A search for X-ray emission from a nearby pulsar : PSR 1929+10.

Abstract

The authors report observations of PSR 1929+10 with the EXOSAT observatory. In the 0.04 to 2.4 keV range a 2σ upper limit of 0.5×10^-3cts s^-1 was obtained. This translates to a luminosity upper limit of L ≤ 2×10²⁹erg s^-1 for a power-law source with photon number index α = 1 - 3, and L ≤ 10³⁰erg s^-1 corresponding to T ≤ 1.9×10⁵K for a blackbody with radius 10 km. Constraints on the energy dissipation rate inside the neutron star, on polar cap heating and on the possibility of a compact synchrotron nebula, as well as the consistency of the present upper limits with a previous EINSTEIN Observatory detection, are discussed.