Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

A 5.75-millisecond pulsar in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae

Nature volume 345, pages 598–600 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

MILLISECOND pulsars are generally believed to be old pulsars that have been spun up ('recycled') as a result of accretion of matter from a companion in a low-mass X-ray binary system1. As there is a high incidence of such systems in globular clusters2, these are good places to search for millisecond pulsars; so far, ten globular-cluster pulsars have been detected unambiguously. Using the Parkes radiotelescope in Australia, we have found a pulsar with a period of 5.75 ms and a dispersion measure of 25 cm–3 pc in the direction of 47 Tucanae. Despite its probable origin as a member of a binary system, timing measurements show that the pulsar is now single. The observed dispersion measure is consistent with the pulsar lying outside the galactic electron layer and within 47 Tucanae; but it is very different from the value of 67 cm–3 pc for the pulsars that were reported recently3,4 as being in this globular cluster, and we suggest that the latter pulsars probably do not in fact lie within 47 Tucanae.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. van den Heuvel, E. P. J. J. Astrophys. Astr. 5, 209–233 (1984).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Fabian, A. C., Pringle, J. E. & Rees, M. J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 172, 15P–18P (1975).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ables, J. G. et al. IAU Circ. No. 4602 (1988).

  4. Ables, J. G. et al. Nature 342, 158–161 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Manchester, R. N. et al. IAU Circ. No. 4892 (1989).

  6. Ruderman, M., Shaham, J. & Tavani, M. Astrophys. J. 336, 507–518 (1989).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Romani, R. W., Kulkarni, S. R. & Blandford, R. D. Nature 329, 309–310 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Verbunt, F., van den Heuvel, E. P. J., van Paradijs, J. & Rappaport, S. A. Nature 329, 312–314 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Fruchter, A. S., Stinebring, D. R. & Taylor, J. H. Nature 333, 237–239 (1988).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Webbink, R. F. Dynamics of Star Clusters, IAU Symp. 113 (eds Goodman, J. & Hut, P.) 541–577 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Hesser, J. E. & Shawl, S. J. Astrophys. J. Lett. 217, L143–L147 (1977).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Eppmg, NSW, 2121, Australia

    R. N. Manchester

  2. University of Manchester, Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, Jodrell Bank, Macclesfield, SK11 9DL, UK

    A. G. Lyne & S. Johnston

  3. Istituto di Fisica dell'Universita, via Archirafi 36, Palermo, Italy

    N. D'Amico

  4. School of Mathematics, Physics, Computing and Electronics, Macquane University, North Ryde, NSW, 2113, Australia

    J. Lim

  5. Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 20771, USA

    D. A. Kniffen

Authors
  1. R. N. Manchester
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. G. Lyne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. N. D'Amico
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S. Johnston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J. Lim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. D. A. Kniffen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Manchester, R., Lyne, A., D'Amico, N. et al. A 5.75-millisecond pulsar in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. Nature 345, 598–600 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/345598a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/345598a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing