Multiwavelength Observations of a New Redback Millisecond Pulsar 4FGL J1910.7−5320

Ka Yui Au, Jay Strader, Samuel J. Swihart, Lupin C.C. Lin, Albert K.H. Kong, Jumpei Takata, Chung Yue Hui, Teresa Panurach, Isabella Molina, Elias Aydi, Kirill Sokolovsky, Kwan Lok Li

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12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present the study of multiwavelength observations of an unidentified Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) source, 4FGL J1910.7−5320, a new candidate redback millisecond pulsar binary. In the 4FGL 95% error region of 4FGL J1910.7−5320, we find a possible binary with a 8.36 hr orbital period from the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey, confirmed by optical spectroscopy using the SOAR telescope. This optical source was recently independently discovered as a redback pulsar by the TRAPUM project, confirming our prediction. We fit the optical spectral energy distributions of 4FGL J1910.7−5320 with a blackbody model, inferring a maximum distance of 4.1 kpc by assuming that the companion fills its Roche lobe with a radius of R = 0.7 R . Using a 12.6 ks Chandra X-ray observation, we identified an X-ray counterpart for 4FGL J1910.7−5320, with a spectrum that can be described by an absorbed power law with a photon index of 1.0 ± 0.4. The spectrally hard X-ray emission shows tentative evidence for orbital variability. Using more than 12 yr of Fermi-LAT data, we refined the position of the γ-ray source, and the optical candidate still lies within the 68% positional error circle. In addition to 4FGL J1910.7−5320, we find a variable optical source with a periodic signal of 4.28 hr inside the 4FGL catalog 95% error region of another unidentified Fermi source, 4FGL J2029.5−4237. However, the γ-ray source does not have a significant X-ray counterpart in an 11.7 ks Chandra observation, with a 3σ flux upper limit of 2.4 × 10−14 erg cm−2 s−1 (0.3-7 keV). Moreover, the optical source is outside our updated Fermi-LAT 95% error circle. These observational facts all suggest that this new redback millisecond pulsar powers the gamma-ray source 4FGL J1910.7−5320 while 4FGL J2029.5−4237 is unlikely the γ-ray counterpart to the 4.28 hr variable.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume943
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023 Feb 1

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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