Astronomers Find the Fastest Spider Pulsar, Filling in the Missing Link in Their Evolution - by briankoberlein
Pulsars are rotating neutron stars aligned with Earth in just such a way that the energy radiated from their magnetic poles sweeps across us with each rotation. From this, we see a regular pulse of radio light, like a cosmic lighthouse. The fastest pulsars can rotate very quickly, pulsing hundreds of times per second. These are known as millisecond pulsars.
It’s thought that the fastest of pulsars have been sped up thanks to a close-orbiting companion star. This leads to an interesting evolution of millisecond pulsars. Early on, the pulsar captures mass from its binary sibling, reeling it in like a spider capturing its prey. The rotation of the pulsar increases and the orbital period of the two stars gets ever shorter. But eventually, the companion star has lost so much mass that the pulsar can’t continue to consume it.
This spider-like astrophysical process has led astronomers to refer to millisecond pulsars with a close binary as spider pulsars. If the companion star is less than a tenth of the Sun’s mass, then they are known as black widows, and they are known as redbacks if the companion is greater than a tenth of a solar mass. About 20 black widow pulsars and 10 redback pulsars have been discovered, and it’s generally thought that millisecond pulsars evolve from redback to black widow.
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