Abstract
PSR1953+29, the second fastest of more than 400 known pulsars1, has a period of 6.133 ms and is a member of a binary system with an orbital period of 117.35 days. The system is of great interest because of what it can reveal about the evolution of pulsars and close binary stars2–4. Recently we have carried out observations to determine two of the most important parameters of the system, the pulsar period derivative Ṗ and the orbital eccentricity e. We find a small but non-zero eccentricity, e =(330.3±0.4) × 10−6, and a spindown rate of Ṗ = (1±6)×10−20 s s−1, smaller than that measured for any other pulsar. These values are consistent with an evolutionary history involving spin-up during a mass accretion phase, but are difficult to reconcile with a recent report of periodically pulsed γ rays from this object5.
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Rawley, L., Taylor, J. & Davis, M. Period derivative and orbital eccentricity of binary pulsar 1953+29. Nature 319, 383–384 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/319383a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/319383a0
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