Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jul 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999hst..prop.8154v&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #8154
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Hst Proposal Id #8154 Hot Stars
Scientific paper
Double neutron star systems are objects of fundamental interest to physics {tests of GR} and astronomy {sources of gravitational wave radiation, possible progenitors of GRBs}. The nature of their companion, specifically the size, is clearly of importance for these issues and has historically motivated deep optical observations. To our surprise and delight, we have found a faint blue optical object within 0.25 arcsec of the location of one such presumed double neutron star system, PSR B2303+46. From pulsar timing we know securely that the companion is more massive than 1.2 M_odot. We suggest that the companion is a massive hot white dwarf formed before the pulsar; such an unorthodox solution is possible by adding a twist to the usual evolutionary scenario. Here, we propose UV imaging with STIS to confirm that the object is stellar, to confirm its energy distribution is thermal, and to get a rough constraint on its temperature. Confirmation is not only important for the reasons discussed above, but also for our ideas about the evolution of these systems, and of considerable interest for verifying white-dwarf cooling models. If confirmed, the companion is the only white dwarf securely known to be so massive, and one of only a few for which two independent age estimates are available.
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