The slowest spinning Galactic-field spider PSR J1932+2121: a history of inefficient mass transfer

ABSTRACT The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope is discovering hundreds of new pulsars, including a slowly spinning compact binary millisecond pulsar (spin period $P_{\rm spin}=14.2$ ms) which showed radio eclipses and evidence of ablation of its companion: PSR J1932+2121. Its orbital period is $P_{\rm orb}=0.08$ d and the minimum companion mass is estimated as 0.12 ${\rm M}_\odot$. Hence, this pulsar is classified as part of the Galactic-field spider (redback) population. However, it spins almost an order of magnitude slower than other Galactic-field spiders. Using detailed evolutionary calculations with mesa, we model the formation, mass-transfer and radio-pulsar phases, in order to explain the observed properties of PSR J1932+2121. We find that PSR J1932+2121 is a redback that has experienced an inefficient mass-transfer phase resulting in a lower accretion efficiency (in the range of 0.3 to 0.5) and subsequently slower spin compared to other spiders. We narrow down the initial range of $P_{\rm orb}$ that best reproduces its properties, to 2.0–2.6 d. Current models of accretion-induced magnetic field decay are not able to explain its unusually high surface magnetic field of $2\times 10^{9}$ G. Hence, PSR J1932+2121 provides a unique opportunity to study inefficient accretion-induced spin up and surface magnetic field decay of pulsars.