Special Astrophysics Seminar

Systems in transition from X-ray binary to millisecond pulsar

Anne Archibald

ASTRON - Netherlands Institute for Astronomy

The discovery of PSR J1023+0038 showed that systems can go back and forth between millisecond pulsar and X-ray binary states. In fact, this system has now been intensively observed in both states, and two or three other such systems have been discovered. I will discuss the phenomena and their implications for our understanding of accretion physics and millisecond pulsar formation.