XMM-Newton observation of the double pulsar system J0737-3039

Abstract

We report on a 50 ksec XMM-Newton observation of the double pulsar system J0737-3039 performed on April 2004. We present results of the spectral analysis of these data combined with the much shorter Chandra pointing performed on January 2004. Black body emission with effective temperature of 0.20^{+0.02}_{-0.02} keV (90% confidence level) and emission radius 75^{+30}_{-9} m for a distance of 0.5 kpc (implying a 0.5-10 keV luminosity \~6x10^{29} erg/s) is a viable interpretation, calling for a stream of particles accelerated in the magnetosphere of PSR J0737-3039A and depositing their kinetic energy in the magnetic polar cap of PSR J0737-3039A or of the companion PSR J0737-3039B. A single power-law emission model implies a very steep photon index Gamma=4.2^{+2.1}_{-1.2} and a suspiciously high hydrogen column density, whereas a photon index Gamma=2 does not provide an adequate description of the XMM-Newton and Chandra data. A two component model (a black body plus a power-law with Gamma=2) is statistically acceptable, but the additional power-law component is not required by the data.