Published April 1990 | Version v1
Journal article

Period measurements of the 50 millisecond pulsar PSR 0540 - 69 with the Exosat satellite

  • 1. Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik, Garching (Germany, F.R.)

Description

The period of the 50 ms pulsar PSR 0540 - 69 in the Large Magellanic Cloud was determined using five separate X-ray observations with the Exosat satellite in the interval August 12, 1984 to June 30, 1985. Together with Einstein observations and contemporaneous optical data, the Exosat periods can be fitted well to a quadratic curve yielding a braking index of 2.74 + or - 0.10. This behavior is not compatible with the optical and X-ray observations commencing about a year after Exosat, indicating the PSR 0540 - 69 is susceptible to discontinuous changes in its spin-down behavior. 15 refs

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal
Journal Volume
353
Series
Astrophys. J.
Journal Page Range
L21-L23
ISSN
0004-637X
CODEN
ASJOA