PSR J0901–4046 is an ultra-long period

pulsar A pulsar (''pulsating star, on the model of quasar'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its Poles of astronomical bodies#Magnetic poles, magnetic poles. This radiation can be obse ...

. Its period, 75.9 seconds, is the longest for any known neutron star pulsar (some objects believed to be white dwarf pulsars, such as

AR Scorpii AR Scorpii (AR Sco) is a binary pulsar that consists of a white dwarf and a red dwarf. It is located close to the ecliptic plane in the constellation Scorpius. Parallax measurements made by ''Gaia'' put the system at a distance of abo ...

, have longer periods). Its period is more than three times longer than that of PSR J0250+5854, the previous long period record-holder. The pulses are narrow; radio emission is seen from PSR J0901–4046 for only 0.5% of its rotation period. PSR J0901–4046 was discovered serendipitously on September 27, 2020, by the MeerTRAP team, when a single pulse from it was noticed during

MeerKAT The meerkat (''Suricata suricatta'') or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body ...

observations of

Vela X-1 Vela X-1 is a pulsing, eclipsing high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) system, associated with the Uhuru source 4U 0900-40 and the supergiant star HD 77581. The X-ray emission of the neutron star is caused by the capture and accretion ...

(which is less than 1/4 degree away from PSR J0901–4046 on the sky). After that pulse was detected, further examination of the data revealed that 14 weaker pulses were present in the ~30 minute long data set, but they had been missed by the real-time detection software. The deepest image of the MeerKAT field showed a diffuse shell-like structure that may be a

supernova remnant A supernova remnant (SNR) is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar mat ...

associated with the birth of the neutron star. PSR J0901–4046's period, combined with its period time derivative of 2.25×10⁻¹³ second/second, implies a characteristic age of 5.3 million years. The discovery of PSR J0901–4046 challenges the understanding of how neutron stars evolve. Follow-up radio observations over multiple years have demonstrated that the pulse arrival times from the source are unusually stable compared to regular magnetars, which are known for frequent outburst periods accompanied by sudden changes to the timing solution. Additionally, quasi-periodic oscillation modes have been identified in some pulses from PSR J0901–4046. Such quasi-periodic sub-pulse structure has been proposed by Michael Kramer, among others, as a common feature unifying all radio-emitting neutron stars as well as

Fast Radio Bursts In radio astronomy, a fast radio burst (FRB) is a transient radio wave of length ranging from a fraction of a millisecond, for an ultra-fast radio burst, to 3 seconds, caused by a high-energy astrophysical process as yet not understood. Astronome ...

(FRBs). PSR J0901–4046 therefore is considered a central case study in understanding how radio pulsars, magnetars, and FRBs are related.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:PSR J0901-4046 Vela (constellation) Astronomical objects discovered in 2020 Pulsars

See also

References