New optical/UV counterparts and the spectral energy distributions of nearby, thermally emitting, isolated neutron stars
New optical/UV counterparts and the spectral energy distributions of nearby, thermally emitting, isolated neutron stars
We present Hubble Space Telescope optical and ultraviolet photometry for five nearby, thermally emitting neutron stars. With these measurements, all seven such objects have confirmed optical and ultraviolet counterparts. Combining our data with archival space-based photometry, we present spectral energy distributions for all sources and measure the "optical excess": the factor by which the measured photometry exceeds that extrapolated from X-ray spectra. We find that the majority have optical and ultraviolet fluxes that are inconsistent with that expected from thermal (Rayleigh-Jeans) emission, exhibiting more flux at longer wavelengths. We also find that most objects have optical excesses between 5 and 12, but that one object (RX J2143.0+0654) exceeds the X-ray extrapolation by a factor of more than 50 at 5000 Å, and that this is robust to uncertainties in the X-ray spectra and absorption. We consider explanations for this ranging from atmospheric effects, magnetospheric emission, and resonant scattering, but find that none is satisfactory
117-[11pp]
Kaplan, David L.
a54a0e7a-50c2-46f4-83cd-d349ee2222d6
Kamble, Atish
15488a80-6f6b-406c-916f-adf279d8f759
van Kerkwijk, Marten H.
14081ea4-d86f-4b71-b6f0-e46328a7ecfc
Ho, Wynn C.G.
d78d4c52-8f92-4846-876f-e04a8f803a45
14 July 2011
Kaplan, David L.
a54a0e7a-50c2-46f4-83cd-d349ee2222d6
Kamble, Atish
15488a80-6f6b-406c-916f-adf279d8f759
van Kerkwijk, Marten H.
14081ea4-d86f-4b71-b6f0-e46328a7ecfc
Ho, Wynn C.G.
d78d4c52-8f92-4846-876f-e04a8f803a45
Kaplan, David L., Kamble, Atish, van Kerkwijk, Marten H. and Ho, Wynn C.G.
(2011)
New optical/UV counterparts and the spectral energy distributions of nearby, thermally emitting, isolated neutron stars.
Astrophysical Journal, 736 (2), .
(doi:10.1088/0004-637X/736/2/117).
Abstract
We present Hubble Space Telescope optical and ultraviolet photometry for five nearby, thermally emitting neutron stars. With these measurements, all seven such objects have confirmed optical and ultraviolet counterparts. Combining our data with archival space-based photometry, we present spectral energy distributions for all sources and measure the "optical excess": the factor by which the measured photometry exceeds that extrapolated from X-ray spectra. We find that the majority have optical and ultraviolet fluxes that are inconsistent with that expected from thermal (Rayleigh-Jeans) emission, exhibiting more flux at longer wavelengths. We also find that most objects have optical excesses between 5 and 12, but that one object (RX J2143.0+0654) exceeds the X-ray extrapolation by a factor of more than 50 at 5000 Å, and that this is robust to uncertainties in the X-ray spectra and absorption. We consider explanations for this ranging from atmospheric effects, magnetospheric emission, and resonant scattering, but find that none is satisfactory
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Published date: 14 July 2011
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Local EPrints ID: 193515
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/193515
ISSN: 0004-637X
PURE UUID: 47a1bb91-7cb8-44ed-8ecf-464c38545f45
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Date deposited: 15 Jul 2011 07:45
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 03:55
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Author:
David L. Kaplan
Author:
Atish Kamble
Author:
Marten H. van Kerkwijk
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