Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Sep 23;333(6050):1717-20.
doi: 10.1126/science.1208890. Epub 2011 Aug 25.

Transformation of a star into a planet in a millisecond pulsar binary

M Bailes  1 , S D Bates, V Bhalerao, N D R Bhat, M Burgay, S Burke-Spolaor, N D'Amico, S Johnston, M J Keith, M Kramer, S R Kulkarni, L Levin, A G Lyne, S Milia, A Possenti, L Spitler, B Stappers, W van Straten
Affiliations

Transformation of a star into a planet in a millisecond pulsar binary

M Bailes et al. Science. .

Abstract

Millisecond pulsars are thought to be neutron stars that have been spun-up by accretion of matter from a binary companion. Although most are in binary systems, some 30% are solitary, and their origin is therefore mysterious. PSR J1719-1438, a 5.7-millisecond pulsar, was detected in a recent survey with the Parkes 64-meter radio telescope. We show that this pulsar is in a binary system with an orbital period of 2.2 hours. The mass of its companion is near that of Jupiter, but its minimum density of 23 grams per cubic centimeter suggests that it may be an ultralow-mass carbon white dwarf. This system may thus have once been an ultracompact low-mass x-ray binary, where the companion narrowly avoided complete destruction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

  • A radio pulsar/x-ray binary link.
    Archibald AM, Stairs IH, Ransom SM, Kaspi VM, Kondratiev VI, Lorimer DR, McLaughlin MA, Boyles J, Hessels JW, Lynch R, van Leeuwen J, Roberts MS, Jenet F, Champion DJ, Rosen R, Barlow BN, Dunlap BH, Remillard RA. Archibald AM, et al. Science. 2009 Jun 12;324(5933):1411-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1172740. Epub 2009 May 21. Science. 2009. PMID: 19460964
  • Binary millisecond pulsar discovery via gamma-ray pulsations.
    Pletsch HJ, Guillemot L, Fehrmann H, Allen B, Kramer M, Aulbert C, Ackermann M, Ajello M, de Angelis A, Atwood WB, Baldini L, Ballet J, Barbiellini G, Bastieri D, Bechtol K, Bellazzini R, Borgland AW, Bottacini E, Brandt TJ, Bregeon J, Brigida M, Bruel P, Buehler R, Buson S, Caliandro GA, Cameron RA, Caraveo PA, Casandjian JM, Cecchi C, Çelik Ö, Charles E, Chaves RC, Cheung CC, Chiang J, Ciprini S, Claus R, Cohen-Tanugi J, Conrad J, Cutini S, D'Ammando F, Dermer CD, Digel SW, Drell PS, Drlica-Wagner A, Dubois R, Dumora D, Favuzzi C, Ferrara EC, Franckowiak A, Fukazawa Y, Fusco P, Gargano F, Gehrels N, Germani S, Giglietto N, Giordano F, Giroletti M, Godfrey G, Grenier IA, Grondin MH, Grove JE, Guiriec S, Hadasch D, Hanabata Y, Harding AK, den Hartog PR, Hayashida M, Hays E, Hill AB, Hou X, Hughes RE, Jóhannesson G, Jackson MS, Jogler T, Johnson AS, Johnson WN, Kataoka J, Kerr M, Knödlseder J, Kuss M, Lande J, Larsson S, Latronico L, Lemoine-Goumard M, Longo F, Loparco F, Lovellette MN, Lubrano P, Massaro F, Mayer M, Mazziotta MN, McEnery JE, Mehault J, Michelson PF, Mitthumsiri W, Mizuno T, Monzani ME, Morselli A, Moskalenko IV, Murgia S, Nakamori T, Nemmen R, Nuss E, Ohno M, Ohsu… See abstract for full author list ➔ Pletsch HJ, et al. Science. 2012 Dec 7;338(6112):1314-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1229054. Epub 2012 Oct 25. Science. 2012. PMID: 23112297
  • Spin-down of radio millisecond pulsars at genesis.
    Tauris TM. Tauris TM. Science. 2012 Feb 3;335(6068):561-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1216355. Science. 2012. PMID: 22301314
  • Binary and Millisecond Pulsars.
    Lorimer DR. Lorimer DR. Living Rev Relativ. 2008;11(1):8. doi: 10.12942/lrr-2008-8. Epub 2008 Nov 4. Living Rev Relativ. 2008. PMID: 28179824 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Binary and Millisecond Pulsars.
    Lorimer DR. Lorimer DR. Living Rev Relativ. 2005;8(1):7. doi: 10.12942/lrr-2005-7. Epub 2005 Nov 9. Living Rev Relativ. 2005. PMID: 28179869 Free PMC article. Review.
See all similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources