Abstract

We report the detections of optical counterparts of "black-widow type" millisecond pulsars discovered with radio follow-up observations of unidentified Fermi LAT sources. Orbital phase-matched photometric light curves for two objects are measured and characterized according to the standard black widow pulsar model whereby the millisecond pulsar heats the nearside of the companion object resulting in a brightening and a dimming over the orbital period. Measurements of these light curves allow for constraints to be placed on the system's inclination and the temperature profile of the secondary. Future spectroscopic observations will enable us to obtain radial velocity measurements of the companion object which will then constrain the masses of the two objects in the system. Black Widow Pulsars are likely to be some of the most massive neutron stars in the galaxy.