Abstract
The discovery of an isolated 3-millisecond pulsar PSR1821-24 in the globular cluster M28 (=NGC6626)1,2 has important implications for the genesis of such objects. Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have weak (∼109 G) magnetic fields and are commonly believed to be spun up during an epoch of mass transfer in a close binary system. However, the modest cluster escape velocity, vesc ≲40 km s−1, implies that the pulsar must be extracted from the binary with some care. One possibility, often discussed in connection with the formation of the isolated MSP 1937 + 214, involves coalescence with the mass–donor companion (ref. 3, and refs therein). In this letter, we suggest a model appropriate to the cluster site, namely disruption of an expanded tidal capture binary by the perturbations of field stars. We also attempt to relate the MSP formation rate to that of the cluster X-ray sources.
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Romani, R., Kulkarni, S. & Blandford, R. Formation of a millisecond pulsar in a globular cluster. Nature 329, 309–310 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/329309a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/329309a0
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