| Proposal ID | 065147 |
| Title | Measuring the Spin-down of The Nearby Isolated Neutron Star RX J0420.0-5022 |
| Download Data Associated to the proposal | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0651470201 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-qne6mwk |
| Principal Investigator, PI | Prof David Kaplan |
| Abstract | The seven nearest thermally emitting neutron stars may be the best way to samplethe true demography of neutron stars, and arguably offer the best prospects formeasuring neutron-star radii. Both tasks are limited by our ignorance of theirmagnetic field strengths, and hence we have been determining timing solutionswith Chandra and XMM. The results so far show a surprising grouping of fieldstrengths in a range intermediate between normal pulsars and magnetars, with ahint at an interaction between the thermal emission and magnetic field. Here, wepropose to measure the spin-down of RX J0420.0-5022, which has the lowesttemperature of the sample and will complete the spin-down measurements forthermally emitting neutron stars with confirmed periodicities. |
| Publications |
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| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2010-03-30T11:55:07Z/2011-04-11T08:51:54Z |
| Version | 17.56_20190403_1200 |
| Mission Description | The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis. |
| Creator Contact | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk |
| Date Published | 2012-05-04T00:00:00Z |
| Last Update | 2026-03-04 |
| Keywords | "magnetic field", "neutron stars", "XMM", "neutron star radii", "range intermediate", "J0420.0", "magnetic field strengths", "thermal emission", "lowest temperature", "normal pulsars", "field strengths", "rx j0420" |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Prof David Kaplan, 2012, 'Measuring the Spin-down of The Nearby Isolated Neutron Star RX J0420.0-5022', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-qne6mwk |