all related to black widow-type binary MSPs. In this presentation, we will discuss our new Suzaku follow-up observations of the first radio-quiet MSP candidate 2FGL J2339.6-0532. We will also present initial results of our new multi-wavelength campaign to study black widow-type MSPs.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #221
- Pub Date:
- January 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AAS...22140806K