Neutron Star Dynamics and Radio Pulsars in Globular Clusters

Over 200 millisecond radio pulsars have been observed in globular clusters, motivating theoretical studies of the formation and evolution of these sources through stellar evolution coupled to stellar dynamics. The specific abundance of millisecond pulsars is an order of magnitude larger in clusters than in the Galactic field. How do so many pulsars form in globular clusters? In this talk, I will first demonstrate how we model millisecond pulsars in globular clusters using realistic cluster simulations. I will show the importance of electron-capture supernovae for neutron star retention, and how millisecond pulsar formation is greatly enhanced through dynamical interaction processes. In particular, I will present our latest N-body model for the cluster 47 Tucanae, one of the most massive and densest globular clusters, making it especially challenging to model with detailed N-body simulations. Our 47 Tuc model demonstrates good agreement with various observations, including a large number of detected radio pulsars.