Formation of millisecond pulsar-helium star binaries

TL;DR

This study explores how Roche lobe overflow accretion before common envelope evolution influences neutron star spin-up, providing insights into the formation of millisecond pulsar-helium star binaries.

Contribution

It demonstrates that pre-CE RLO accretion can spin up neutron stars to millisecond periods, offering a new perspective on pulsar recycling mechanisms.

Findings

RLO accretion can spin up NSs to millisecond periods.

Estimated Galactic birthrate of NS + He star systems ranges from 5.2×10⁻⁵ to 1.9×10⁻⁴ per year.

Number of such systems in the Galaxy is between 626 and 2684.

Abstract

PSR J1928+1815, the first recycled pulsar-helium (He) star binary discovered by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, consists of a 10.55 ms pulsar and a companion star with mass $1-1.6\,M_{\sun}$ in a 0.15-day orbit. Theoretical studies suggest that this system originated from a neutron star (NS) intermediate-mass or high-mass X-ray binary that underwent common envelope (CE) evolution, leading to the successful ejection of the giant envelope. The traditional view is that hypercritical accretion during the CE phase may have recycled the NS. However, the specific mechanism responsible for accelerating its spin period remains uncertain due to the complex processes involved in CE evolution.In this study, we investigate the influence of Roche lobe overflow (RLO) accretion that takes place prior to the CE phase on the spin evolution of NSs. Our primary objective is to clarify how this process affects the spin characteristics of pulsars. We utilized the stellar evolution code \texttt{MESA} and the binary population synthesis code \texttt{BSE} to model the formation and evolution of NS-He star binaries. We calculated the distributions of the orbital period, He star mass, NS spin period, and magnetic field for NS + He star systems in the Galaxy. Our results indicate that RLO accretion preceding the CE phase could spin up NSs to millisecond periods through super-Eddington accretion. Considering a range of CE efficiencies $\alpha_{\rm CE}$ from 0.3 to 3, we estimate the birthrate (total number) of NS + He star systems in our Galaxy to be 5.2$\times 10^{-5}$ yr$^{-1}$ (626 systems) to 1.9$\times 10^{-4}$ yr$^{-1}$ (2684 systems).