GBT26B-291

Targeted Searches for an MSP in the Likely Spider System 4FGL J2249.4+6229

Abstract

We request up to 6 hours of time with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to observe a strong candidate "spider" system that likely harbors a millisecond pulsar (MSP). As described in the science justification, multi-wavelength archival data yield unambiguous variations in brightness that are most likely explained by orbital motion with with a period of 5.6 hours. This synthesis of non-radio data indicates a spider system, a type of pulsar system known to produce MSPs due to substantial mass transfer. Our requested observations will allow us to search for radio pulsations using standard, open-source tools and, if detected, enable immediate timing observations with other observatories to obtain radio-timing constraints on orbital motion. The discovery of an MSP in this system will impact several research efforts, including the use of multi-wavelength data to determine the fundamental parameters of the binary system. Our requested observations will use the L-band receiver and VEGAS backend in "pulsar" mode to produce search-mode data at microsecond time resolution.

Investigators

Name	Institution
Jackson Taylor *	West Virginia University
Emmanuel Fonseca	British Columbia, University of; McGill University; West Virginia University
Aida Kirichenko	México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
Anna Karpova	AF Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute
Dmitry Zyuzin	AF Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute

* indicates the PI