Millisecond Pulsars in Globular Clusters

Millisecond pulsars are arbitrarily defined as those radio pulsars with pulse periods of less than 25 milliseconds. They are belived to form when older, longer period rotating neutron stars are "spun-up" by the accretion of material from a companion.

Because of their massive and dense cores, globular clusters are prime candidates for containing many binary stars. In 1991, Manchester et al. reported the discovery of 10 millisecond pulsars in the globular cluster 47 Tuc (also known as Messier 91). It is thought that these millisecond pulsars in GC's form when a while dwarf collapses under its own weight after it accretes material from a companion and exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit.

Suggested reading:

Manchester, R.N., Lyne, A.G., Robinson, C., D'Amico, N.D., Bailes, M. and Lim, J. 1991, Nature 352, 219.
Cheng, K. and Ruderman, M. 1993, Astrophys. J. 408, 179.


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