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Isolated Neutron Stars and Pulsars
SGRs and AXPs
The last several years has seen major breakthroughs in our
understanding of both Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous
X-ray Pulsars (AXPs). These objects are thought to be young neutron
stars, they have spin periods ~7 s, spin down rapidly, and have
X-ray luminosities significantly larger than their inferred spin down
luminosities. SGRs generate intense bursts during sporadically
occurring active periods. The X-ray emission and bursting behavior
has been explained in the context of an internal energy
source, most likely a super-strong magnetic field (Thompson & Duncan
1995, MNRAS 275, 255)
Kouveliotou et al. (1998, Nature 393, 235) discovered in the RXTE data
a ~7-s pulsation associated with SGR 1806-20. The magnetic field
of a neutron star can be indirectly derived by measuring the period
derivative, assuming the pulsar spin-down is dominated by magnetic
dipole radiation. By retrieving ASCA archival data from the HEASARC,
Kouveliotou et al. were able to measure the pulse period at an earlier
epoch and derive the period derivative. The inferred magnetic field of
~1015G provided the first solid evidence for the existence
of the magnetars. This result prompted a rush to search for similar
periods and derivatives in other SGRs. This "instant and timely"
result would not have been possible without the ease of access of the
HEASARC data. This result highlights the use of archives to follow up
the discovery of a new phenomenon, that had been missed by previous
observers.
The similarities of the pulse period and spin-down properties of the
AXPs to the SGRs has led to the suspicion that the two groups are
related (Thompson & Duncan 1996, ApJ 473, 332). AXPs may have
magnetic fields that lie between those of the magnetars and regular
pulsars. This was contrary to the earlier view that these were
accretion driven systems. The accretion model for AXPs was based
partly on the work of Baykal & Swank (1996, ApJ 460, 470) who had
used archival ROSAT data to track the spin history of the AXP
1E2259+586 and found it to fluctuate in a manner similar to accreting
systems. The puzzle deepened further with the discovery of a 4s radio
pulsar PSR J1814-1744, whose spin down suggests a 6 x 1013 G
field. Pivovaroff et al. (2000, ApJ in press) note that its location
in the P -- P-dot diagram is similar to the parameters of the
AXPs, in particular 1E2259+586. It lies close to the transition point
where the pair production essential for the radio pulsar mechanism is
suppressed by photon-splitting in the superstrong magnetic field
(Baring & Harding 1998, ApJ 507, L55). The spin-down luminosity is a
factor of 10 higher than 1E2259+586 so, in the magnetar model, it
should be a bright X-ray source. Pivovaroff et al. used the HEASARC
ASCA and ROSAT archival data to search for X-ray emission from
this radio pulsar and set upper limits well below that expected based
on other AXPs. This archival research suggests that the reason AXPs
are bright X-ray sources, rather than radio pulsars, must depend on
more than simply the magnetic field strength. There must be a distinct
evolutionary path for the AXPs. A solution will probably have to await
the more powerful spectroscopic and imaging capabilities of the new
X-ray observatories. When the next breakthrough comes, the archival
data will be waiting at the HEASARC for quick follow up.
Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources
The nature of the high energy gamma ray sources found along the
galactic plane remain a mystery (Gehrels et al. 2000, Nature 404,
363). A handful of these are identified with young pulsars suggesting
that others may be the same class. Because of the large positional
errors, the identification of these sources requires a
multi-wavelength approach. An example of this process is 2EG
J1049-5847, whose error circle includes the radio pulsar PSR
B1046-58. Kaspi et al. (2000, ApJ 528, 445) phase-folded the archival
EGRET data at the radio pulsar ephemeris and detected a modulation
with a chance probability of ~10-4. However, additional
support for this association was desirable because of the difficulty
in interpreting the pulse significance. Pivovaroff et al. (2000, ApJ
528, 436) extracted from the HEASARC archive the ASCA data for this
field and found an unusual source which spatially coincides with the
radio pulsar and the much larger EGRET error circle. The X-ray source
is not pulsed. Kaspi et al. suggest that this is a synchrotron
nebula. If the association between PSR B1046-58 and 2EG J1049-5847 is
correct, then this is only the eighth pulsar to show evidence for
high-energy gamma-ray pulsation.
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Last modified: Monday, 19-Jun-2006 11:24:57 EDT
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