Salvetti, D;
Mignani, RP;
Luca, AD;
Delvaux, C;
Pallanca, C;
Belfiore, A;
Marelli, M;
... Pizzoccaro, D; + view all
(2015)
Multi-wavelength observations of 3FGL J2039.6-5618: a candidate redback millisecond pulsar.
The Astrophysical Journal
, 814
(2)
, Article 88. 10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/88.
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Abstract
We present multi-wavelength observations of the unassociated gamma-ray source 3FGL J2039.6-5618 detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The source gamma-ray properties suggest that it is a pulsar, most likely a millisecond pulsar, for which neither radio nor $\gamma$-ray pulsations have been detected yet. We observed 3FGL J2039.6-5618 with XMM-Newton and discovered several candidate X-ray counterparts within/close to the gamma-ray error box. The brightest of these X-ray sources is variable with a period of 0.2245$\pm$0.0081 d. Its X-ray spectrum can be described by a power law with photon index $\Gamma_X =1.36\pm0.09$, and hydrogen column density $N_{\rm H} < 4 \times 10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$, which gives an unabsorbed 0.3--10 keV X-ray flux of $1.02 \times 10^{-13}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. Observations with the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector (GROND) discovered an optical counterpart to this X-ray source, with a time-average magnitude $g'\sim 19.5$. The counterpart features a flux modulation with a period of 0.22748$\pm$0.00043 d that coincides, within the errors, with that of the X-ray source, confirming the association based on the positional coincidence. We interpret the observed X-ray/optical periodicity as the orbital period of a close binary system where one of the two members is a neutron star. The light curve profile of the companion star, with two asymmetric peaks, suggests that the optical emission comes from two regions at different temperatures on its tidally-distorted surface. Based upon its X-ray and optical properties, we consider this source as the most likely X-ray counterpart to 3FGL J2039.6-5618, which we propose to be a new redback system.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Multi-wavelength observations of 3FGL J2039.6-5618: a candidate redback millisecond pulsar |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/88 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/88 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is the published version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | binaries: general, gamma rays: stars, pulsars: general, stars: variables: general |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1529970 |
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