General Physics Colloquium

'Millisecond Pulsars: Multifaceted Astrophysical Laboratories'

Thomas M. Tauris    

Universität Bonn / MPIfR

Neutron stars are unique creations that allow for fundamental studies
in many disciplines of physics. Those which interact with a companion
star in a close binary system provide excellent astrophysical
laboratories with which to probe and improve our understanding of
stellar physics, supernova explosions, accretion processes and
gravitational wave sources. Radio millisecond pulsars are of special
interest since they are old neutron stars which have been spun-up to
very high rotation frequencies via accretion of mass and angular
momentum from a companion star. I will discuss the formation of
millisecond pulsars and demonstrate that their properties, revealed from
high-precision measurements, are fossil records of their past
evolutionary history and therefore provide an excellent playground for
theoretical modelling.

Caption: An artist's impression of an accreting X-ray millisecond
pulsar and its magnetosphere. [© NASA/Dana Berry]

Wine and cheese will be served at 4 PM