Search

Rapidly rotating neutron stars are the only candidates for persistent high-frequency gravitational wave emission, for which a targeted search can be performed based on the spin period measured from electromagnetic (e.g., radio and X-ray) observations. The principal factor determining the sensitivity of such searches is the measurement precision of the physical parameters of the system. Neutron stars in X-ray binaries present additional computational demands for searches due to the uncertainty in the binary parameters. We present the results of a pilot study with the goal of improving the measurement precision of binary orbital parameters for candidate gravitational wave sources. We observed the optical counterpart of Sco X-1 in 2011 June with the William Herschel Telescope and also made use of Very Large Telescope observations in 2011 to provide an additional epoch of radial-velocity measurements to earlier measurements in 1999. From a circular orbit fit to the combined data set, we obtained an improvement of a factor of 2 in the orbital period precision and a factor of 2.5 in the epoch of inferior conjunction T0. While the new orbital period is consistent with the previous value of Gottlieb et al., the new T0 (and the amplitude of variation of the Bowen line velocities) exhibited a significant shift, which we attribute to variations in the emission geometry with epoch. We propagate the uncertainties on these parameters through to the expected Advanced LIGO-Virgo detector network observation epochs and quantify the improvement obtained with additional optical observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of PSR J1723–2837, an eclipsing, 1.86 ms millisecond binary radio pulsar discovered in the Parkes Multibeam survey. Radio timing indicates that the pulsar has a circular orbit with a 15 hr orbital period, a low-mass companion, and a measurable orbital period derivative. The eclipse fraction of ∼15% during the pulsar's orbit is twice the Roche lobe size inferred for the companion. The timing behavior is significantly affected by unmodeled systematics of astrophysical origin, and higher-order orbital period derivatives are needed in the timing solution to account for these variations. We have identified the pulsar's (non-degenerate) companion using archival ultraviolet, optical, and infrared survey data and new optical photometry. Doppler shifts from optical spectroscopy confirm the star's association with the pulsar and indicate a pulsar-to-companion mass ratio of 3.3 ± 0.5, corresponding to a companion mass range of 0.4 to 0.7 M☼ and an orbital inclination angle range of between 30° and 41°, assuming a pulsar mass range of 1.4-2.0 M☼. Spectroscopy indicates a spectral type of G for the companion and an inferred Roche-lobe-filling distance that is consistent with the distance estimated from radio dispersion. The features of PSR J1723–2837 indicate that it is likely a “redback” system. Unlike the five other Galactic redbacks discovered to date, PSR J1723–2837 has not been detected as a γ-ray source with Fermi. This may be due to an intrinsic spin-down luminosity that is much smaller than the measured value if the unmeasured contribution from proper motion is large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An XMM-Newton observation of the nearby "pre-cataclysmic" short-period (Porb = 3.62 hr) binary QS Vir (EC 13471-1258) revealed regular narrow X-ray eclipses when the white dwarf passed behind its M2-4 dwarf companion. The X-ray emission provides a clear signature of mass transfer and accretion onto the white dwarf. The low-resolution XMM-Newton EPIC spectra are consistent with a cooling flow model and indicate an accretion rate of ... = 1.7 x 10-13 M⊙ yr-1. At 48 pc distant, QS Vir is then the second nearest accreting cataclysmic variable known, with one of the lowest accretion rates found to date for a non-magnetic system. To feed this accretion through a wind would require a wind mass-loss rate of ... ~ 2 x 10-12 M⊙ yr-1 if the accretion efficiency is of the order of 10%. Consideration of likely mass-loss rates for M dwarfs suggests this is improbably high and pure wind accretion unlikely. A lack of accretion disk signatures also presents some difficulties for direct Roche lobe overflow. We speculate that QS Vir is on the verge of Roche lobe overflow, and that the observed mass transfer could be supplemented by upward chromospheric flows on the M dwarf, analogous to spicules and mottles on the Sun, that escape the Roche surface to be subsequently swept up into the white dwarf Roche lobe. If so, QS Vir would be in a rare evolutionary phase lasting only a million years. The X-ray luminosity of the M dwarf estimated during primary eclipse is LX = 3 x 1028 erg s-1, which is consistent with that of rapidly rotating "saturated" K and M dwarfs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze a large set of new and archival photometric and spectroscopic observations of LMC X-3 to arrive at a self-consistent dynamical model for the system. Using echelle spectra obtained with the Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle instrument on the 6.5 m Magellan Clay telescope and the UVES instrument on the second 8.2 m Very Large Telescope, we find a velocity semiamplitude for the secondary star of K2 = 241.1 ± 6.2 km s–1, where the uncertainty includes an estimate of the systematic error caused by X-ray heating. Using the spectra, we also find a projected rotational velocity of Vrotsin i = 118.5 ± 6.6 km s–1. From an analysis of archival B and V light curves as well as new B and V light curves from the SMARTS 1.3 m telescope, we find an inclination of i = 69.°84 ± 0.°37 for models that do not include X-ray heating and an inclination of i = 69.°24 ± 0.°72 for models that incorporate X-ray heating. Adopting the latter inclination measurement, we find masses of 3.63 ± 0.57 M☼ and 6.98 ± 0.56 M☼ for the companion star and the black hole, respectively. We briefly compare our results with earlier work and discuss some of their implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]