A discovery of two slow pulsars with FAST: “Ronin” from the globular cluster M15

Abstract

Globular clusters harbor numerous millisecond pulsars, but long-period pulsars (P ≳ 100 ms) are rarely found. In this study, we employed a fast folding algorithm to analyze observational data from multiple globular clusters obtained by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), aiming to detect the existence of long-period pulsars. We estimated the impact of the median filtering algorithm in eliminating red noise on the minimum detectable flux density (S_min) of pulsars. Subsequently, we successfully discovered two isolated long-period pulsars in M15 with periods approximately equal to 1.928451 and 3.960716 s, respectively. On the \(P - \dot P\) diagram, both pulsars are positioned below the spin-up line, suggesting a possible history of partial recycling in X-ray binary systems disrupted by dynamical encounters later on. According to timing results, these two pulsars exhibit remarkably strong magnetic fields. If the magnetic fields were weakened during the accretion process, then a short duration of accretion might explain the strong magnetic fields of these pulsars.