Sub-millisecond pulsars: missing or impossible?

Abstract The minimum spin period attainable by a neutron star has been debated since the discovery of the first millisecond pulsar in 1982. A neutron star rotating faster than 1 ms would have far-reaching implications for the dense-matter equation of state, gravitational-wave emission, and the physics of accretion and spin-up. Yet despite the discovery of over 700 ms pulsars with spin periods between 1.4 and 10 ms, no sub-millisecond pulsar has been identified. Here we review the physical and observational constraints governing the formation, survival, and detectability of ultra-fast neutron stars. We discuss physical constraints imposed by the neutron star equation of state and their implications for the minimum attainable spin period, and we summarise gravitational-wave emission from both accreting and rotation-powered millisecond pulsars. We argue that sub-millisecond spins are not primarily excluded by equilibrium spin limits, magnetospheric physics, or selection effects, but instead by a combination of inefficient recycling, short mass-transfer lifetimes in the most favourable binaries, and rapid post-formation spin-down unless magnetic fields are exceptionally weak. Together, these effects make sub-millisecond pulsars intrinsically rare. If they exist at all, they are most likely to be detected transiently during accretion, rather than as long-lived radio pulsars. Finally, we show that stellar-mass black holes can attain sub-millisecond horizon spin periods, reflecting fundamentally different spin constraints.