The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63
The pulsar/massive star binary system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 is one of the best-studied gamma-ray binaries, a class of systems whose bright gamma-ray flaring can provide important insights into high-energy physics. Using the Australian Long Baseline Array, we have conducted very long baseline interfer...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2018
|
| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT140101082 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71676 |
| _version_ | 1848762542701150208 |
|---|---|
| author | Miller-Jones, James Deller, A. Shannon, Ryan Dodson, R. Moldón, J. Ribó, M. Dubus, G. Johnston, S. Paredes, J. Ransom, S. Tomsick, J. |
| author_facet | Miller-Jones, James Deller, A. Shannon, Ryan Dodson, R. Moldón, J. Ribó, M. Dubus, G. Johnston, S. Paredes, J. Ransom, S. Tomsick, J. |
| author_sort | Miller-Jones, James |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The pulsar/massive star binary system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 is one of the best-studied gamma-ray binaries, a class of systems whose bright gamma-ray flaring can provide important insights into high-energy physics. Using the Australian Long Baseline Array, we have conducted very long baseline interferometric observations of PSR B1259-63 over 4.4 years, fully sampling the 3.4-year orbital period. From our measured parallax of 0.38 ± 0.05 maswe use a Bayesian approach to infer a distance of 2.6+0.4-0.3 kpc. We find that the binary orbit is viewed at an angle of 154 ± 3° to the line of sight, implying that the pulsar moves clockwise around its orbit as viewed on the sky. Taking our findings together with previous results from pulsar timing observations, all seven orbital elements for the system are now fully determined. We use our measurement of the inclination angle to constrain the mass of the stellar companion to lie in the range 15-31M?. Our measured distance and proper motion are consistent with the system having originated in the Cen OB1 association and receiving a modest natal kick, causing it to have moved ~8 pc from its birthplace over the past ~3 × 105 years. The orientation of the orbit on the plane of the sky matches the direction of motion of the X-ray synchrotron-emitting knot observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory to be moving away from the system. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:49:14Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-71676 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:49:14Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-716762022-11-28T04:17:40Z The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63 Miller-Jones, James Deller, A. Shannon, Ryan Dodson, R. Moldón, J. Ribó, M. Dubus, G. Johnston, S. Paredes, J. Ransom, S. Tomsick, J. The pulsar/massive star binary system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 is one of the best-studied gamma-ray binaries, a class of systems whose bright gamma-ray flaring can provide important insights into high-energy physics. Using the Australian Long Baseline Array, we have conducted very long baseline interferometric observations of PSR B1259-63 over 4.4 years, fully sampling the 3.4-year orbital period. From our measured parallax of 0.38 ± 0.05 maswe use a Bayesian approach to infer a distance of 2.6+0.4-0.3 kpc. We find that the binary orbit is viewed at an angle of 154 ± 3° to the line of sight, implying that the pulsar moves clockwise around its orbit as viewed on the sky. Taking our findings together with previous results from pulsar timing observations, all seven orbital elements for the system are now fully determined. We use our measurement of the inclination angle to constrain the mass of the stellar companion to lie in the range 15-31M?. Our measured distance and proper motion are consistent with the system having originated in the Cen OB1 association and receiving a modest natal kick, causing it to have moved ~8 pc from its birthplace over the past ~3 × 105 years. The orientation of the orbit on the plane of the sky matches the direction of motion of the X-ray synchrotron-emitting knot observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory to be moving away from the system. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71676 10.1093/mnras/sty1775 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT140101082 Oxford University Press fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Miller-Jones, James Deller, A. Shannon, Ryan Dodson, R. Moldón, J. Ribó, M. Dubus, G. Johnston, S. Paredes, J. Ransom, S. Tomsick, J. The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63 |
| title | The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63 |
| title_full | The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63 |
| title_fullStr | The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63 |
| title_short | The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63 |
| title_sort | geometric distance and binary orbit of psr b1259-63 |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT140101082 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71676 |