A neutron star with a carbon atmosphere in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant
A neutron star with a carbon atmosphere in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant
The surface of hot neutron stars is covered by a thin atmosphere. If there is accretion after neutron-star formation, the atmosphere could be composed of light elements (H or He); if no accretion takes place or if thermonuclear reactions occur after accretion, heavy elements (for example, Fe) are expected. Despite detailed searches, observations have been unable to confirm the atmospheric composition of isolated neutron stars1. Here we report an analysis of archival observations of the compact X-ray source in the centre of the Cassiopeia?A supernova remnant. We show that a carbon atmosphere neutron star (with low magnetic field) produces a good fit to the spectrum. Our emission model, in contrast with others2, 3, 4, implies an emission size consistent with theoretical predictions for the radius of neutron stars. This result suggests that there is nuclear burning in the surface layers5, 6 and also identifies the compact source as a very young (~330-year-old) neutron star
71-73
Ho, Wynn C. G.
d78d4c52-8f92-4846-876f-e04a8f803a45
Heinke, Craig O.
d7382ed2-cb85-4e15-b2d9-296fc8b6221d
5 November 2009
Ho, Wynn C. G.
d78d4c52-8f92-4846-876f-e04a8f803a45
Heinke, Craig O.
d7382ed2-cb85-4e15-b2d9-296fc8b6221d
Ho, Wynn C. G. and Heinke, Craig O.
(2009)
A neutron star with a carbon atmosphere in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant.
Nature, 462 (7269), .
(doi:10.1038/nature08525).
Abstract
The surface of hot neutron stars is covered by a thin atmosphere. If there is accretion after neutron-star formation, the atmosphere could be composed of light elements (H or He); if no accretion takes place or if thermonuclear reactions occur after accretion, heavy elements (for example, Fe) are expected. Despite detailed searches, observations have been unable to confirm the atmospheric composition of isolated neutron stars1. Here we report an analysis of archival observations of the compact X-ray source in the centre of the Cassiopeia?A supernova remnant. We show that a carbon atmosphere neutron star (with low magnetic field) produces a good fit to the spectrum. Our emission model, in contrast with others2, 3, 4, implies an emission size consistent with theoretical predictions for the radius of neutron stars. This result suggests that there is nuclear burning in the surface layers5, 6 and also identifies the compact source as a very young (~330-year-old) neutron star
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Published date: 5 November 2009
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Local EPrints ID: 173737
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/173737
ISSN: 0028-0836
PURE UUID: d0b8cac9-854c-4e8c-b8d5-7628ad2f8938
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Date deposited: 09 Feb 2011 08:35
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:31
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Author:
Craig O. Heinke
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