Radio pulsations from a neutron star within the gamma-ray binary LS I +61° 303
Journal
Date Issued
2022
Author(s)
Weng, Shan Shan
•
Qian, Lei
•
Wang, Bo Jun
•
Torres, D. F.
•
•
Jiang, Peng
•
Xu, Renxin
•
Li, Jian
•
Yan, Jing Zhi
•
Liu, Qing Zhong
•
Ge, Ming Yu
•
Yuan, Qi Rong
Abstract
LS I +61° 303 is one of the rare gamma-ray binaries1 that emit most of their luminosity in photons with energies beyond 100 MeV (ref. 2). It is well characterized—the ~26.5 day orbital period is clearly detected at many wavelengths2–4—and other aspects of its multifrequency behaviour make it the most interesting example of its class. The morphology of high-resolution radio images changes with orbital phase, displaying a cometary tail pointing away from the high-mass star component5 and LS I +61° 303 also shows superorbital variability3,6–9. A couple of energetic (~1037 erg s−1), short, magnetar-like bursts have been plausibly ascribed to it10–13. Although the phenomenology of LS I +61° 303 has been the subject of theoretical scrutiny for decades, there has been a lack of certainty regarding the nature of the compact object in the binary that has hampered our understanding of the source. Here, using observations with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, we report the existence of transient radio pulsations from the direction of LS I +61° 303 with a period P = 269.15508 ± 0.00016 ms at a significance of >20σ. These pulsations strongly argue for the existence of a rotating neutron star within LS I +61° 303.
Volume
6
Issue
6
Start page
698
Issn Identifier
2397-3366
Rights
open.access
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