Millisecond Pulsars and Black Holes in Globular Clusters

Understand

Over a hundred millisecond radio pulsars (MSPs) have been observed in globular clusters (GCs), motivating theoretical studies of the formation and evolution of these sources through stellar evolution coupled to stellar dynamics.

• Here we study MSPs in GCs using realistic $N$-body simulations with our Cluster Monte Carlo code.
• We show that neutron stars (NSs) formed in electron-capture supernovae (including both accretion-induced and merger-induced collapse of white dwarfs) can be spun up through mass transfer to form MSPs.
• Both NS formation and spin-up through accretion are greatly enhanced through dynamical interaction processes.