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Register a new userDiscovery of absorption features in the X-ray spectrum of an isolated neutron star
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D. Sanwal
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We observed 1E 1207.4--5209, a neutron star in the center of the supernova remnant PKS 1209--51/52, with the ACIS detector aboard the Chandra X-ray observatory and detected two absorption features in the source spectrum. The features are centered near 0.7 keV and 1.4 keV, their equivalent widths are about 0.1 keV. We discuss various possible interpretations of the absorption features and exclude some of them. A likely interpretation is that the features are associated with atomic transitions of once-ionized helium in the neutron star atmosphere with a strong magnetic field. The first clear detection of absorption features in the spectrum of an isolated neutron star provides an opportunity to measure the mass-to-radius ratio and constrain the equation of state of the superdense matter.
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The vast majority of known non-accreting neutron stars (NSs) are rotation-powered radio and/or gamma-ray pulsars. So far, their multiwavelength spectra have all been described satisfactorily by thermal and non-thermal continuum models, with no spectral lines. Spectral features have, however, been found in a handful of exotic NSs and thought to be a manifestation of their unique traits. Here we report the detection of absorption features in the X-ray spectrum of an ordinary rotation-powered radio pulsar, J1740+1000. Our findings bridge the gap between the spectra of pulsars and other, more exotic, NSs, suggesting that the features are more common in the NS spectra than they have been thought so far.
The discovery of photospheric absorption lines in XMM-Newton spectra of the X-ray bursting neutron star in EXO0748-676 by Cottam and collaborators allows us to constrain the neutron star mass-radius ratio from the measured gravitational redshift. A radius of R=9-12km for a plausible mass range of M=1.4-1.8Msun was derived by these authors. It has been claimed that the absorption features stem from gravitationally redshifted (z=0.35) n=2-3 lines of H- and He-like iron. We investigate this identification and search for alternatives. We compute LTE and non-LTE neutron-star model atmospheres and detailed synthetic spectra for a wide range of effective temperatures (effective temperatures of 1 - 20MK) and different chemical compositions. We are unable to confirm the identification of the absorption features in the X-ray spectrum of EXO0748-676 as n=2-3 lines of H- and He-like iron (Fe XXVI and Fe XXV). These are subordinate lines that are predicted by our models to be too weak at any effective temperature. It is more likely that the strongest feature is from the n=2-3 resonance transition in Fe XXIV with a redshift of z=0.24. Adopting this value yields a larger neutron star radius, namely R=12-15km for the mass range M=1.4-1.8Msun, favoring a stiff equation-of-state and excluding mass-radius relations based on exotic matter. Combined with an estimate of the stellar radius R>12.5km from the work of Oezel and collaborators, the z=0.24 value provides a minimum neutron-star mass of M>1.48Msun, instead of M>1.9Msun, when assuming z=0.35.
RX J0822-4300 is the Central Compact Object associated with the Puppis A supernova remnant. Previous X-ray observations suggested RX J0822-4300 to be a young neutron star with a weak dipole field and a peculiar surface temperature distribution dominated by two antipodal spots with different temperatures and sizes. An emission line at 0.8 keV was also detected. We performed a very deep (130 ks) observation with XMM-Newton, which allowed us to study in detail the phase-resolved properties of RX J0822-4300. Our new data confirm the existence of a narrow spectral feature, best modelled as an emission line, only seen in the `Soft phase interval - when the cooler region is best aligned to the line of sight. Surprisingly, comparison of our recent observations to the older ones yields evidence for a variation in the emission line component, which can be modelled as a decrease in the central energy from ~0.80 keV in 2001 to ~0.73 keV in 2009--2010. The line could be generated via cyclotron scattering of thermal photons in an optically thin layer of gas, or - alternatively - it could originate in low-rate accretion by a debris disk. In any case, a variation in energy, pointing to a variation of the magnetic field in the line emitting region, cannot be easily accounted for.
In a series of papers, Nicastro et al. have reported the detection of z>0 OVII absorption features in the spectrum of Mrk421 obtained with the Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS). We evaluate this result in the context of a high quality spectrum of the same source obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) on XMM-Newton. The data comprise over 955ks of usable exposure time and more than 26000 counts per 50 milliAngstrom at 21.6 Angstroms. We concentrate on the spectrally clean region (21.3 < lambda < 22.5 Angstroms) where sharp features due to the astrophysically abundant OVII may reveal an intervening, warm--hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). We do not confirm detection of any of the intervening systems claimed to date. Rather, we detect only three unsurprising, astrophysically expected features down to the Log(N_i)~14.6 (3 sigma) sensitivity level. Each of the two purported WHIM features is rejected with a statistical confidence that exceeds that reported for its initial detection. While we can not rule out the existence of fainter, WHIM related features in these spectra, we suggest that previous discovery claims were premature. A more recent paper by Williams et al. claims to have demonstrated that the RGS data we analyze here do not have the resolution or statistical quality required to confirm or deny the LETGS detections. We show that our careful analysis resolves the issues encountered by Williams et al. and recovers the full resolution and statistical quality of the RGS data. We highlight the differences between our analysis and those published by Williams et al. as this may explain our disparate conclusions.
We report on two XMM-Newton observations of the low-mass X-ray binary X 1254-690. During an XMM-Newton observation of the low-mass X-ray binary in 2001 January a deep X-ray dip was seen while in a second observation one year later no dips were evident. The 0.5-10 keV EPIC spectra from both non-dipping intervals are very similar being modeled by a disk-blackbody and a power-law continuum with additional structure around 1 keV and narrow absorption features at 7.0 keV and 8.2 keV which are identified with the K alpha and K beta absorption lines of Fe XXVI. The low-energy structure may be modeled as a 175 eV (sigma) wide emission line at ~0.95 keV. This feature is probably the same structure that was modeled as an absorption edge in an earlier BeppoSAX observation. The absorption line properties show no obvious dependence on orbital phase and are similar in both observations suggesting that the occurrence of such features is not directly related to the presence of dipping activity. Narrow Fe absorption features have been observed from the two superluminal jet sources GRO J1655-40 and GRS 1915+105, and the four low-mass X-ray binaries GX 13+1, MXB 1658-298, X 1624-490 and X 1254-690. Since the latter 3 sources are dipping sources, which are systems viewed close to the accretion disk plane, and the two microquasars are thought to be viewed at an inclination of ~70 degrees, this suggests that these features are more prominent when viewed at high-inclination angles. This, together with the lack of any orbital dependence, implies a cylindrical geometry for the absorbing material.
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