Spectral and temporal monitoring of the isolated neutron star RX J1308.6+2127 with XMM-Newton

C. Airhart, P. M. Woods, V. E. Zavlin, M. H. Finger, M. H. Van Kerkwijk, D. L. Kaplan, C. Kouveliotou, G. G. Pavlov

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The isolated neutron star (INS) RX J1308.6+2127 has been observed with Chandra and XMM-Newton several times between 2000 and 2007. The six most recent XMM-Newton observations are part of a monitoring campaign we initiated to study the long-term temporal and spectral properties of INSs. The primary goal of this investigation is to better quantify the similarities and differences between INSs and magnetar candidates (i.e. Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft Gamma Repeaters) in terms of their spectral and temporal variability. Here, we present our analysis of the current data set and show that (i) the energy spectrum is well modeled by a blackbody with two absorption lines, (ii) the spectral parameters do not show significant time variability over the last seven years, (iii) the pulse profile is strongly energy dependent, but stationary, and (iv) the pulse frequency evolution is consistent with monotonic spin-down. Our spectral and temporal results are consistent with earlier analyses by Schwope et al. [8] and Kaplan and van Kerkwijk [5], respectively. The inclusion of the new monitoring data provides more precise constraints on both spectral and temporal parameters of this INS. For isolated neutron stars whose X-ray emission is not powered by spin-down (INSs, AXPs and SGRs), RX J1308.6+2127 is among the most stable members.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication40 Years Of Pulsars
Subtitle of host publicationMillisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More
Pages345-347
Number of pages3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008
Event40 Years Of Pulsars: Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More - Montreal, QC, Canada
Duration: Aug 12 2007Aug 17 2007

Publication series

NameAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume983
ISSN (Print)0094-243X
ISSN (Electronic)1551-7616

Other

Other40 Years Of Pulsars: Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityMontreal, QC
Period8/12/078/17/07

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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