Is PSR J0514–4002E in a PBH-NS binary?

Recent pulsar timing observations using MeerKAT of the eccentric binary millisecond pulsar, PSR J0514–4002E, have unveiled a companion with a mass in the mass gap, ranging from 2.09 M

_{⊙}

to 2.71 M

_{⊙}

. This challenges conventional astrophysical scenarios for black hole formation. In this paper, we present an alternative explanation: PSR J0514–4002E could be in a PBH-NS binary, with the companion potentially being a primordial black hole formed during the early Universe’s first-order phase transition. The associated stochastic gravitational-wave background generated during this phase transition can account for the observed signal from the pulsar timing array, and the abundance of primordial black holes is consistent with constraints from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA.

Note:

6 pages, 3 figures, version accepted for publication in Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. (SCPMA);

PSR J0514–4002E
primordial black hole
pulsar timing array
first-order phase transition

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