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Register a new userDetailed high-energy characteristics of AXP 4U 0142+61 - Multi-year observations with INTEGRAL, RXTE, XMM-Newton and ASCA
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We present detailed spectral and temporal characteristics both in the hard X-ray (>10 keV) and soft X-ray (<10 keV) domains, obtained using data from INTEGRAL, XMM-Newton, ASCA and RXTE. The INTEGRAL time-averaged total spectrum shows a power-law like shape with photon index Gamma = 0.93 +/- 0.06. 4U 0142+61 is detected up to 229 keV and the flux between 20 keV and 229 keV is (15.01 +/- 0.82) x 10^(-11) erg/cm^2/s. Using simultaneously collected data with the spectrometer SPI of INTEGRAL the combined total spectrum yields the first evidence for a spectral break with a peak energy of 228 +65/-41 keV. There is no evidence for significant long-term time variability of the total emission. Pulsed emission is measured with ISGRI up to 160 keV. The 20-160 keV profile shows a broad double-peaked pulse with a 6.2 sigma detection significance. The total pulsed spectrum can be described with a very hard power-law shape with a photon index Gamma = 0.40 +/- 0.15. We performed phase-resolved spectroscopy over the total high-energy band (2.8-300 keV) and identify at least three genuinely different pulse components with different spectra. The high level of consistency between the detailed results from the four missions is indicative for a remarkable stable geometry underlying the emission scenario.
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We present detailed spectral and temporal characteristics over the whole X-ray band. For this purpose data have been used from INTEGRAL, RXTE and XMM-Newton. The INTEGRAL hard X-ray (>10 keV) time-averaged total spectrum, can be described by a power law with a photon index Gamma = 1.13 +/- 0.06 and extends to ~175 keV. No evidence for a spectral break is found. No significant long-term time variability has been detected above 20 keV. Pulsed emission is measured up to 270 keV (12.3 sigma; 20-270 keV). Three different pulse components can be recognized in the pulse profiles: 1) a hard pulse which contributes above ~4 keV, 2) a softer pulse not contributing in the hard X-ray domain and 3) a very soft pulse component below 2 keV. Detailed phase-resolved spectroscopy of the pulsed emission confirms long-term stability. The spectral shape gradually changes with phase from a soft single power law to a complex multi-component shape and then to a hard single power law. The spectrum switches from a very hard (Gamma = 0.99 +/- 0.05) to a very soft (Gamma = 3.58 +/- 0.34) single power-law shape within a 0.1-wide phase interval. We identify three independent components. The three shapes are a soft power law, a hard power law and a curved shape. The phase distributions of the normalizations of these spectral components form three decoupled pulse profiles. The soft component peaks around phase 0.4 while the other two components peak around phase 0.8. The width of the curved component (~0.25 in phase) is about half the width of the hard component.
For the first time a quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength campaign has been performed on an Anomalous X-ray Pulsar from the radio to the hard X-ray band. 4U 0142+61 was an INTEGRAL target for 1 Ms in July 2005. During these observations it was also observed in the X-ray band with Swift and RXTE, in the optical and NIR with Gemini North and in the radio with the WSRT. In this paper we present the source-energy distribution. The spectral results obtained in the individual wave bands do not connect smoothly; apparently components of different origin contribute to the total spectrum. Remarkable is that the INTEGRAL hard X-ray spectrum (power-law index 0.79 +/- 0.10) is now measured up to an energy of ~230 keV with no indication of a spectral break. Extrapolation of the INTEGRAL power-law spectrum to lower energies passes orders of magnitude underneath the NIR and optical fluxes, as well as the low ~30 microJy (2 sigma) upper limit in the radio band.
In the present paper we study the possibility of a simultaneous generation of radio waves and soft $X$-rays by means of the quasi-linear diffusion (QLD) in the anomalous pulsar AXP 4U 0142+61. Considering the magnetosphere composed of the so-called beam component and the plasma component respectively, we argue that the frozen-in condition will inevitably lead to the generation of the unstable cyclotron waves. These waves, via the QLD, will in turn influence the particle distribution function, leading to certain values of the pitch angles, thus to an efficient synchrotron mechanism, producing soft $X$-ray photons. We show that for physically reasonable parameters of magnetospheric plasmas, the QLD can provide generation of radio waves in the following interval $40$ MHz-$111$ MHz connected to soft $X$-rays for the domain $0.3$keV-$1.4$keV.
4U 0142+61 is one of a small class of persistently bright magnetars. Here we report on a monitoring campaign of 4U 0142+61 from 2011 July 26 - 2016 June 12 using the Swift X-ray Telescope, continuing a 16 year timing campaign with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. We show that 4U 0142+61 had two radiatively loud timing events, on 2011 July 29 and 2015 February 28, both with short soft gamma-ray bursts, and a long-lived flux decay associated with each case. We show that the 2015 timing event resulted in a net spin-down of the pulsar due to over-recovery of a glitch. We compare this timing event to previous such events in other high-magnetic-field pulsars, and discuss net spin-down glitches now seen in several young, high-B pulsars.
We report on 10 years of monitoring of the 8.7-s Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61 using the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). This pulsar exhibited stable rotation from 2000 March until 2006 February: the RMS phase residual for a spin-down model which includes nu, nudot, and nuddot is 2.3%. We report a possible phase-coherent timing solution valid over a 10-yr span extending back to March 1996. A glitch may have occured between 1998 and 2000, but is not required by the existing timing data. The pulse profile has been evolving since 2000. In particular, the dip of emission between its two peaks got shallower between 2002 and 2006, as if the profile were evolving back to its pre-2000 morphology, following an earlier event, which possibly also included the glitch suggested by the timing data. These profile variations are seen in the 2-4 keV band but not in 6-8 keV. We also detect a slow increase in the pulsed flux between 2002 May and 2004 December, such that it has risen by 36+/-3% over 2.6 years in the 2-10 keV band. The pulsed flux variability and the narrow-band pulse profile changes present interesting challenges to aspects of the magnetar model.
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