</a> The third accreting millisecond pulsar discovered in 2011 August by ESA's INTEGRAL satellite, IGR J17498-2921 was found by RXTE to pulse at 401 Hz. Although this might seem fast (401 times every second!), it is nowhere near the record for a millsecond X-ray pulsar (599 Hz, for IGR J00291+5934) or even for a radio pulsar (716 Hz, for PSR J1748-2446ad) Subsequent observations revealed Doppler modulations of the pulse indicating a 3.8 hr orbit, as well as thermonuclear burst activity. ISSI's Maurizio Falanga led a paper on the properties of the source and its behaviour throughout the outburst. The paper has just been accepted by A&A.
Read the paper (arXiv:1208.1384)

Labels: 2012, pulsars