336 research outputs found
Precise Timing of the X-ray Pulsar 1E 1207.4-5209: A Steady Neutron Star Weakly Magnetized at Birth
We analyze all X-ray timing data on 1E 1207.4-5209 in supernova remnant PKS
1209-51/52 gathered in 2000-2005, and find a highly stable rotation with
P=424.130451(4) ms and period derivative of (9.6 +/- 9.4)E-17 s/s. This refutes
previous claims of large timing irregularities in these data. In the dipole
spin-down formalism, the 2-sigma upper limit on period derivative implies an
energy loss rate < 1.5E32 ergs/s, surface magnetic field strength B_p < 3.5E11
G, and characteristic age tau > 24 Myr. This tau exceeds the remnant age by 3
orders of magnitude, requiring that the pulsar was born spinning at its present
period. The X-ray luminosity of 1E 1207.4-5209, L(bol) ~= 2E33 ergs/s at 2 kpc,
exceeds its spin-down energy loss, implying that L(bol) derives from residual
cooling, and perhaps partly from accretion of supernova debris. The upper limit
on B_p is small enough to favor the electron cyclotron model for at least one
of the prominent absorption lines in its soft X-ray spectrum. This is the
second demonstrable case of a pulsar born spinning slowly and with a weak
B-field, after PSR J1852+0040 in Kesteven 79.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure, Latex, emulateapj style. Submitted to ApJ Letter
X-ray emission from the old pulsar B0950+08
We present the timing and spectral analyses of theXMM-newton data on the
17-Myr-old, nearby radio pulsar B0950+08. This observation revealed pulsations
of the X-ray flux of the pulsar at its radio period. The pulse shape and pulsed
fraction are apparently different at lower and higher energies of the observed
0.2-10 keV energy range, which suggests that the radiation cannot be explained
by a single emission mechanism. The X-ray spectrum of the pulsar can be fitted
with a power-law model with a photon index about 1.75 and an (isotropic)
luminosity about 9.8e29 erg/s in the 0.2-10 keV. Better fits are obtained with
two-component, power-law plus thermal, models with index of 1.30 and 9.7e29
erg/s for the power-law component that presumably originates from the pulsar's
magnetosphere. The thermal component, dominating at E>0.7 keV, can be
interpreted as radiation from heated polar caps on the neutron star surface
covered with a hydrogen atmosphere. The inferred effective temperature, radius,
and bolometric luminosity of the polar caps are about 1 MK, 250 m, and 3e29
erg/s. Optical through X-ray nonthermal spectrum of the pulsar can be described
as a single power-law with index 1.3-1.4 for the two-component X-ray fit. The
ratio of the nonthermal X-ray (1-10 keV) luminosity to the nonthermal optical
(4000-9000 \AA) luminosity is within the range of 1e2-1e3 observed for younger
pulsars, which suggests that the magnetospheric X-ray and optical emissions are
powered by the same mechanism in all pulsars. An upper limit on the temperature
of the bulk of the neutron star surface, inferred from the optical and X-ray
data, is about 0.15 MK. We also analyze X-ray observations of several other old
pulsars, B2224+65, J2043+2740, B0628-28, B1813-36, B1929+10, and B0823+26.Comment: To be published in ApJ. Nonthermal optical and X-ray luminosities of
seven radio pulsars are updated and presented in a new Table. Figure 6
showing the ratios of the luminosities vs. spin-down energy is also update
X-ray Timing of PSR J1852+0040 in Kesteven 79: Evidence of Neutron Stars Weakly Magnetized at Birth
The 105-ms X-ray pulsar J1852+0040 is the central compact object (CCO) in SNR
Kes 79. We report a sensitive upper limit on its radio flux density of 12 uJy
at 2 GHz using the NRAO GBT. Timing using XMM and Chandra over a 2.4 yr span
reveals no significant change in its spin period. The 2 sigma upper limit on
the period derivative leads, in the dipole spin-down formalism, to an energy
loss rate E-dot < 7e33 ergs/s, surface magnetic field strength B_p < 1.5e11 G,
and characteristic age tau_c = P/2P-dot > 8 Myr. This tau_c exceeds the age of
the SNR by 3 orders of magnitude, implying that the pulsar was born spinning at
its current period. However, the X-ray luminosity of PSR J1852+0040, L(bol) ~
3e33(d/7.1 kpc)^2 ergs/s is a large fraction of E-dot, which challenges the
rotation-powered assumption. Instead, its high blackbody temperature,
0.46+/-0.04 keV, small blackbody radius ~ 0.8 km, and large pulsed fraction, ~
80%, may be evidence of accretion onto a polar cap, possibly from a fallback
disk made of supernova debris. If B_p < 1e10 G, an accretion disk can penetrate
the light cylinder and interact with the magnetosphere while resulting torques
on the neutron star remain within the observed limits. A weak B-field is also
inferred in another CCO, the 424-ms pulsar 1E 1207.4-5209, from its steady spin
and soft X-ray absorption lines. We propose this origin of radio-quiet CCOs:
the B-field, derived from a turbulent dynamo, is weaker if the NS is formed
spinning slowly, which enables it to accrete SN debris. Accretion excludes
neutron stars born with both B_p 0.1 s from radio pulsar
surveys, where B_p
40 Myr) or recycled pulsars. Finally, such a CCO, if born in SN 1987A, could
explain the non-detection of a pulsar there.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa
Fully superconducting josephson bolometers for gigahertz astronomy
The origin and the evolution of the universe are concealed in the evanescent diffuse extragalactic background radiation (DEBRA). To reveal these signals, the development of innovative ultra-sensitive bolometers operating in the gigahertz band is required. Here, we review the design and experimental realization of two bias-current-tunable sensors based on one dimensional fully superconducting Josephson junctions: the nanoscale transition edge sensor (nano-TES) and the Josephson escape sensor (JES). In particular, we cover the theoretical basis of the sensors operation, the device fabrication, their experimental electronic and thermal characterization and the deduced detection performance. Indeed, the nano-TES promises a state-of-the-art noise equivalent power (NEP) of about 5 Ă 10â20 W/âHz, while the JES active region is expected to show an unprecedented NEP of the order of 10â25 W/âHz. Therefore, the nano-TES and JES are strong candidates to push radio astronomy to the next level
XMM-Newton observations of four millisecond pulsars
I present an analysis of the XMM-Newton observations of four millisecond
pulsars, J0437-4715, J2124-3358, J1024-0719, and J0034-0534. The new data
provide strong evidence of thermal emission in the X-ray flux detected from the
first three objects. This thermal component is best interpreted as radiation
from pulsar polar caps covered with a nonmagnetic hydrogen atmosphere. A
nonthermal power-law component, dominating at energies E>3 keV, can also be
present in the detected X-ray emission. For PSR J0437-4715, the timing analysis
reveals that the shape and pulsed fraction of the pulsar light curves are
energy dependent. This, together with the results obtained from the
phase-resolved spectroscopy, supports the two-component (thermal plus
nonthermal) interpretation of the pulsar's X-ray radiation. Highly significant
pulsations have been found in the X-ray flux of PSRs J2124-3358 and J1024-0719.
For PSR J0034-0534, a possible X-ray counterpart of the radio pulsar has been
suggested. The inferred properties of the detected thermal emission are
compared with predictions of radio pulsar models.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures (of them 4 are color); to be published in Ap
Discovery of a 112 ms X-ray Pulsar in Puppis A: Further Evidence of Neutron Stars Weakly Magnetized at Birth
We report the discovery of 112-ms X-ray pulsations from RX J0822-4300, the
compact central object (CCO) in the supernova remnant Puppis A, in two archival
Newton X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission observations taken in 2001. The sinusoidal
light curve has a pulsed fraction of 11% with an abrupt 180 deg. change in
phase at 1.2 keV. The observed phase shift and modulation are likely the result
of emission from opposing thermal hot spots of distinct temperatures.
Phase-resolved spectra reveal an emission feature at E(line) = 0.8 keV
associated with the cooler region, possibly due to an electron cyclotron
resonance effect similar to that seen in the spectrum of the CCO pulsar 1E
1207.4-5209. No change in the spin period of PSR J0821-4300 is detected in 7
months, with a 2 sigma upper limit on the period derivative less than 8.3E-15.
This implies limits on the spin-down energy loss rate of less than 2.3E35
erg/s, the surface magnetic dipole field strength B_s < 9.8E11 G, and the
spin-down age tau > 220 kyr. The latter is much longer than the SNR age,
indicating that PSR J0821-4300 was born spinning near its present period. Its
properties are remarkably similar to those of the two other known CCO pulsars,
demonstrating the existence of a class of neutron stars born with weak magnetic
fields related to a slow original spin. These results are also of importance in
understanding the extreme transverse velocity of PSR J0821-4300, favoring the
hydrodynamic instability mechanism in the supernova explosion.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure, Latex, emulateapj style. To appear in the
Astrophysical Journa
The Chandra LETGS high resolution X-ray spectrum of the isolated neutron star RX J1856.5-3754
We present the Chandra LETGS X-ray spectrum of the nearby (~60 pc) neutron
star RX J1856.5-3754. Detailed spectral analysis of the combined X-ray and
optical data rules out the nonmagnetic neutron star atmosphere models with
hydrogen, helium, iron and solar compositions. We also conclude that strongly
magnetized atmosphere models are unable to represent the data. The data can be
explained with a two-component blackbody model. The harder component with
temperature of kT_bb~63 eV and a radius R_bb~2.2 km of the emitting region well
fits the X-ray data and can be interpreted as radiation from a hot region on
the star's surface.Comment: 4 pages, 3 color figures; acceped by A&A Letters;
http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/~burwitz/burwitz_refereed.htm
The Compact Central Object in the Supernova Remnant G266.2-1.2
We observed the compact central object CXOU J085201.4--461753 in the
supernova remnant G266.2--1.2 (RX J0852.0--4622) with the Chandra ACIS detector
in timing mode. The spectrum of this object can be described by a blackbody
model with the temperature kT=404 eV and radius of the emitting region R=0.28
km, at a distance of 1 kpc. Power-law and thermal plasma models do not fit the
source spectrum. The spectrum shows a marginally significant feature at 1.68
keV. Search for periodicity yields two candidate periods, about 301 ms and 33
ms, both significant at a 2.1 sigma level; the corresponding pulsed fractions
are 13% and 9%, respectively. We find no evidence for long-term variability of
the source flux, nor do we find extended emission around the central object. We
suggest that CXOU J085201.4--461753 is similar to CXOU J232327.9+584842, the
central source of the supernova remnant Cas A. It could be either a neutron
star with a low or regular magnetic field, slowly accreting from a fossil disk,
or, more likely, an isolated neutron star with a superstrong magnetic field. In
either case, a conservative upper limit on surface temperature of a 10 km
radius neutron star is about 90 eV, which suggests accelerated cooling for a
reasonable age of a few thousand years.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 13 pages, 1 figur
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