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0901.1006[abs pdf]
- Title:
Proper motions of thermally emitting isolated neutron stars measured
with Chandra
Authors:
C. Motch,
A. M. Pires,
F. Haberl,
A. Schwope,
V. E. Zavlin
The remarkable astrometric capabilities of Chandra offer the possibility to
measure proper motions of X-ray sources with an unprecedented accuracy in this
wavelength range. We recently completed a proper motion survey of three of the
seven thermally emitting radio-quiet isolated neutron stars (INSs) discovered
in the ROSAT all-sky survey. These INSs (RX J0420.0-5022, RX J0806.4-4123, and
RX J1308.6+2127) either lack an optical counterpart or have one so faint that
ground based or space born optical observations push the current possibilities
of the instrumentation to the limit. Pairs of ACIS observations were acquired 3
to 5 years apart to measure the displacement of the sources on the X-ray sky
using as reference the background of extragalactic or remote Galactic X-ray
sources. We derive 2 sigma upper limits of 123 mas/yr and 86 mas/yr on the
proper motion of RX J0420.0-5022 and RX J0806.4-4123, respectively. RX
J1308.6+2127 exhibits a very significant displacement (~ 9 sigma) yielding mu =
220 +/- 25 mas/yr, the second fastest measured among all ROSAT discovered INSs.
The source is probably moving away rapidly from the Galactic plane at a speed
which precludes any significant accretion of matter from the interstellar
medium. Its transverse velocity of ~ 740 (d/700pc) km/s might be the largest of
all ROSAT INSs and its corresponding spatial velocity stands among the fastest
recorded for neutron stars. RX J1308.6+2127 is thus a middle-aged (age ~ 1 My)
high velocity cooling neutron star. We investigate its possible origin in
nearby OB associations or from a field OB star. In most cases, the flight time
from birth place appears significantly shorter than the characteristic age
derived from spin down rate. The distribution in transverse velocity of ROSAT
INSs is not statistically different from that of normal radio pulsars.
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