Title: Neutron Stars Get Their Kicks
Speaker: Victoria M. Kaspi, MIT
Abstract: Isolated
neutron stars are among the fastest moving objects in theGalaxy. The origin
of their high space velocities is controversial: they could arise from birth
"kicks" produced during asymmetric supernova explosions, or from
pre-explosion orbital velocities in binary systems disrupted in purely symmetric
supernovae. In this talk, I discuss the unusual binary radio pulsar PSR
J0045-7319, which consists of a young pulsar in a highly eccentric orbit
with a B star. Radio timing observations made over several years reveal
that the system exhibits classical spin-orbit coupling, and provides the
most direct evidence yet that neutron stars receive birth kicks.
Reference for students: Click here for short paper (note: there will be no lunch with Vicki Kaspi).