2006/07/07 by A. De Luca, P. A. Caraveo, S. Mereghetti +2 · 9 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Compact star #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Light curve #Magnetar #Near-Earth supernova #Neutron star #Orbital period #Period (music) #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Rotation period #Satellite #Stars #Supernova #Supernova remnant #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.1129185
Accepted for publication in Science. Published online via Science Express on 2006, July 6. 17 pages, 7 figures
openalex publication_date 2006/07/07 · arxiv created 2006/07/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Observations with the Newton X-ray Multimirror Mission satellite show a strong periodic modulation at 6.67 +/- 0.03 hours of the x-ray source at the center of the 2000-year-old supernova remnant RCW 103. No fast pulsations are visible. If genetically tied to the supernova remnant, the source could either be an x-ray binary, composed of a compact object and a low-mass star in an eccentric orbit, or an isolated neutron star. In the latter case, the combination of its age and period would indicate that it is a peculiar magnetar, dramatically slowed down, possibly by a supernova debris disc. Both scenarios require nonstandard assumptions about the formation and evolution of compact objects in supernova explosions.