Black widow formation by pulsar irradiation and sustained magnetic braking

Black widows are millisecond pulsars with low-mass companions, a few per cent the mass of the sun, on orbits of several hours. These companions are presumably the remnants of main-sequence stars that lost their mass through a combination of Roche lobe overflow and ablation by the host pulsar's high-energy radiation. While ablation itself is too weak to significantly reduce the mass of the companion star, the ablated wind couples to its magnetic field, removes orbital angular momentum, and thus maintains stable Roche lobe overflow. We use the MESA stellar evolution code, complemented by analytical estimates, to track initially main-sequence companions as they are reduced to a fraction of their original mass by this ablation-driven magnetic braking. We argue that magnetic braking remains effective even for low-mass companions. A key ingredient of our model is that the irradiating luminosity of the pulsar L-irr deposits energy in the companion's atmosphere and thereby slows down its Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling. We find that the high-energy luminosities measured by Fermi L-irr = 0.1-3 L-circle dot can explain the span of black widow orbital periods. The same Lirr range reproduces the companions' night-side temperatures, which cluster around 3000 K, as inferred from optical light curves.

Automated summary

Black widows are millisecond pulsars with low-mass companions in long orbits. These companions are likely remnants of main-sequence stars that lost mass through ablation and radiation from the pulsar. Research suggests that ablation-driven magnetic braking can effectively reduce the companion's mass, and the pulsar's irradiating luminosity influences the companion's temperature.