RX J0420.0-5022: An isolated neutron star candidate with evidence for 22.7 s X-ray pulsations
| dc.creator | Haberl, F. | |
| dc.creator | Pietsch, W. | |
| dc.creator | Motch, C. | |
| dc.date | 1999-11-10 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T02:34:18Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T02:34:18Z | |
| dc.description | We report the discovery of a new isolated neutron star candidate, RX J0420.0-5022, showing evidence (4 sigma) for 22.7 s X-ray pulsations in ROSAT data. NTT observations of the field around the soft X-ray source do not reveal any likely optical counterpart brighter than B = 25.25 implying an X-ray to optical flux ratio of >10^3.3 and ruling out other possible kinds of X-ray emitters. The X-ray spectrum of RX J0420.0-5022 can be described with blackbody emission with temperature kT of about 57 eV and four ROSAT detections are consistent with no flux variations on time scales of years. The X-ray pulsations, if confirmed, make RX J0420.0-5022 the second long-period isolated neutron star candidate after RX J0720.4-3125. As for this latter source similar conclusions about the magnetic field strength of the neutron star can be drawn depending on evolutionary scenarios. | |
| dc.description | 5 pages, LaTex, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A Letters | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9911159 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9911159 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/15191 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | RX J0420.0-5022: An isolated neutron star candidate with evidence for 22.7 s X-ray pulsations | |
| dc.type | text |