Orbital variability in the eclipsing pulsar binary PSR B1957+20

Abstract

We have conducted timing observations of the eclipsing millisecond binary pulsar PSR B1957+20, extending the span of data on this pulsar to more than five years. During this time the orbital period of the system has varied by roughly Delta P(sub b)/P(sub b) = 1.6 x 10(exp -7), changing quardratically with time and displaying with time and displaying an orbital period second derivative of P(sub b) = (1.43 +/- 0.08) x 10(exp -18)/sec. The previous measurement of a large negative orbital period derivative reflected only the short-term behavior of the system during the early observations; the orbital period derivative is now positive. If, as we suspect, the PSR B1957+20 system is undergoing quasi-cyclic orbital period variations similar to those found in other close binaries such as Algol and RS CVn, then the 0.025 solar mass companion to PSR B1957+20 is most likely non-degenerate, convective, and magnetically active.