Anomalous X-ray pulsar
Anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) are now widely believed to be magnetars—young, isolated, highly magnetized neutron stars. These energetic X-ray pulsars are characterized by slow rotation periods of ~2–12 seconds and large magnetic fields of ~1013–1015 gauss (1 to 100 gigateslas). There are currently (as of 2017) 12 confirmed and 2 candidate AXPs.[1] The identification of AXPs with magnetars was motivated by their similarity to another enigmatic class of sources, the soft gamma repeaters.
A list of AXP candidates and their estimated rotation period in seconds, as of 2003, follows: | ||
6.98 | ||
AXP 1E 1048-59 | 6.45 | |
8.69 | ||
11.0 | ||
11.8 | ||
6.97 | ||
5.44 | ||
The second, fourth, and last names were abbreviated. |
References[]
- ^ SGR/AXP Online Catalog (An online catalog of SGR/AXP properties maintained by the pulsar group at McGill University)
Sources[]
- Van Paradijs, J.; Taam, R. E.; Van Den Heuvel, E. P. J. (1995). "On the nature of the 'anomalous' 6-s X-ray pulsars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 299: L41. Bibcode:1995A&A...299L..41V.
- Duncan, Robert C.; Thompson, Christopher (1996). "Magnetars". AIP Conference Proceedings. 366. p. 111. doi:10.1063/1.50235.
- Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Duncan, Robert C.; Thompson, Christopher (2003). "Magnetars". Scientific American. 288 (2): 34. Bibcode:2003SciAm.288b..34K. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0203-34. PMID 12561456.
External links[]
- Meissner Effect in Quark Stars (University of Calgary)
Categories:
- Anomalous X-ray pulsars
- Variable star stubs