Search Publications
The anatomy of a magnetar: XMM monitoring of the transient anomalous X-ray pulsar XTE J1810–197
Gotthelf, E. V.; Halpern, J. P.
We present the latest results from a multi-epoch timing and spectral study of the Transient Anomalous X-ray Pulsar XTE J1810–197. We have acquired seven observations of this pulsar with the Newton X-ray Multi-mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) over the course of two and a half years, to follow the spectral evolution as the source fades from outburst. The…
The Magnificent Seven in the dusty prairie: The role of interstellar absorption on the observed neutron star population
Haberl, F.; Neuhäuser, R.; Turolla, R. +3 more
The Magnificent Seven have all been discovered by their exceptional soft X-ray spectra and high ratios of X-ray to optical flux. They all are considered to be nearby sources. Searching for similar objects with larger distances, one expects larger interstellar absorption resulting in harder X-ray counterparts. Current interstellar absorption treatm…
The complex X-ray spectrum of the isolated neutron star RBS1223
Haberl, Frank; Schwope, Axel D.; Motch, Christian +1 more
We present a first analysis of a deep X-ray spectrum of the isolated neutron star RBS1223 obtained with XMM-Newton. Spectral data from four new monitoring observations in 2005/2006 were combined with archival observations obtained in 2003 and 2004 to form a spin-phase averaged spectrum containing 290 000 EPIC-pn photons. This spectrum shows higher…
Doppler boosting, superluminal motion, and the kinematics of AGN jets
Kadler, M.; Ros, E.; Zensus, J. A. +8 more
We discuss results from a decade long program to study the fine-scale structure and the kinematics of relativistic AGN jets with the aim of better understanding the acceleration and collimation of the relativistic plasma forming AGN jets. From the observed distribution of brightness temperature, apparent velocity, flux density, time variability, a…
Ultraviolet emission from young and middle-aged pulsars: Connecting X-rays with the optical
Kargaltsev, Oleg; Pavlov, George
We present the UV spectroscopy and timing of three nearby pulsars (Vela, B0656+14 and Geminga) recently observed with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. We also review the optical and X-ray properties of these pulsars and establish their connection with the UV properties. We show that the multiwavelengths properties of neutron stars (NSs) v…
Jets from young stars
Bally, John
Most stars produce spectacular jets during their formation. There are thousands of young stars within 500 pc of the Sun and many power jets. Thus protostellar jets may be the most common type of collimated astrophysical outflow. Shocks powered by outflows excite many emission lines, exhibit a rich variety of structure, and motions with velocities …
X-ray intensity-hardness correlation and deep IR observations of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1RXS J170849-400910
Campana, S.; Stella, L.; Rea, N. +6 more
We report here on X-ray and IR observations of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar (AXP) 1RXS J170849-400910. First, we report on new XMM-Newton, Swift-XRT and Chandra observations of this AXP, which confirm the intensity–hardness correlation observed in the long term X-ray monitoring of this source. These new X-ray observations show that the AXP flux is r…
XMM–Newton observations of soft gamma-ray repeaters
Mereghetti, Sandro; Esposito, Paolo; Tiengo, Andrea
All the confirmed Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters have been observed with the EPIC instrument on the XMM–Newton satellite. We review the results obtained in these observations, providing the most accurate spectra on the persistent X-ray emission in the 1–10 keV range for these objects, and discuss them in the context of the magnetar interpretation.
Our distorted view of magnetars: application of the resonant cyclotron scattering model
Turolla, Roberto; Rea, Nanda; Lyutikov, Maxim +1 more
The X-ray spectra of the magnetar candidates are customarily fitted with an empirical, two component model: an absorbed blackbody and a power-law. However, the physical interpretation of these two spectral components is rarely discussed. It has been recently proposed that the presence of a hot plasma in the magnetosphere of highly magnetized neutr…
Status of identification of VHE γ-ray sources
Funk, Stefan
With the recent advances made by Cherenkov telescopes such as H.E.S.S. the field of very high-energy (VHE) γ-ray astronomy has recently entered a new era in which for the first time populations of Galactic sources such as e.g. Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) or Supernova remnants (SNRs) can be studied. However, while some of the new sources can be asso…