HST/FOC observations confirm the presence of a spectral feature in the optical spectrum of Geminga

dc.creatorMignani, R. P.
dc.creatorCaraveo, P. A.
dc.creatorBignami, G. F.
dc.date1998-02-12
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T02:26:04Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T02:26:04Z
dc.descriptionNew optical and near-UV HST observations of Geminga are presented. When compared with previous ground-based and HST imaging, the data confirm and better define the presence of an emission feature centered at 6,000 Angstrom and superimposed on the thermal continuum best fitting the extreme-UV/soft X-ray data. This feature may be interpreted in terms of cyclotron emission originated from a mixture of H/He ions in the neutron star's atmosphere. In the case of pure Hydrogen, the feature wavelength would imply a magnetic field of order 3-5 10d11 G, consistent with the value deduced from the dynamical parameters of the pulsar. If due to a cyclotron emission, the observation of this feature would represent the first case of an in situ measurement of the surface magnetic field of an isolated neutron star.
dc.description4 pages, 1 latex figure included, Accepted for publication on Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9802158
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9802158
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/12125
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleHST/FOC observations confirm the presence of a spectral feature in the optical spectrum of Geminga
dc.typetext

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