{
  "id": "1709.09434",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2017-09-27T10:22:48.000Z",
  "updated": "2017-09-27T10:22:48.000Z",
  "title": "Millisecond Pulsars, their Evolution and Applications",
  "authors": [
    "R. N. Manchester"
  ],
  "comment": "Has appeared in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy special issue on 'Physics of Neutron Stars and Related Objects', celebrating the 75th birth-year of G. Srinivasan",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.HE"
  ],
  "abstract": "Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are short-period pulsars that are distinguished from \"normal\" pulsars, not only by their short period, but also by their very small spin-down rates and high probability of being in a binary system. These properties are consistent with MSPs having a different evolutionary history to normal pulsars, viz., neutron-star formation in an evolving binary system and spin-up due to accretion from the binary companion. Their very stable periods make MSPs nearly ideal probes of a wide variety of astrophysical phenomena. For example, they have been used to detect planets around pulsars, to test the accuracy of gravitational theories, to set limits on the low-frequency gravitational-wave background in the Universe, and to establish pulsar-based timescales that rival the best atomic-clock timescales in long-term stability. MSPs also provide a window into stellar and binary evolution, often suggesting exotic pathways to the observed systems. The X-ray accretion-powered MSPs, and especially those that transition between an accreting X-ray MSP and a non-accreting radio MSP, give important insight into the physics of accretion on to highly magnetised neutron stars.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2017-09-27T10:22:48.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "millisecond pulsars",
      "applications",
      "small spin-down rates",
      "low-frequency gravitational-wave background",
      "best atomic-clock timescales"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 0,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}