Parkes observations for project P1342 semester 2024OCTS_02

Full description

We have discovered an eclipsing binary millisecond pulsar in image-plane searches. Follow-up work confirmed that the source has pulsations and a Fermi association, revealing that it is a millisecond pulsar (MSP). The MSP is in a compact binary orbit with an optical companion. The duration of the eclipses suggests that this is a ``spider'' system, with an eclipsing material. The formation and evolution of spider systems are still poorly understood. Timing of this system will allow us to constrain the orbit of the system so that we can explore the eclipse cut-off frequency and change in electron column density of the eclipse. It would also improve predictions of the eclipsing binary pulsar and MSP population detectable by upcoming, highly sensitive image-plane surveys at low frequencies using precursors to, and eventually, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) itself. The detection of MSPs also provides compelling evidence that the Fermi gamma-ray excess is coming from thousands of MSPs.