A Long-Period, Violently Variable X-ray Source in a Young Supernova Remnant
A. De Luca,1*
P. A. Caraveo,1
S. Mereghetti,1
A. Tiengo,1
G. F. Bignami2,3
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.
1 Istituto Nazionale d'Astrofisica–Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Via Bassini 15, I-20133 Milano, Italy.
2 Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS-UPS, 9 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31028 Toulouse Cedex 4, France.
3 Dipartimento di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: deluca{at}iasf-milano.inaf.it
