SAX J1810.8-2609 is a neutron star LMXB transient with a very low quiescentluminosity. It is one of only three non-pulsars with evidence for only weakthermal quiescent emission, making it a prime source to test quiescent emissiontheories. Its quiescent emission is consistent with a pure power-law spectrumand does not require a soft (thermal) component, yet quiescent neutron starLMXBs are expected to have thermal emission associated with an accretion-heatedsurface. The lack of a thermal component would require the neutron star to becooler than can be explained by current heating and cooling models and mightrequire the designation of a new subclass of power-law-only quiescenttransients. We propose to make a deep search for thermal emission from SAX J1810.8-2609.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2015-10-09T15:19:52Z/2015-10-10T14:06:32Z
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, Prof Deepto Chakrabarty, 2016, 'Search for Thermal Emission from the Quiescent Neutron Star SAX J1810.8-2609', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-ylcay3e
