Searching for optical companions to four binary millisecond pulsars with the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Issue 2 (16th January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kirichenko, A Yu; Karpova, A V; Zyuzin, D A; Zharikov, S V; López, E A; Shibanov, Yu A; Freire, P C C; Fonseca, E; Cabrera-Lavers, A
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 492:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 3032
• Page End: 3040
• Publication Date: 2020-01-16
• Subjects: binaries: general -- pulsars: individual: PSR J0557+1550 -- pulsars: individual: PSR J1630+3734 -- pulsars: individual: PSR J1741+1351 -- pulsars: individual: PSR J2042+0246; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa066
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We report on multiband photometric observations of four binary millisecond pulsars with the Gran Telescopio Canarias. The observations led to detection of binary companions to PSRs J1630+3734, J1741+1351, and J2042+0246 in the Sloan g ′, r ′, and i ′ bands. Their magnitudes in the r ′ band are ≈24.4, 24.4, and 24.0, respectively. We also set a 3σ upper limit on the brightness of the PSR J0557+1550 companion in the r ′ band of ≈25.6 mag. Combining the optical data with the radio timing measurements and white dwarf cooling models, we show that the detected companions are cool low-mass white dwarfs with temperatures and ages in the respective ranges of (4–7) × 10 3 K and 2–5 Gyr. All the detected white dwarfs are found to likely have either pure hydrogen or mixed helium–hydrogen atmospheres.