A Search for Unbound Stellar Companions to Pulsar J1124-5916

TL;DR

This study searched for unbound stellar companions to pulsar J1124-5916 and found none above 3 solar masses, providing insights into the binary status of supernova progenitors.

Contribution

It presents the first systematic search for high-mass unbound companions to this pulsar, constraining its binary history.

Findings

No high-mass unbound companions found

Lower mass candidates likely false positives

Progenitor unlikely part of a triple system

Abstract

We searched for and found no higher mass (>3Msun) unbound binary stellar companions to the progenitor of pulsar J1124-5916. There are lower mass candidates, but they all have high probabilities of being false positives. There are no candidates for it now being a fully unbound triple system. Even if one of the lower mass candidates is an unbound companion, it seems unlikely that it could have contributed to stripping the progenitor prior to the supernova. The stars are too low mass to be significant mass gainers, and they are too slowly moving to be the survivors of a compact, post-common envelope binary. The addition of one more system slightly improves the statistical constraints on the binary and triple status of supernova progenitors just before and after death.