Parkes observations for project P1348 semester 2024OCTS_04

We have discovered 6 candidate eclipsing binary millisecond pulsar (BMSPs) systems via image-plane searches for steep-spectrum radio sources with periodic variability. The radio emission, short eclipse periods (<1day), and Fermi association suggest they could be spider PSRs. Millisecond pulsations have recently been detected from a similarly identified candidate system. The discovery of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in these systems would provide insights into the formation and evolution of spider PSRs. It would also improve predictions of the BMSP and MSP populations detectable by upcoming, highly sensitive image-plane surveys at low frequencies using precursors to, and eventually, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) itself. Finally, 5 of our 6 candidates are also located in the Galactic bulge. If all such systems include MSPs, it would provide further compelling evidence that the Fermi GeV gamma-ray excess is coming from thousands of MSPs.