PSR J0609+2130: a disrupted binary pulsar?

We report the discovery and initial timing observations of a 55.7-ms pulsar, J0609+2130, found during a 430-MHz drift-scan survey with the Arecibo radio telescope. With a spin-down rate of 3.1 x 10 -19 s s -1 and an inferred surface dipole magnetic field of only 4.2 x 10 9 G, J0609+2130 has very similar spin parameters to the isolated pulsar J2235+1506 found by Camilo, Nice & Taylor. While the origin of these weakly magnetized isolated neutron stars is not fully understood, one intriguing possibility is that they are the remains of high-mass X-ray binary systems which were disrupted by the supernova explosion of the secondary star.

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