The X-ray emission properties of millisecond pulsars

dc.creatorBecker, W.
dc.creatorTrümper, J.
dc.date1998-06-30
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T02:27:18Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T02:27:18Z
dc.descriptionUntil now X-radiation from nine millisecond pulsars has been detected. In the present paper we summarize the observations and show the results of a re-analysis of archival ROSAT data. In addition we present the results of recent observations of PSR J0437-4715 with the ROSAT PSPC and HRI detectors. We show that the pulsed fraction is independent of energy in the range 0.1-2.4 keV. The pulse width as measured at X-ray energies is comparable with that observed in the radio domain. An upper limit for the X-ray luminosity of the pulsar's bow-shock visible in H_alpha is found to be L_x < 2 x 10^29 erg/s (d/180pc)^2. We further report on the discoveries of PSR J1024-0719, J1744-1134 and J2124-3358 with the ROSAT-HRI, making them the first solitary galactic millisecond pulsars detected at X-ray energies. The pulse profile of PSR J2124-3358 shows marginal evidence for a double peak structure. We finally discuss the observed emission properties of the detected millisecond pulsars and conclude that the measured power-law spectra and pulse profiles together with the close correlation between the pulsar's spin-down energy and the observed X-ray luminosity suggests a non-thermal origin for the bulk of the observed X-rays.
dc.description16 pages. To appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics (in press). A preprint with higher resolution postscript images is available via ftp://mpeu13.rosat.mpe-garching.mpg.de/outgoing/web/ms.ps.gz
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9806381
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9806381
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/12633
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleThe X-ray emission properties of millisecond pulsars
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