@article{2d2edd39098e4486b63ad6f49575b3cc,
title = "Discovery of Extended Infrared Emission around the Neutron Star RXJ0806.4-4123",
abstract = "Following up on a faint detection of a near-infrared (NIR) source at the position of the X-ray thermal isolated neutron star RX J0806.4-4123, we present new Hubble Space Telescope observations in the H-band. The NIR source is unambiguously detected with a Vega magnitude of 23.7 ±0.2 (flux density of 0.40 ± 0.06 μJy at λ = 1.54 μm). The source position is coincident with the neutron star position, and the implied NIR flux is strongly in excess of what one would expect from an extrapolation of the optical-UV spectrum of RX J0806.4-4123. The NIR source is extended, with a size of at least 0.″8, and shows some asymmetry. The conservative upper limit on the flux contribution of a point source is 50%. Emission from gas and dust in the ambient diffuse interstellar medium can be excluded as a cause for the extended emission. The source parameters are consistent with an interpretation as either the first NIR-only detected pulsar wind nebula or the first resolved disk around an isolated neutron star.",
author = "B. Posselt and Pavlov, {G. G.} and U. Ertan and S. Cali{\c s}kan and Luhman, {K. L.} and Williams, {C. C.}",
note = "Funding Information: †Based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnolog{\'i}a e Innovaci{\'o}n Productiva (Argentina), and Minist{\'e}rio da Ci{\^e}ncia, Tecnologia e Inova{\c c}{\~a}o (Brazil). Funding Information: C.C.W acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship grant AST-1701546. Funding Information: The Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds is supported by the Pennsylvania State University, the Eberly College of Science, and the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium. Funding Information: B.P. acknowledges support for this work (program 14745) by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. Funding Information: {\"U}.E. acknowledges research support from T{\"U}BİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) through grants 117F144 and and from Sabancı University. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.",
year = "2018",
month = sep,
day = "20",
doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/aad6df",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "865",
journal = "Astrophysical Journal",
issn = "0004-637X",
publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",
number = "1",
}