A recent detection of pulsations with the 1.97 min period, modulated by thebinary period of 3.56 hr, in the radio-IR-optical-UV synchrotron emission fromthe white dwarf (WD) - M-star binary AR Sco was the first discovery of a WDpulsar powered by WD spindown. Although it is clear that the detected emissionis produced by relativistic particles, the acceleration mechanism and the sitesof emission remain uncertain. To distinguish between different models for theWD-pulsar - M-star binary, X-ray observations are particularly useful,especially at energies above 10 keV. We propose a NuSTAR observationsupplemented by a short XMM-Newton observation to investigate the X-ray spectrumand pulsations of AR Sco and infer a realistic model of this unique object.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2018-02-19T05:40:07Z/2018-02-19T14:00:07Z
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 George Pavlov, 2019, 'AR SCO: THE FIRST WHITE DWARF PULSAR', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-wy3dcr2
