Thermal emission from quiescent neutron stars is commonly used to constraintheir internal structure. Although often neglected, low-level accretion in thesesystems may significantly affect the interpretation of this thermal emission. Werecently began Swift monitoring of XTE J1701-462, to study low-level accretionand its impact on the quiescent properties. We detected episodes of enhancedactivity, to at least 1e35 erg/s (up from 5e33 erg/s). Here, we request a 45 ksXMM ToO observation of XTE J1701-462 to study the source spectrum during a newflare episode, to better understand the nature of low-level accretion flows andestimate the amount of heating of the neutron star that takes place.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2012-02-17T12:51:50Z/2012-02-18T03:00:28Z
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.
European Space Agency, Dr Jeroen Homan, 2013, 'Low-level accretion in the quiescent neutron-star transient XTE-J1701-462', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-v91q6s8
