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X-ray Variability from the Compact Source in the Supernova Remnant RCW 103

E. V. Gotthelf·R. Petre·G. Vasisht
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Abstract

A new ASCA observation of 1E 161348-5055, the central compact X-ray source in the supernova remnant RCW 103, reveals an order-of-magnitude decrease in its 3 - 10 keV flux since the previous ASCA measurement four years earlier. This result is hard to reconcile with suggestions that the bulk of the emission is simple quasi-blackbody, cooling radiation from an isolated neutron star. Furthermore, archived EINSTEIN and ROSAT datasets spanning 18 years confirm that this source manifests long-term variability, to a lesser degree. This provides a natural explanation for difficulties encountered in reproducing the original EINSTEIN detection of 1E 161348-5055. Spectra from the new data are consistent with no significant spectral change despite the decline in luminosity. We find no evidence for a pulsed component in any of the data sets, with a best upper limit on the pulsed modulation of 13 percent. We discuss the phenomenology of this remarkable source.

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E. V. Gotthelf, R. Petre, G. Vasisht. 1999-01-26. X-ray Variability from the Compact Source in the Supernova Remnant RCW 103. https://doi.org/10.1086/311948

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