scholarly journals Middle aged γ-ray pulsar J1957+5033 in X-rays: pulsations, thermal emission and nebula

Author(s):  
D A Zyuzin ◽  
A V Karpova ◽  
Y A Shibanov ◽  
A Y Potekhin ◽  
V F Suleimanov

Abstract We analyze new XMM-Newton and archival Chandra observations of the middle-aged γ-ray radio-quiet pulsar J1957+5033. We detect, for the first time, X-ray pulsations with the pulsar spin period of the point-like source coinciding by position with the pulsar. This confirms the pulsar nature of the source. In the 0.15–0.5 keV band, there is a single pulse per period and the pulsed fraction is ≈18 ± 6 per cent. In this band, the pulsar spectrum is dominated by a thermal emission component that likely comes from the entire surface of the neutron star, while at higher energies (≳ 0.7 keV) it is described by a power law with the photon index Γ ≈ 1.6. We construct new hydrogen atmosphere models for neutron stars with dipole magnetic fields and non-uniform surface temperature distributions with relatively low effective temperatures. We use them in the spectral analysis and derive the pulsar average effective temperature of ≈(2 − 3) × 105 K. This makes J1957+5033 the coldest among all known thermally emitting neutron stars with ages below 1 Myr. Using the interstellar extinction–distance relation, we constrain the distance to the pulsar in the range of 0.1–1 kpc. We compare the obtained X-ray thermal luminosity with those for other neutron stars and various neutron star cooling models and set some constraints on latter. We observe a faint trail-like feature, elongated ∼8 arcmin from J1957+5033. Its spectrum can be described by a power law with a photon index Γ = 1.9 ± 0.5 suggesting that it is likely a pulsar wind nebula powered by J1957+5033.

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (2) ◽  
pp. 2213-2229 ◽  
Author(s):  
F D’Ammando

ABSTRACT We report the analysis of all Swift observations available up to 2019 April of γ-ray-emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLSy1). The distribution of X-ray luminosities (and fluxes) indicates that the jet radiation significantly contributes to their X-ray emission, with Doppler boosting making values higher than other radio-loud NLSy1. The 0.3–10 keV photon indices are on average harder with respect to radio-quiet and radio-loud NLSy1, confirming a dominant jet contribution in X-rays. However, the lower variability amplitude with respect to blazars and the softening of the spectrum in some periods suggests that also the corona radiation contributes to the X-ray emission. In optical and ultraviolet (UV) significant flux changes have been observed on daily, weekly, and monthly time-scale, providing a clear indication of the significant contribution of the jet radiation in this part of spectrum. A strong correlation between X-ray, UV, and optical emission and simultaneous flux variations have been observed in 1H 0323+342, SBS 0846+513, PMN J0948+0022 as expected in case the jet radiation is the dominant mechanism. Correlated multiband variability favours the jet-dominated scenario also in FBQS J1644+2619 and PKS 2004−447. The summed X-ray Telescope spectra of 1H 0323+342, SBS 0846+513, PMN J0948+0022, and FBQS J1644+2619 are well fitted by a broken power law with a break around 2 keV. The spectrum above 2 keV is dominated by the non-thermal emission from a beamed relativistic jet, as suggested by the hard photon index. A Seyfert-like feature like the soft X-ray excess has been observed below 2 keV, making these γ-ray-emitting NLSy1 different from typical blazars.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S337) ◽  
pp. 112-115
Author(s):  
Adriana M. Pires

AbstractSince the discovery of the first radio pulsar fifty years ago, the population of neutron stars in our Galaxy has grown to over 2,600. A handful of these sources, exclusively seen in X-rays, show properties that are not observed in normal pulsars. Despite their scarcity, they are key to understanding aspects of the neutron star phenomenology and evolution. The forthcoming all-sky survey of eROSITA will unveil the X-ray faint end of the neutron star population at unprecedented sensitivity; therefore, it has the unique potential to constrain evolutionary models and advance our understanding of the sources that are especially silent in the radio and γ-ray regimes. In this contribution I discuss the expected role of eROSITA, and the challenges it will face, at probing the galactic neutron star population.


2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (4) ◽  
pp. 5518-5527
Author(s):  
N Sahakyan

ABSTRACT The origin of the multiwavelength emission from the high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lac 1ES 1218+304 is studied using the data from SwiftUVOT/XRT, NuSTAR, and Fermi-LAT. A detailed temporal and spectral analysis of the data observed during 2008–2020 in the  γ-ray (>100 MeV), X-ray (0.3–70 keV), and optical/UV bands is performed. The γ-ray spectrum is hard with a photon index of 1.71 ± 0.02 above 100 MeV. The SwiftUVOT/XRT data show a flux increase in the UV/optical and X-ray bands; the highest 0.3–3 keV X-ray flux was (1.13 ± 0.02) × 10−10 erg cm−2 s−1. In the 0.3–10 keV range, the averaged X-ray photon index is >2.0 which softens to 2.56 ± 0.028 in the 3–50 keV band. However, in some periods, the X-ray photon index became extremely hard (<1.8), indicating that the peak of the synchrotron component was above 1 keV, and so 1ES 1218+304 behaved like an extreme synchrotron BL Lac. The hardest X-ray photon index of 1ES 1218+304 was 1.60 ± 0.05 on MJD 58489. The time-averaged multiwavelength spectral energy distribution is modelled within a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton leptonic model using a broken power law and power law with an exponential cutoff electron energy distributions. The data are well explained when the electron energy distribution is $E_{\rm e}^{-2.1}$ extending up to γbr/cut ≃ (1.7 − 4.3) × 105, and the magnetic field is weak (B ∼ 1.5 × 10−2 G). By solving the kinetic equation for electron evolution in the emitting region, the obtained electron energy distributions are discussed considering particle injection, cooling, and escape.


1989 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 167-172
Author(s):  
Katsuji Koyama

X-ray emission in the 2–10 keV energy range was observed with the Ginga satellite from the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC1068. The continuum spectrum can be described by a power-law of photon index about 1.5. An intense iron line at 6.5 keV with an equivalent width of 1.3 keV was clearly noticed. The X-ray flux was about 6 × 10 −12 erg/sec/cm2 or 3 × 1041 erg/sec, assuming a distance of 22 Mpc. The observed spectrum is consistent with the scattering and reprocessing of X-rays by the gas surrounding the central engine. With this picture we estimate that the X-ray flux of the central engine is about 1043 - 1044 erg/sec, a typical value for a Seyfert 1 galaxy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Teresa Panurach ◽  
Jay Strader ◽  
Arash Bahramian ◽  
Laura Chomiuk ◽  
James C. A. Miller-Jones ◽  
...  

Abstract Accreting neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries show outflows—and sometimes jets—in the general manner of accreting black holes. However, the quantitative link between the accretion flow (traced by X-rays) and outflows and/or jets (traced by radio emission) is much less well understood for neutron stars than for black holes, other than the general observation that neutron stars are fainter in the radio at a given X-ray luminosity. We use data from the deep MAVERIC radio continuum survey of Galactic globular clusters for a systematic radio and X-ray study of six luminous (L X > 1034 erg s−1) persistent neutron star X-ray binaries in our survey, as well as two other transient systems also captured by our data. We find that these neutron star X-ray binaries show an even larger range in radio luminosity than previously observed. In particular, in quiescence at L X ∼ 3 × 1034 erg s−1, the confirmed neutron star binary GRS 1747–312 in Terzan 6 sits near the upper envelope of the black hole radio/X-ray correlation, and the persistently accreting neutron star systems AC 211 (in M15) and X1850–087 (in NGC 6712) show unusual radio variability and luminous radio emission. We interpret AC 211 as an obscured “Z source” that is accreting at close to the Eddington limit, while the properties of X1850–087 are difficult to explain, and motivate future coordinated radio and X-ray observations. Overall, our results show that neutron stars do not follow a single relation between inflow and outflow, and confirm that their accretion dynamics are more complex than for black holes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 317-317
Author(s):  
M. Bałucińska-Church ◽  
L. Piro ◽  
H. Fink ◽  
F. Fiore ◽  
M. Matsuoka ◽  
...  

SummaryWe report results of an international UV – X-ray campaign in 1990–1992 involving the IUE, Rosat and Ginga satellites to observe E1615+061, a Seyfert 1 galaxy with peculiar spectral and intensity behaviour over the last 20 years. The source has been found to be stable in its medium state during the observations. The Ginga (1–20 keV) spectrum of E1615+061 is adequately represented by a simple power law with a photon index α = 1.8 ± 0.1. However, α ∼ 2, as expected for the intrinsic power law component in a reflection model, cannot be ruled out statistically. The Rosat PSPC (0.1–2 keV) spectra collected during the All Sky Survey and the AO-1 phase can be well-described by a simple power law (α = 2.2 ± 0.1) with cold absorber (NH = 3.5 ± 0.3 · 10λ20 H/cmλ2). Both the photon index being significantly different than that obtained from the Ginga spectrum and the column density being smaller than the galactic column (NH ∼ 4.2 · 10λ20 H/cmλ2) give an indication of a soft excess over and above the hard component seen in the Ginga spectrum. E1615+061 has been observed with IUE in 1990 and in 1992. The source was stable and the colour excess E(B-V) derived from the data = 0.1 is in good agreement with that expected from the galactic absorption.To parameterise the soft excess we fitted the Rosat data with a two-component model consisting of a power law, and a blackbody or thermal bremsstrahlung, with a single galactic absorption term. The column density and the slope of the power law were kept constant. The blackbody temperature was 80 ± 6 eV and 63 ± 12 eV for photon index equal to 1.8 and 2.0, respectively, whereas the bremsstrahlung temperature was 220 ± 40 eV and 115 ± 30 eV for the two cases.An attempt to model the soft excess seen in the Rosat PSPC spectrum has been made assuming that the soft excess is the high energy tail of a disc spectrum which peaks in the UV part of the spectrum. Additionally it was assumed that there is a hard component contributing to the spectrum from UV to X-rays with parameters as described by the Ginga spectrum. The best fit parameters: the mass of the central source and the mass accretion rate were around 5 ± 1 · 10λ6 M⊙ and 0.2 ± 0.04 M⊙/yr, respectively.Our modelling shows that the soft X-ray excess can be described (χredλ2 < 1.2) as the high energy tail of an accretion disk spectrum if the intrinsic power law is quite steep (α = 2). The main contribution to the residuals in the Rosat PSPC range comes from 0.3–0.6 keV, with a tendency for these residuals to increase when the slope gets flatter. The accretion luminosity is ∼ 6.5 · 10λ44 erg/s for the best fit parameters, i.e. about the Eddington luminosity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (3) ◽  
pp. 2704-2714
Author(s):  
Erlin Qiao ◽  
B F Liu

ABSTRACT Observationally, an anticorrelation between the X-ray photon index Γ (obtained by fitting the X-ray spectrum between 0.5 and 10 keV with a single power law) and the X-ray luminosity L0.5-10 keV, i.e. a softening of the X-ray spectrum with decreasing L0.5-10 keV, is found in neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (NS-LMXBs) in the range of $L_{\rm 0.5\!-\!10\,keV}\sim 10^{34}\!-\!10^{36}\ \rm erg\ s^{-1}$. In this paper, we explain the observed anticorrelation between Γ and L0.5–10 keV within the framework of the self-similar solution of the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) around a weakly magnetized NS. The ADAF model intrinsically predicts an anticorrelation between Γ and L0.5–10 keV. In the ADAF model, there is a key parameter, fth, which describes the fraction of the ADAF energy released at the surface of the NS as thermal emission to be scattered in the ADAF. We test the effect of fth on the anticorrelation between Γ and L0.5–10 keV. It is found that the value of fth can significantly affect the anticorrelation between Γ and L0.5–10 keV. Specifically, the anticorrelation between Γ and L0.5–10 keV becomes flatter with decreasing fth as taking fth = 0.1, 0.03, 0.01, 0.005, 0.003, and 0, respectively. By comparing with a sample of non-pulsating NS-LMXBs with well measured Γ and L0.5–10 keV, we find that indeed only a small value of 0.003 ≲ fth ≲ 0.1 is needed to match the observed anticorrelation between Γ and L0.5–10 keV. Finally, we argue that the small value of fth ≲ 0.1 derived in this paper further confirms our previous conclusion that the radiative efficiency of NSs with an ADAF accretion may not be as high as $\epsilon \sim {\dot{M} GM\over R_{*}}/{\dot{M} c^2}\sim 0.2$.


2000 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 463-471
Author(s):  
M. Ruderman

Neutron stars can be the underlying source of energetic particle acceleration in several ways. The huge gravitational-collapse energy released in their birth, or the violent fusion at the end of the life of a neutron-star binary, is the energy source for an accelerator in the surrounding medium far from the star. This would be the case for: (a) cosmic rays from supernova explosions with neutron-star remnants; (b) energetic radiation from “plerions” around young neutron stars (e.g., the Crab Nebula, see Pacini 2000); and (c) “afterglow” and γ-rays of cosmic Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) sources with possible neutron-star central engines. Particles can also be energetically accelerated if a neutron star's gravitational pull sustains an accretion disk fed by a companion. Examples are accretion-powered X-ray pulsars and low-mass X-ray binaries. A third family of “neutron-star powered” accelerators consists of those which do not depend on the surrounding environment. These are the accelerators which must exist in the magnetospheres of many solitary, spinning-down, magnetized neutron stars (“spinsters”) when they are observed as radio pulsars or γ-ray pulsars. (There are probably ~ 103 dead radio pulsars for each one in our Galaxy that is still active; the ratio for γ-ray pulsars may well exceed 105.)


2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (2) ◽  
pp. 2005-2022
Author(s):  
S Zharikov ◽  
D Zyuzin ◽  
Yu Shibanov ◽  
A Kirichenko ◽  
R E Mennickent ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We report detection of PSR B0656+14 with the Gran Telescopio Canarias in narrow optical F657, F754, F802, and F902 and near-infrared JHKs bands. The pulsar detection in the Ks band extends its spectrum to 2.2 $\mu$m and confirms its flux increase towards the infrared. We also present a thorough analysis of the optical spectrum obtained by us with the VLT. For a consistency check, we revised the pulsar near-infrared and narrow-band photometry obtained with the HST. We find no narrow spectral lines in the optical spectrum. We compile available near-infrared-optical-UV and archival 0.3–20 keV X-ray data and perform a self-consistent analysis of the rotation phase-integrated spectrum of the pulsar using unified spectral models. The spectrum is best fitted by the four-component model including two blackbodies, describing the thermal emission from the neutron star surface and its hot polar cap, the broken power law, originating from the pulsar magnetosphere, and an absorption line near ∼0.5 keV detected previously. The fit provides better constraints on the model parameters than using only a single spectral domain. The derived surface temperature is $T_{NS}^{\infty } = 7.9(3)\times 10^5$ K. The intrinsic radius (7.8–9.9 km) of the emitting region is smaller than a typical neutron star radius (13 km) and suggests a non-uniform temperature distribution over the star surface. In contrast, the derived radius of the hot polar cap is about twice as large as the ‘canonical’ one. The spectrum of the non-thermal emission steepens from the optical to X-rays and has a break near 0.1 keV. The X-ray data suggest the presence of another absorption line near 0.3 keV.


Galaxies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Elena Fedorova ◽  
Bohdan Hnatyk ◽  
Antonino Del Popolo ◽  
Anatoliy Vasylenko ◽  
Vadym Voitsekhovskyi

We consider the sample of 55 blazars and Seyferts cross-correlated from the Planck all-sky survey based on the Early Release Compact Source Catalog (ERCSC) and Swift BAT 105-Month Hard X-ray Survey. The radio Planck spectra vs. X-ray Swift/XRT+BAT spectra of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) sample were fitted with the simple and broken power law (for the X-ray spectra taking into account also the Galactic neutral absorption) to test the dependencies between the photon indices of synchrotron emission (in radio range) and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) or inverse-Compton emission (in X-rays). We show that for the major part of the AGN in our sample there is a correspondence between synchrotron and SSC photon indices (one of two for broken power-law model) compatible within the error levels. For such objects, this can give a good perspective for the task of distinguishing between the jet base counterpart from that one emitted in the disk-corona AGN “central engine”.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document