Abstract
© 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. We report on a newNuSTAR observation and on the ongoing Swift X-Ray Telescope monitoring campaign of the peculiar source 1E 161348-5055, located at the centre of the supernova remnant RCW 103, which is recovering from its last outburst in 2016 June. The X-ray spectrum at the epoch of the NuSTAR observation can be described by either two absorbed blackbodies (kTBB1 ~ 0.5 keV, kTBB2 ~ 1.2 keV) or an absorbed blackbody plus a power law (kTBB1 ~ 0.6 keV, Γ ~ 3.9). The observed flux was ~9 × 10-12 erg s-1 cm-2, ~3 times lower than what observed at the outburst onset, but about one order of magnitude higher than the historical quiescent level. A periodic modulation was detected at the known 6.67 h periodicity. The spectral decomposition and evolution along the outburst decay are consistent with 1E 161348-5055 being a magnetar, the slowest ever detected.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 741-748 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 478 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Jul 2018 |
Keywords
- Stars: Individual: 1E 161348-5055
- Stars: Magnetars
- Stars: Neutron