This artist's impression of the double pulsar
system PSR J0737-3039 is a single frame from an animated movie
created by Michael Kramer at the Jodrell Bank Observatory,
University of Manchester. The two pulsars, known as pulsars "A" and
"B", rotate with periods of 23 milliseconds and 2.8 seconds,
respectively, and orbit each other every 2.4 hours in a plane that
nearly edge-on from our perspective here on Earth. Needless to say,
these exotic conditions make this first ever known double pulsar
system a truly unique laboratory for astrophysical research. For a
more detailed description and to see the full animation, visit this
Jodrell Bank
press release. Properties of this extraordinary system
are currently being studied by McGill's own René
Breton, Victoria Kaspi and former Pulsar Group members Scott
Ransom and Maxim Lyutikov. Papers published on PSR J0737-3039
include:
- Green Bank Telescope Observations of the Eclipse of Pulsar ``A'' in the Double Pulsar Binary PSR J0737-3039. V. M. Kaspi, S. M. Ransom, D. C. Backer, et al. 2004, ApJ, 613, L137
- Green Bank Telescope Measurement of the Systemic Velocity of the Double Pulsar Binary J0737-3039 and Implications for Its Formation. S. M. Ransom, V. M. Kaspi, R. Ramachandran, et al. 2004, ApJ, 609, L71
- On the nature of eclipses in binary pulsar J0737-3039. M. Lyutikov 2004, MNRAS, 353, 1095
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