Eight new millisecond pulsars from the first MeerKAT globular cluster census

Understand

We have used the central 44 antennas of the new 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope array to conduct a deep search for new pulsars in the core of nine globular clusters.

• This has led to the discovery of eight new millisecond pulsars in six different clusters.
• Two new binaries, 47 Tuc ac and 47 Tuc ad, are eclipsing "spiders", featuring compact orbits ($\lesssim 0.32$ days), very low-mass companions and regular occultations of their pulsed emission.
• The other three new binary pulsars (NGC 6624G, M62G, and Ter 5 an) are in wider ($> 0.7$ days) orbits, with companions that are likely to be white dwarfs or neutron stars.