A Serendipitous Pulsar Discovery in a Search for a Companion to a Low-mass White Dwarf

Abstract

We report the discovery of a previously unidentified pulsar as part of a radio campaign to identify neutron star companions to low-mass white dwarfs (LMWDs) using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). PSR J0802-0955, which is coincident with the position of a WD with a mass of 0.2 solar masses, has a pulse period of 571 ms. Because of its relatively long pulse period, the lack of radial velocity (RV) variations in the radio data, and GBT's large beam size at the observing frequency of 340 MHz, we conclude that PSR J0802-0955 is unassociated with the LMWD at roughly the same position and distance.