Discover
/
Article

A pulsar that doesn’t slow down fast enough

MAR 01, 1975

DOI: 10.1063/1.3068873

Marian S. Rothenberg

A pulsar that is slowing down much less rapidly than any other known pulsar may have some interesting implications for current theories of pulsar formation and perhaps even for theories of expansion of the universe. David Richards, John Rankin and Gustave Zeissig studied the pulsar, JP 1953, as one of 13 in a continuing program of precise pulse timing at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. A surprising result of the study, they comment in Nature is that for JP 1953, dP/dt, the change in its 0.4 sec period with time, is only about 0.003±0.007×10−15 seconds per second. The previously known smallest value for any pulsar had been 0.15×10−15, and a typical value exceeds 10−15.

This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1975_03.jpeg

Volume 28, Number 3

Related content
/
Article
/
Article
/
Article
/
Article
/
Article
Despite the tumultuous history of the near-Earth object’s parent body, water may have been preserved in the asteroid for about a billion years.

Get PT in your inbox

Physics Today - The Week in Physics

The Week in Physics" is likely a reference to the regular updates or summaries of new physics research, such as those found in publications like Physics Today from AIP Publishing or on news aggregators like Phys.org.

Physics Today - Table of Contents
Physics Today - Whitepapers & Webinars
By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.