High State in the Central Object of RCW103

G. P. Garmire,A. B. Garmire, G. Pavlov, D. N. Burrows (Penn State University)



[Contributed talk, 15min.]


Abstract

The Chandra X-ray Observatory observed 1E 61348-5055, the central X-ray source in the supernova remnant RCW103 on September 23, 1999 and on February 8, 2000 for approximately 20 ks each. The Central Sources was found to be a factor of fifty times brighter in February than in September. The periodic modulation of the intensity observed in September was not visible in February, but the source was observed to vary by  20 period. The position was determined and found to lie within 0.5 arcseconds of the position found in September. Spectral information on the source in its high and low state is presented. Four more observations of the source have been conducted this year to monitor the Central Object. It has remained in a relatively high state during each observation. An attempt to observe the source optically will be made in July at Cerro Tololo.

This work was supported by NASA grant NAS 8-38252.

CATEGORY: SUPERNOVAE, SUPERNOVA REMNANTS AND ISOLATED NEUTRON STARS



 

Himel Ghosh
2001-08-02