XMM-NEWTON X-RAY DETECTION OF THE HIGH-MAGNETIC-FIELD RADIO PULSAR PSR B1916+14
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2T8 (Canada)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1 (Canada)
Using observations made with the XMM-Newton Observatory, we report the first X-ray detection of the high-magnetic-field radio pulsar PSR B1916+14. We show that the X-ray spectrum of the pulsar can be well fitted with an absorbed blackbody with temperature in the range of 0.08-0.23 keV, or a neutron-star hydrogen atmosphere model with best-fit effective temperature of approx0.10 keV, higher than expected from fast cooling models. The origin of the likely thermal emission is not well constrained by our short observation and is consistent with initial cooling or return-current heating. We found no pulsations in these data and set a 1sigma upper limit on the pulsed fraction in the 0.1-2 keV band of approx0.7. Implications of these results for our understanding of the different observational properties of isolated neutron stars are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 21367354
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 704, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/704/2/1321; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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