35 research outputs found
Isolierte Neutronensterne und ihre sub-stellaren Begleiter
Neben den Radiopulsaren, die die Mehrheit der gegenwärtig beobachteten Neutronensterne ausmachen, gibt es radioleise junge Neutronensterne mit rein thermischer Röntgenstrahlung, die einen direkten Blick auf ihre Oberfläche erlauben. In dieser Arbeit wird untersucht, wie gut die unter Anwendung verschiedener Annahmen simulierte Anzahl von solchen Neutronensternen mit den Beobachtungen übereinstimmt und wieviel mehr Neutronensterne man unter den detektierten, schwachen Röntgenquellen aufgrund dieser Simulationen erwarten kann. Wichtige Fragen sind der Einfluss der Verteilung der Vorgängersterne und der Absorption durch das Interstellare Medium auf die vorhergesagten Neutronensternzahlen. Des weiteren wird nach neuen Kondidaten solcher Neutronensterne gesucht, und zwar in Röntgendaten von ROSAT (RASS, HRI, PSPC pointings) und XMM-Newton, sowie mit Hilfe des SLOAN Quellenkatalogs im sichtbaren Licht. Ein weiteres Projekt ist die Suche nach substellaren Begleitern, also Planeten oder Braunen Zwergen, um junge und nahe Neutronensterne. Zwei Neutronensterne haben eine ausreichend hohe Eigenbewegung, so dass bereits jeweils eine Wiederholungsbeobachtung analysiert werden konnte. Für alle untersuchten 10 Neutronensterne sind obere Grenzen der Helligkeiten im Nahen Infrarot bestimmt worden.Most known neutron stars are radio pulsars, but there are also radio-quiet neutron stars with pure thermal X-ray emission. These radio-quiet neutron stars are of special interest because their thermal X-ray spectra are caused by photospheric emission - allowing a direct view onto the stars' surfaces. This work investigates first the performance of a population synthesis model of neutron stars with thermal X-ray emission. This model is based on several assumptions. Important questions in this work concern the influence of the distribution of the progenitor stars on the observable neutron star number and the role of an inhomogeneous distribution of the X-ray-absorbing interstellar medium. More neutron stars with strong thermal X-ray emission are exprected. This work reports also about a search for new candidates of such neutron stars using data from ROSAT (RASS, PSPC, HRI), XMM-Newton and the sloan Digital Sky Survey. Furthermore we search for substellar companions around young, nearby neutron stars. Two objects are moving fast enough to obtain and analyze the second imaging epoch. For all investigated 10 neutron stars the limits at Near Infrared wavelegths are given
Multiwavelength pulsations and surface temperature distribution in the middle-aged pulsar B1055-52
We present a detailed study of the X-ray emission from PSR B1055-52 using
XMM-Newton observations from 2019 and 2000. The phase-integrated X-ray emission
from this pulsar is poorly described by existing neutron star atmosphere
models. Instead, we confirm that, similar to other middle-aged pulsars, the
best-fitting spectral model consists of two blackbody components, with
substantially different temperatures and emitting areas, and a nonthermal
component characterized by a power law. Our phase-resolved X-ray spectral
analysis using this three-component model reveals variations in the thermal
emission parameters with the pulsar's rotational phase. These variations
suggest a nonuniform temperature distribution across the neutron star's
surface, including the cold thermal component and probable hot spot(s). Such a
temperature distribution can be caused by external and internal heating
processes, likely a combination thereof. We observe very high pulse fractions,
60\%--80\% in the 0.7-1.5, keV range, dominated by the hot blackbody component.
This could be related to temperature non-uniformity and potential beaming
effects in an atmosphere. We find indication of a second hot spot that appears
at lower energies (0.15-0.3, keV) than the first hot spot (0.5-1.5, keV) in the
X-ray light curves, and is offset by about half a rotation period. This finding
aligns with the nearly orthogonal rotator geometry suggested by radio
observations of this interpulse pulsar. If the hot spots are associated with
polar caps, a possible explanation for their temperature asymmetry could be an
offset magnetic dipole and/or an additional toroidal magnetic field component
in the neutron star crustComment: 20 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
X-ray analysis of the proper motion and pulsar wind nebula for PSR J1741-2054
We obtained six observations of PSR J1741-2054 using the ACIS-S
detector totaling 300 ks. By registering this new epoch of observations
to an archival observation taken 3.2 years earlier using X-ray point sources in
the field of view, we have measured the pulsar proper motion at in a direction consistent with the symmetry axis of the
observed H nebula. We investigated the inferred past trajectory of the
pulsar but find no compelling association with OB associations in which the
progenitor may have originated. We confirm previous measurements of the pulsar
spectrum as an absorbed power law with photon index =2.680.04,
plus a blackbody with an emission radius of (4.5 km,
for a DM-estimated distance of kpc and a temperature of
eV. Emission from the compact nebula is well described by an
absorbed power law model with a photon index of = 1.670.06, while
the diffuse emission seen as a trail extending northeast of the pulsar shows no
evidence of synchrotron cooling. We also applied image deconvolution techniques
to search for small-scale structures in the immediate vicinity of the pulsar,
but found no conclusive evidence for such structures.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, 4 Tables; Accepted by Ap
Nothing to hide: An X-ray survey for young stellar objects in the Pipe Nebula
We have previously analyzed sensitive mid-infrared observations to establish
that the Pipe Nebula has a very low star-formation efficiency. That study
focused on YSOs with excess infrared emission (i.e, protostars and pre-main
sequence stars with disks), however, and could have missed a population of more
evolved pre-main sequence stars or Class III objects (i.e., young stars with
dissipated disks that no longer show excess infrared emission). Evolved
pre-main sequence stars are X-ray bright, so we have used ROSAT All-Sky Survey
data to search for diskless pre-main sequence stars throughout the Pipe Nebula.
We have also analyzed archival XMM-Newton observations of three prominent areas
within the Pipe: Barnard 59, containing a known cluster of young stellar
objects; Barnard 68, a dense core that has yet to form stars; and the Pipe
molecular ring, a high-extinction region in the bowl of the Pipe. We
additionally characterize the X-ray properties of YSOs in Barnard 59. The ROSAT
and XMM-Newton data provide no indication of a significant population of more
evolved pre-main sequence stars within the Pipe, reinforcing our previous
measurement of the Pipe's very low star formation efficiency.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Deep Chandra Observations of the Pulsar Wind Nebula Created by PSR B0355+54
We report on Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) observations of the pulsar wind
nebula (PWN) associated with PSR B0355+54 (eight observations with a 395 ks
total exposure, performed over an 8 month period). We investigated the spatial
and spectral properties of the emission coincident with the pulsar, compact
nebula (CN), and extended tail. We find that the CN morphology can be
interpreted in a way that suggests a small angle between the pulsar spin axis
and our line-of-sight, as inferred from the radio data. On larger scales,
emission from the 7' (2 pc) tail is clearly seen. We also found hints of two
faint extensions nearly orthogonal to the direction of the pulsar's proper
motion. The spectrum extracted at the pulsar position can be described with an
absorbed power-law + blackbody model. The nonthermal component can be
attributed to magnetospheric emission, while the thermal component can be
attributed to emission from either a hot spot (e.g., a polar cap) or the entire
neutron star surface. Surprisingly, the spectrum of the tail shows only a
slight hint of cooling with increasing distance from the pulsar. This implies
either a low magnetic field with fast flow speed, or particle re-acceleration
within the tail. We estimate physical properties of the PWN and compare the
morphologies of the CN and the extended tail with those of other bow shock PWNe
observed with long CXO exposures.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure