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Register a new userOptical and X-ray observations of candidate isolated neutron stars in the G315.4-2.3 SNR
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R. P. Mignani
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G315.4-2.3 is a young Galactic supernova remnant (SNR), whose identification as the remains of a Type-II supernova (SN) explosion has been debated for a long time. In particular, recent multi-wavelength observations suggest that it is the result of a Type Ia SN, based on spectroscopy of the SNR shell and the lack of a compact stellar remnant.However, two X-ray sources, one detected by Einstein and ROSAT (Source V) and the other by Chandra (Source N) have been proposed as possible isolated neutron star candidates. In both cases, no clear optical identification was available and, therefore, we performed an optical and X-ray study to determine the nature of these two sources. Based on Chandra astrometry, Source V is associated with a bright V~14 star, which had been suggested based on the less accurate ROSAT position. Similarly, from VLT archival observations, we found that Source N is associated with a relatively bright star ($V=20.14 $). These likely identifications suggest that both X-ray sources cannot be isolated neutron stars.
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Context. Observation of Balmer lines from the region around the forward shock of supernova remnants (SNR) may provide valuable information on the shock dynamics and the efficiency of particle acceleration at the shock. Aims. We calculated the Balmer line emission and the shape of the broad Balmer line for parameter values suitable for SNR RCW 86 (G315.4-2.3) as a function of the cosmic-ray (CR) acceleration efficiency and of the level of thermal equilibration between electrons and protons behind the shock. This calculation aims at using the width of the broad Balmer-line emission to infer the CR acceleration efficiency in this remnant. Methods. We used the recently developed nonlinear theory of diffusive shock-acceleration in the presence of neutrals. The semianalytical approach we developed includes a description of magnetic field amplification as due to resonant streaming instability, the dynamical reaction of accelerated particles and the turbulent magnetic field on the shock, and all channels of interaction between neutral hydrogen atoms and background ions that are relevant for the shock dynamics. Results. We derive the CR acceleration efficiency in the SNR RCW 86 from the Balmer emission. Since our calculation used recent measurements of the shock proper motion, the results depend on the assumed distance to Earth. For a distance of 2 kpc the measured width of the broad Balmer line is compatible with the absence of CR acceleration. For a distance of 2.5 kpc, which is a widely used value in current literature, a CR acceleration efficiency of 5-30% is obtained, depending upon the electron-ion equilibration and the ionization fraction upstream of the shock. By combining information on Balmer emission with the measured value of the downstream electron temperature, we constrain the CR acceleration efficiency to be ~20%.
Almost 30 Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs) of different flavours have been identified at optical, ultraviolet, or infrared (UVOIR) wavelengths. Here, I present a short review of the historical background and describe the scientific impact of INS observations in the UVOIR. Then, I focus on UVOIR observations of rotation-powered pulsars, so far the most numerous class of INSs identified at these wavelengths, and their observational properties. Finally, I present the results of new UVOIR observations and an update of the follow-ups of gamma-ray pulsars detected by Fermi.
Strongly magnetized isolated neutron stars (NSs) are categorized into two families, according mainly to their magnetic field strength. The one with a higher magnetic field of $10^{14}$ - $10^{15}$ G is called magnetar, characterized with repeated short bursts, and the other is X-ray isolated neutron star (XINS) with $10^{13}$ G. Both magnetars and XINSs show thermal emission in X-rays, but it has been considered that the thermal spectrum of magnetars is reproduced with a two-temperature blackbody (2BB), while that of XINSs shows only a single-temperature blackbody (1BB) and the temperature is lower than that of magnetars. On the basis of the magnetic field and temperature, it is often speculated that XINSs may be old and cooled magnetars. Here we report that all the seven known XINSs show a high-energy component in addition to the 1BB model. Analyzing all the XMM-Newton data of the XINSs with the highest statistics ever achieved, we find that their X-ray spectra are all reproduced with a 2BB model, similar to magnetars. Their emission radii and temperature ratios are also similar to those of magnetars except for two XINSs, which show significantly smaller radii than the others. The remarkable similarity in the X-ray spectra between XINSs and magnetars suggests that their origins of the emission are also the same. The lower temperature in XINSs can be explained if XINSs are older than magnetars. Therefore, these results are the observational indication that supports the standard hypothesis on the classification of highly-magnetized NSs.
Since 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 $gamma$-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.
X-ray emission from the surface of isolated neutron stars (NSs) has been now observed in a variety of sources. The ubiquitous presence of pulsations clearly indicates that thermal photons either come from a limited area, possibly heated by some external mechanism, or from the entire (cooling) surface but with an inhomogeneous temperature distribution. In a NS the thermal map is shaped by the magnetic field topology, since heat flows in the crust mostly along the magnetic field lines. Self-consistent surface thermal maps can hence be produced by simulating the coupled magnetic and thermal evolution of the star. We compute the evolution of the neutron star crust in three dimensions for different initial configurations of the magnetic field and use the ensuing thermal surface maps to derive the spectrum and the pulse profile as seen by an observer at infinity, accounting for general-relativistic effects. In particular, we compare cases with a high degree of symmetry with inherently 3D ones, obtained by adding a quadrupole to the initial dipolar field. Axially symmetric fields result in rather small pulsed fractions ($lesssim 5%$), while more complex configurations produce higher pulsed fractions, up to $sim25%$. We find that the spectral properties of our axisymmetric model are close to those of the bright isolated NS RX~J1856.5-3754 at an evolutionary time comparable with the inferred dynamical age of the source.
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