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arXiv · 1805.00496

Gazing at the ultra-slow magnetar in RCW 103 with NuSTAR and Swift

A. Borghese·F. Coti Zelati·P. Esposito·N. Rea·A. De Luca·M. Bachetti·G. L. Israel·R. Perna·J. A. Pons
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Abstract

We report on a new NuSTAR observation and on the ongoing Swift XRT monitoring campaign of the peculiar source 1E 161348-5055, located at the centre of the supernova remnant RCW 103, which is recovering from its last outburst in June 2016. The X-ray spectrum at the epoch of the NuSTAR observation can be described by either two absorbed blackbodies ($kT_{BB_1}$ ~ 0.5 keV, $kT_{BB_2}$ ~ 1.2 keV) or an absorbed blackbody plus a power law ($kT_{BB_1}$ ~ 0.6 keV, $Γ$ ~ 3.9). The observed flux was ~ 9 $\times$ 10$^{-12}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, ~ 3 times lower than what observed at the outburst onset, but about one order of magnitude higher than the historical quiescent level. A periodic modulation was detected at the known 6.67 hr periodicity. The spectral decomposition and evolution along the outburst decay are consistent with 1E 161348-5055 being a magnetar, the slowest ever detected.

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A. Borghese, F. Coti Zelati, P. Esposito, N. Rea, A. De Luca, M. Bachetti, G. L. Israel, R. Perna, J. A. Pons. 2018-05-01. Gazing at the ultra-slow magnetar in RCW 103 with NuSTAR and Swift. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras%2Fsty1119

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