A long-period, violently variable X-ray source in a young supernova remnant.
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.
De Luca
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Istituto Nazionale d'Astrofisica-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Via Bassini 15, I-20133 Milano, Italy. deluca@iasf-milano.inaf.it
Caraveo
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Mereghetti
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Tiengo
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Bignami
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