The recent XMM discovery of a millisecond pulsar swinging between an accretion-powered (X-ray) and a rotation-powered (radio) pulsar state provided the finalevidence of the evolutionary link between these two classes, demonstrating thattransitions between the two states can be observed over of a few weeks. Wepropose a ToO program (made of 3 triggers of 60 ks, over a 3years timescale)aimed at detecting X-ray accretion powered pulsations in sources already knownas ms radio pulsars. Candidates are restricted to black widows and redbacks,systems in an evolutionary phase that allows state transitions. Enlarging thenumber of systems in this transitional phase is crucial to test binary evolutiontheories, and to study the disk-field interaction over a large range of mass accretion rates.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2015-03-22T04:52:16Z/2015-03-23T03:18:56Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Alessandro Papitto, 2016, 'Hunting for swinging millisecond pulsars with XMM-Newton', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-14fq2nn
