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I. H. Stairs (NRAO Green Bank), R. N. Manchester (Australia Telescope National Facility), A. G. Lyne (Jodrell Bank Observatory), V. M. Kaspi (Physics Dept., McGill University), F. Camilo (Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University), J. F. Bell (Australia Telescope National Facility), N. D'Amico (Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna), F. Crawford (Center for Space Research, MIT), D. J. Morris (Jodrell Bank Observatory), A. Possenti (Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna), N. P. F. McKay (Jodrell Bank Observatory), S. L. Lumsden (Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds), L. E. Tacconi-Garman (MPE Garching), R. D. Cannon (Anglo-Australian Observatory), N. Hambly (Royal Observatory Edinburgh), P. W. Wood (Research School of Astronomy and Astrophyics, Australian National University)
We present multiwavelength observations of PSR J1740-3052, a young radio pulsar discovered in the ongoing Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey. This pulsar is in a 231-day, highly eccentric orbit with a companion whose mass exceeds 11 solar masses. Near-IR observations with the ANU Siding Spring 2.3m telescope and the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope reveal a bright late-type (K5-M3) star coincident with the pulsar position. The star shows hydrogen Brackett-gamma in emission, indicating that it is being heated by a companion. Dual-frequency radio monitoring of the pulsar near periastron shows small changes in dispersion measure and rotation measure, supporting the identification of the companion. However, classical tidal effects on the pulsar timing solution are not as large as might be expected. We conclude that either the stellar radius is very small for such a late-type supergiant, or our identification of the companion is incorrect.