Binary-Binary Interactions and the Formation of the PSR B1620-26 Triple System in M4
Abstract
The hierarchical triple system containing the millisecond pulsar PSR B1620-26 in M4 is the first triple star system ever detected in a globular cluster. Such systems should form in globular clusters as a result of dynamical interactions between binaries. We propose that the triple system containing PSR B1620-26 formed through an exchange interaction between a wide primordial binary and a pre-existing\/ binary millisecond pulsar. This scenario would have the advantage of reconciling the 109\,yr timing age of the pulsar with the much shorter lifetime of the triple system in the core of M4.
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