A 62-minute orbital period black widow binary in a wide hierarchical triple

Kevin B. Burdge (), Thomas R. Marsh, Jim Fuller, Eric C. Bellm, Ilaria Caiazzo, Deepto Chakrabarty, Michael W. Coughlin, Kishalay De, V. S. Dhillon, Matthew J. Graham, Pablo Rodríguez-Gil, Amruta D. Jaodand, David L. Kaplan, Erin Kara, Albert K. H. Kong, S. R. Kulkarni, Kwan-Lok Li, S. P. Littlefair, Walid A. Majid, Przemek Mróz, Aaron B. Pearlman, E. S. Phinney, Jan van Roestel, Robert A. Simcoe, Igor Andreoni, Andrew J. Drake, Richard G. Dekany, Dmitry A. Duev, Erik C. Kool, Ashish A. Mahabal, Michael S. Medford, Reed Riddle and Thomas A. Prince
Additional contact information
Kevin B. Burdge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thomas R. Marsh: University of Warwick
Jim Fuller: California Institute of Technology
Eric C. Bellm: University of Washington
Ilaria Caiazzo: California Institute of Technology
Deepto Chakrabarty: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michael W. Coughlin: University of Minnesota
Kishalay De: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
V. S. Dhillon: University of Sheffield
Matthew J. Graham: California Institute of Technology
Pablo Rodríguez-Gil: Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
Amruta D. Jaodand: California Institute of Technology
David L. Kaplan: University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Erin Kara: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Albert K. H. Kong: National Tsing Hua University
S. R. Kulkarni: California Institute of Technology
Kwan-Lok Li: National Cheng Kung University
S. P. Littlefair: University of Sheffield
Walid A. Majid: California Institute of Technology
Przemek Mróz: California Institute of Technology
Aaron B. Pearlman: California Institute of Technology
E. S. Phinney: California Institute of Technology
Jan van Roestel: California Institute of Technology
Robert A. Simcoe: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Igor Andreoni: University of Maryland
Andrew J. Drake: California Institute of Technology
Richard G. Dekany: California Institute of Technology
Dmitry A. Duev: California Institute of Technology
Erik C. Kool: Stockholm University
Ashish A. Mahabal: California Institute of Technology
Michael S. Medford: University of California, Berkeley
Reed Riddle: California Institute of Technology
Thomas A. Prince: California Institute of Technology

Nature, 2022, vol. 605, issue 7908, 41-45

Abstract: Abstract Over a dozen millisecond pulsars are ablating low-mass companions in close binary systems. In the original ‘black widow’, the eight-hour orbital period eclipsing pulsar PSR J1959+2048 (PSR B1957+20)1, high-energy emission originating from the pulsar2 is irradiating and may eventually destroy3 a low-mass companion. These systems are not only physical laboratories that reveal the interesting results of exposing a close companion star to the relativistic energy output of a pulsar, but are also believed to harbour some of the most massive neutron stars4, allowing for robust tests of the neutron star equation of state. Here we report observations of ZTF J1406+1222, a wide hierarchical triple hosting a 62-minute orbital period black widow candidate, the optical flux of which varies by a factor of more than ten. ZTF J1406+1222 pushes the boundaries of evolutionary models5, falling below the 80-minute minimum orbital period of hydrogen-rich systems. The wide tertiary companion is a rare low-metallicity cool subdwarf star, and the system has a Galactic halo orbit consistent with passing near the Galactic Centre, making it a probe of formation channels, neutron star kick physics6 and binary evolution.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04551-1

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