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UVOIR Spectrum, X-Ray Emission, and Proper Motion of the Isolated Neutron Star RX J2143.0+0654

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Abstract

We observed the isolated neutron star (NS) RX J2143.0+0654 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the UVOIR wavelength range (0.14-1.7 μm). The UV part is consistent with a Rayleigh-Jeans tail of a thermal spectrum, fν ∝ ν2, while a power-law spectrum, fν ∝ να with α ∼ −0.8, dominates in the near-IR-optical. A joint fit of the UVOIR and contemporaneous X-ray spectra with a two-component blackbody with possible absorption features + power-law optical spectrum yields the following temperature and apparent radius of the colder component (which gives the main contribution in the UV): kTcold ≈ 45 eV and Rcold ≈ 6d260 km, where d260 is the distance in units of 260 pc. The temperature and radius of the hotter component, kThot ≈ 106 eV and Rhot ≈ 1.5d260 km; the parameters of an absorption feature at 0.74 keV; and the properties of X-ray pulsations are the same as found in previous X-ray observations. In the near-IR images, the NS is possibly surrounded by extended emission with a characteristic size of ∼2″ and flux densities of about 1.7 and 0.9 μJy at 1.54 and 1.15 μm, respectively. Comparison with a previous HST observation in the optical 14 yr ago shows a proper motion μ ≈ 6 mas yr−1, which corresponds to a small transverse velocity of 7d260 km s−1. It is consistent with the hypothesis that the NS was born in the vicinity of the solar system about 0.5 Myr ago.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number79
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume996
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2026

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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