Eccentric Binary Millisecond Pulsars

Understand

In this paper we review the recent discovery of several millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in eccentric binary systems.

• Timing these MSPs we were able to estimate (and in one case precisely measure) their masses.
• These results suggest that, as a class, MSPs have a much wider range of masses (1.3 to > 2 solar masses) than the normal and mildly recycled pulsars found in double neutron star (DNS) systems (1.25 < Mp < 1.44 solar masses).
• This is very likely to be due to the prolonged accretion episode that is thought to be required to form a MSP.