| Name | 078405 |
| Title | Thermal emission from pulsars to constrain the neutron star equation of state |
| URL | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0784050101 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-x6xilep |
| Author | Dr Natalie Webb |
| Description | Several methods exist to measure the masses and the radii of neutron stars and thus constrain the equation of state, but almost 50 years after their discovery the nature of neutron star matter is still unknown. One way to constrain the mass and the radius is to model the X-ray pulse profile of low magnetic field millisecond pulsars (MSPs), showing predominantly thermal emission and with very precise mass measurements. However, only four thermally emitting MSPs are known and just one has a precisely known mass. We request observations of two more MSPs with precisely known masses, to determine if their spectra are thermal. These MSPs can then be used to constrain the nature of neutron star matter, providing complementary information to laboratory data. |
| Publication | No observations found associated with the current proposal |
| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2016-09-20T15:08:00Z/2016-09-21T05:28:00Z |
| Version | 17.56_20190403_1200 |
| Mission Description | The European Space Agency's (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESA's 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 Earth's 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 | 2017-10-11T22:00:00Z |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, 2017-10-11T22:00:00Z, 078405, 17.56_20190403_1200. https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-x6xilep |