9 February 2006

Speaker: Scott Ransom (NRAO)

Title: Bok Prize Lecture
Exotica and Basic Physics: A Globular Cluster Pulsar Renaissance with the GBT

Abstract:Over the past two years, deep searches with the GBT have uncovered over 50 new binary and/or millisecond pulsars in six globular clusters. The biggest surprise was 30 new pulsars in the rich cluster Terzan 5 alone. Follow-up observations have shown that many of these new systems are truly unique and/or exotic objects that could only have been produced in dense cluster cores. Some of the stranger members of the new zoo include the fastest known spinning neutron star, 8 highly eccentric binary systems, 5 eclipsing systems, and 2 millisecond pulsars which seemingly have main-sequence-like stellar companions. Several of these pulsars are already constraining the equation of state of matter at supra-nuclear densities, while others will provide interesting tests of gravitational theories in the years to come.

Video of the Presentation (Talks can be viewed with RealPlayer. Free download is available from www.real.com )