THE EXTREMELY LONG-PERIOD X-RAY SOURCE IN A YOUNG SUPERNOVA REMNANT: A THORNE-ŻYTKOW OBJECT DESCENDANT?
- School of Physics and Electronic Information, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637002 (China)
- School of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)
- Key Laboratory of the Structure and Evolution of Celestial Objects, Yunnan Observatory, Kunming 650011 (China)
The origin of the 6.67 hr period X-ray source, 1E161348-5055, in the young supernova remnant RCW 103 is puzzling. We propose that it may be the descendant of a Thorne-Żytkow Object (TŻO). A TŻO may at its formation have a rapidly spinning neutron star as a core and a slowly rotating envelope. We found that the core could be braked quickly to an extremely long spin period by the coupling between its magnetic field and the envelope, and that the envelope could be disrupted by some powerful bursts or exhausted via stellar wind. If the envelope is disrupted after the core has spun down, the core will become an extremely long-period compact object, with a slow proper motion speed, surrounded by a supernova-remnant-like shell. These features all agree with the observations of 1E161348-5055. TŻOs are expected to have produced extraordinarily high abundances of lithium and rapid proton process elements that would remain in the remnants and could be used to test this scenario.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364318
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 799, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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