Discovery of an unidentified Fermi object as a black widow-like millisecond pulsar

Abstract

The Fermi γ-ray Space Telescope has revolutionized our knowledge of the γ-ray pulsar population, leading to the discovery of almost 100 γ-ray pulsars and dozens of γ-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Although the outer-gap model predicts different sites of emission for the radio and γ-ray pulsars, until now all of the known γ-ray MSPs have been visible in the radio. Here we report the discovery of a "radio-quiet" γ-ray-emitting MSP candidate by using Fermi, Chandra, Swift, and optical observations. The X-ray and γ-ray properties of the source are consistent with known γ-ray pulsars. We also found a 4.63 hr orbital period in optical and X-ray data. We suggest that the source is a black widow-like MSP with a 0.1 M ⊙ late-type companion star. Based on the profile of the optical and X-ray light curves, the companion star is believed to be heated by the pulsar while the X-ray emissions originate from pulsar magnetosphere and/or from intrabinary shock. No radio detection of the source has been reported yet, and although no γ-ray/radio pulsation has been found we estimate that the spin period of the MSP is 3-5 ms based on the inferred γ-ray luminosity. © 2012 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.