2026ApJ...996...31Z -
Astrophys. J., 996, 31 (2026/January-1)
Revisiting γ-ray Orbital Modulation in the Redback Millisecond Pulsar PSR J2039-5617.
ZHANG M., PEI S., CHANG S. and ZHANG P.
Abstract (from CDS):
PSR J2039-5617 is a redback millisecond pulsar binary system consisting of a compact star with a mass of 1.1-1.6 M⊙ and a low-mass companion of 0.15-0.22 M⊙. For this binary, we performed a timing analysis using 16 yr of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope, covering the period from 2008 August to 2024 October. Our analysis detected an orbital modulation with a period of 0.2279781 days at a significance level of ∼4σ, which is in good agreement with previous findings. However, unlike previous reports, we identified a transition in the orbital modulation around 2021 August, after which the orbital signal disappeared. We speculate that the system may be undergoing a transition from a rotation-powered to an accretion-powered state at this epoch. Additionally, we conducted the phase-resolved and spectral analyses, and in the phase-resolved results, we observed an anticorrelation between its γ-ray and X-ray emissions, which is consistent with the predictions of high-energy radiation models for such systems. We provide some predictive discussions based on the results of γ-ray data analysis, and future Fermi-LAT observations will determine whether these predictions hold true.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Gamma-ray sources - Millisecond pulsars - Pulsars - Periodic variable stars
Simbad objects:
8
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