Creator’s records: The pre‐history of single and binary neutron stars

Abstract

Single neutron stars were thought of more than 30 years before they were observed (and even then were not instantly recognized). Binary neutron stars, on the other hand, were observed before they had been thought of as a separate, interesting class, and were also not immediately recognized for what they were. The traditional apportionments of credit for the various ideas are not fully supported by contemporaneous publications.