Observing the cooling of neutron stars reheated by accretion provides uniqueinsights into neutron-star structure. Here we propose to continue ourobservations of the cooling neutron star in MAXI J0556-332, a transient that hadbeen accreting at near/super-Eddington rates for 16 months when it returned toquiescence in May 2012. XMM-Newton and Chandra observations in quiescence haverevealed an extraordinarily hot and rapidly cooling neutron star, implying verystrong heat sources in the shallow outer crust. We request a 106 ks XMM-Newtonobservation of MAXI J0556-332 to investigate if the remarkable properties of theouter crust extend to deeper crustal layers and to constrain the possible onsetof a phase of more rapid cooling.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2017-04-02T04:34:10Z/2017-04-03T10:14:10Z
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, 2018, 'Cooling of the super-heated neutron star in MAXI J0556-332', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-l4lax7o
