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Title:
The Nature of the Radio-quiet Compact X-Ray Source in SNR RCW 103
Authors:
Gotthelf, E. V.; Petre, R.; Hwang, U.
Publication:
Astrophysical Journal Letters v.487, p.L175 (ApJL Homepage)
Publication Date:
10/1997
Origin:
APJ
ApJ Keywords:
STARS: NEUTRON, STARS: INDIVIDUAL ALPHANUMERIC: 1E 161348-5055, STARS: INDIVIDUAL ALPHANUMERIC: RCW 103, ISM: SUPERNOVA REMNANTS, X-RAYS: STARS
DOI:
10.1086/310900
Bibliographic Code:
1997ApJ...487L.175G

Abstract

We consider the nature of the elusive neutron star candidate 1E 161348-5055 using X-ray observations obtained with ASCA. The compact X-ray source is centered on the shell-type Galactic supernova remnant RCW 103 and has been interpreted as a cooling neutron star associated with the remnant. The X-ray spectrum of the remnant shell can be characterized by a nonequilibrium ionization (NEI) thermal model for a shocked plasma of temperature kT~0.3 keV. The spectrum falls off rapidly above 3 keV to reveal a point source in the spectrally resolved images, at the location of 1E 161348-5055. A blackbody model fit to the source spectrum yields a temperature kT=0.6 keV, with an unabsorbed 0.5--10 keV luminosity of L_{{X}}~1034 ergs s ^{-1} (for an assumed distance of 3.3 kpc), both of which are at least a factor of 2 higher than predicted by cooling neutron star models. Alternatively, a power-law model for the source continuum gives a steep photon index of alpha ~3.2 , similar to that of other radio-quiet, hard X-ray point sources associated with supernova remnants. 1E 161348-5055 may be prototypical of a growing class of radio-quiet neutron stars revealed by ASCA; we suggest that these objects account for previously hidden neutron stars associated with supernova remnants.
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