Inferring the composition of super-Jupiter mass companions of pulsars with radio line spectroscopy

TL;DR

This paper proposes radio line spectroscopy as a method to detect molecular absorption lines around pulsar companions, aiming to understand their composition and the ablation process, with potential detection of stimulated maser emission.

Contribution

It introduces a novel observational approach using radio spectroscopy to study pulsar companions and their ablated winds, providing new insights into their composition and environment.

Findings

Potential detection of molecular absorption lines like OH

Probing the ablated wind and companion nature

Possibility of observing stimulated maser emission

Abstract

We propose using radio line spectroscopy to detect molecular absorption lines (such as OH at 1.6-1.7 GHz) before and after the total eclipse of black widow (BW) and other short orbital period binary pulsars with low mass companions. The companion in such a binary may be ablated away by energetic particles and high energy radiation produced by the pulsar wind. The observations will probe the eclipsing wind being ablated by the pulsar and constrain the nature of the companion and its surroundings. Maser emission from the interstellar medium stimulated by a pulsar beam might also be detected from the intrabinary medium. The short temporal resolution allowed by the millisecond pulsars can probe this medium with the high angular resolution of the pulsar beam.