Kavli Affiliate: Erin Kara
| First 5 Authors: Kevin B. Burdge, Thomas R. Marsh, Jim Fuller, Eric C. Bellm, Ilaria Caiazzo
| Summary:
Over a dozen millisecond pulsars are ablating low-mass companions in close
binary systems. In the original "black widow", the 8-hour orbital period
eclipsing pulsar PSR J1959+2048 (PSR B1957+20), high energy emission
originating from the pulsar is irradiating and may eventually destroy a
low-mass companion. These systems are not only physical laboratories that
reveal the dramatic result of exposing a close companion star to the
relativistic energy output of a pulsar, but are also believed to harbour some
of the most massive neutron stars, allowing for robust tests of the neutron
star equation of state. Here, we report observations of ZTF J1406+1222, a wide
hierarchical triple hosting a 62-minute orbital period black widow candidate
whose optical flux varies by a factor of more than 10. ZTF J1406+1222 pushes
the boundaries of evolutionary models, falling below the 80 minute minimum
orbital period of hydrogen-rich systems. The wide tertiary companion is a rare
low metallicity cool subdwarf star, and the system has a Galactic halo orbit
consistent with passing near the Galactic center, making it a probe of
formation channels, neutron star kick physics, and binary evolution.
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