572 research outputs found
Deep VLT infrared observations of X-ray Dim Isolated Neutron Stars
X-ray observations have unveiled the existence of a family of radio-quiet
Isolated Neutron Stars whose X-ray emission is purely thermal, hence dubbed
X-ray Dim Isolated Neutron Stars (XDINSs). While optical observations have
allowed to relate the thermal emission to the neutron star cooling and to build
the neutron star surface thermal map, IR observations are critical to pinpoint
a spectral turnover produced by a so far unseen magnetospheric component, or by
the presence of a fallback disk. The detection of such a turnover can provide
further evidence of a link between this class of isolated neutron stars and the
magnetars, which show a distinctive spectral flattening in the IR.
Here we present the deepest IR observations ever of five XDINSs, which we use
to constrain a spectral turnover in the IR and the presence of a fallback disk.
The data are obtained using the ISAAC instrument at the VLT.
For none of our targets it was possible to identify the IR counterpart down
to limiting magnitudes H = 21.5 - 22.9. Although these limits are the deepest
ever obtained for neutron stars of this class, they are not deep enough to rule
out the existence and the nature of a possible spectral flattening in the IR.
We also derive, by using disk models, the upper limits on the mass inflow rate
in a fallback disk. We find the existence of a putative fallback disk
consistent (although not confirmed) with our observations.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted by A&A on 26-06-200
VLT observations of the magnetar CXO J164710.2-455216 and the detection of a candidate infrared counterpart
We present deep observations of the field of the magnetar CXOJ164710.2-455216
in the star cluster Westerlund 1, obtained in the near-infrared with the
adaptive optics camera NACO@VLT. We detected a possible candidate counterpart
at the {\em Chandra} position of the magnetar, of magnitudes , , and . The K-band measurements available for two epochs (2006 and
2013) do not show significant signs of variability but only a marginal
indication that the flux varied (at the 2 level), consistent with the
fact that the observations were taken when CXOJ164710.2-455216 was in
quiescence. At the same time, we also present colour--magnitude and
colour--colour diagrams in the J, H, and K bands from the 2006 epoch
only, the only one with observations in all three bands, showing that the
candidate counterpart lies in the main bulk of objects describing a relatively
well--defined sequence. Therefore, based on its colours and lack of
variability, we cannot yet associate the candidate counterpart to
CXOJ164710.2-455216. Future near-infrared observations of the field,
following-up a source outburst, would be crucial to confirm the association
from the detection of near-infrared variability and colour evolution.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The runaway black hole GRO J1655-40
We have used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the motion in the sky and
compute the galactocentric orbit of the black hole X-ray binary GRO J1655-40.
The system moves with a runaway space velocity of km s in a
highly eccentric () orbit. The black hole was formed in the
disk at a distance greater than 3 kpc from the Galactic centre and must have
been shot to such an eccentric orbit by the explosion of the progenitor star.
The runaway linear momentum and kinetic energy of this black hole binary are
comparable to those of solitary neutron stars and millisecond pulsars. GRO
J1655-40 is the first black hole for which there is evidence for a runaway
motion imparted by a natal kick in a supernova explosion.Comment: Published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 5 pages, 2 color figures.
Color figure and animation can be found at
http://www.iafe.uba.ar/astronomia/mirabel/mirabel.html or
ftp://ftp.cea.fr/incoming/y2k01/mirabe
A Search for the Optical/Infrared Counterpart of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 1E 1841-045
We have carried out a search for the optical and infrared counterpart of the
Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 1E 1841-045, which is located at the center of the
supernova remnant Kes73. We present the first deep optical and infrared images
of the field of 1E 1841-045, as well as optical spectroscopy results that
exclude the brightest objects in the error circle as possible counterparts. A
few of the more reddened objects in this region can be considered as
particularly interesting candidates, in consideration of the distance and
absorption expected from the association with Kes73. The strong interstellar
absorption in the direction of the source does not allow to completely exclude
the presence of main sequence massive companions.Comment: 8 pages, latex, 6 figures, Submitted to Mon. Not. R. Astron. So
The BMW (Brera-Multiscale-Wavelet) Catalogue of Serendipitous X-ray Sources
In collaboration with the Observatories of Palermo and Rome and the SAX-SDC
we are constructing a multi-site interactive archive system featuring specific
analysis tools. In this context we developed a detection algorithm based on the
Wavelet Transform (WT) and performed a systematic analysis of all ROSAT-HRI
public data (~3100 observations +1000 to come). The WT is specifically suitable
to detect and characterize extended sources while properly detecting point
sources in very crowded fields. Moreover, the good angular resolution of HRI
images allows the source extension and position to be accurately determined.
This effort has produced the BMW (Brera Multiscale Wavelet) catalogue, with
more than 19,000 sources detected at the 4.2 sigma level. For each source
detection we have information on the X-ray flux and extension, allowing for
instance to select complete samples of extended X-ray sources such as candidate
clusters of galaxies or SNR's. Here we present an overview of first results
from several undergoing projects which make use of the BMW catalogue.Comment: 7 pages, 6 postscript files, 2 gif images, to appear in the
proceedings of the conference "Mining the Sky", August 2000, Garching,
German
VLT/FORS2 observations of the optical counterpart of the isolated neutron star RBS 1774
X-ray observations performed with ROSAT led to the discovery of a group
(seven to date) of X-ray dim and radio-silent middle-aged isolated neutron
stars (a.k.a. XDINSs), which are characterised by pure blackbody spectra
(kT~40-100 eV), long X-ray pulsations (P=3-12 s), and appear to be endowed with
relatively high magnetic fields, (B~10d13-14 G). RBS 1774 is one of the few
XDINSs with a candidate optical counterpart, which we discovered with the VLT.
We performed deep observations of RBS 1774 in the R band with the VLT to
disentangle a non-thermal power-law spectrum from a Rayleigh-Jeans, whose
contributions are expected to be very much different in the red part of the
spectrum. We did not detect the RBS 1774 candidate counterpart down to a 3
sigma limiting magnitude of R~27. The constraint on its colour, (B-R)<0.6,
rules out that it is a background object, positionally coincident with the
X-ray source. Our R-band upper limit is consistent with the extrapolation of
the B-band flux (assuming a 3 sigma uncertainty) for a set of power-laws F_nu
~nu^alpha with spectral indeces alpha<0.07. If the optical spectrum of RBS 1774
were non-thermal, its power-law slope would be very much unlike those of all
isolated neutron stars with non-thermal optical emission, suggesting that it is
most likely thermal. For instance, a Rayleigh-Jeans with temperature T_O = 11
eV, for an optically emitting radius r_O=15 km and a source distance d=150 pc,
would be consistent with the optical measurements. The implied low distance is
compatible with the 0.04 X-ray pulsed fraction if either the star spin axis is
nearly aligned with the magnetic axis or with the line of sight, or it is
slightly misaligned with respect to both the magnetic axis and the line of
sight by 5-10 degreesComment: 8 pages, 8 postscript figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysic
The birthplace and age of the isolated neutron star RX J1856.5-3754
X-ray observations unveiled various types of radio-silent Isolated Neutron
Stars (INSs), phenomenologically very diverse, e.g. the Myr old X-ray Dim INS
(XDINSs) and the kyr old magnetars. Although their phenomenology is much
diverse, the similar periods (P=2--10 s) and magnetic fields (~10^{14} G)
suggest that XDINSs are evolved magnetars, possibly born from similar
populations of supermassive stars. One way to test this hypothesis is to
identify their parental star clusters by extrapolating backward the neutron
star velocity vector in the Galactic potential. By using the information on the
age and space velocity of the XDINS RX J1856.5-3754, we computed backwards its
orbit in the Galactic potential and searched for its parental stellar cluster
by means of a closest approach criterion. We found a very likely association
with the Upper Scorpius OB association, for a neutron star age of 0.42+/-0.08
Myr, a radial velocity V_r^NS =67+/- 13$ km s^{-1}, and a present-time
parallactic distance d_\pi^NS = 123^{+11}_{-15} pc. Our result confirms that
the "true" neutron star age is much lower than the spin-down age (tau_{sd}=3.8
Myrs), and is in good agreement with the cooling age, as computed within
standard cooling scenarios. The mismatch between the spin-down and the
dynamical/cooling age would require either an anomalously large breaking index
(n~20) or a decaying magnetic field with initial value B_0 ~ 10^{14} G.
Unfortunately, owing to the uncertainty on the age of the Upper Scorpius OB
association and the masses of its members we cannot yet draw firm conclusions
on the estimated mass of the RX J1856.5-3754 progenitor.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for publication on Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Societ
The detection of variability from the candidate IR counterpart to the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 1E1048.1-5937
We report on the detection of variability from the proposed IR counterpart to
the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar (AXP) 1E1048.1-5937 based on Chandra and ESO
optical/IR deep observations carried out in 2001-2002. Within the narrow
Chandra uncertainty region for 1E1048.1-5937 we found only one relatively faint
(J=22.1+/-0.3, J-Ks=2.4) source, while the recently proposed IR counterpart was
not detected down to a limiting Ks magnitude of about 20.7 (3sigma confidence
level). This implies a remarkable IR brightening of this object, Delta Ks>1.3,
on a timescale of about 50 days. Although our knowledge of the IR properties of
AXPs is rather limited (there is only another source, 1E2259+586, for which IR
variability has been detected), the observed IR variability of the proposed
counterpart strengthens its association with 1E1048.1-5937. Our results make
the IR (and presumably optical) variability a likely common characteristic of
AXPs, and provide new constraints on this class of objects.Comment: 4 pages. Accepted for publication on ApJ Letters. emulateapj5.sty
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