Optical detection of the companion of the millisecond pulsar J0437 - 4715

Details Optical detection of the companion of the millisecond pulsar J0437 - 4715 Optical detection of the companion of the millisecond pulsar J0437 - 4715

Aug 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993natur.364..603b&link_type=abstract

Nature (ISSN 0028-0836), vol. 364, no. 6438, p. 603-605.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

67

Binary Stars, Pulsars, Stellar Evolution, Stellar Temperature, White Dwarf Stars, Astrometry, Reference Stars, Stellar Magnitude, Stellar Models

Scientific paper

Optical observations of the companion stars in binary pulsar systems offer a way to estimate pulsar ages independent of calculations based on timing measurements of the radio pulses, and can therefore provide important constraints for models of pulsar evolution. We report the optical detection of the companion star of the nearby binary millisecond pulsar J0437-4715. The companion seems to be a very cool, quiescent white dwarf. The temperature inferred from the observations is less than that obtained from a cooling model of a white dwarf of an age equivalent to the 'spin-down' age of the pulsar. These observations provide direct support for the hypothesis that millisecond pulsars are long-lived objects, and that their magnetic fields do not decay.

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