Deep optical observations of the -ray pulsar psr j0007+7303 in the cta 1 supernova remnant
Mignani, R. P. de Luca, A. Rea, N. Shearer, A. Collins, S. Torres, D. F. Hadasch, D. Caliandro, A.
Mignani, R. P.
de Luca, A.
Rea, N.
Shearer, A.
Collins, S.
Torres, D. F.
Hadasch, D.
Caliandro, A.
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Publication Date
2013-01-29
Type
Article
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Citation
Mignani, R. P. de Luca, A.; Rea, N.; Shearer, A.; Collins, S.; Torres, D. F.; Hadasch, D.; Caliandro, A. (2013). Deep optical observations of the -ray pulsar psr j0007+7303 in the cta 1 supernova remnant. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 430 (2), 1354-1358
Abstract
The Fermi Large Area Telescope discovered the time signature of a radio-silent pulsar coincident with RX J0007.0+7302, a plerion-like X-ray source at the centre of the CTA 1 supernova remnant. The inferred timing parameters of the gamma-ray pulsar PSR J0007+7303 (P = 315.8 ms;. (P) over dot similar to 3.6 x 10(-13) s s(-1)) point to a Vela-like neutron star, with an age comparable to that of CTA 1. The PSR J0007+7303 low distance (similar to 1.4 kpc), interstellar absorption (A(V) similar to 1.6), and relatively high energy loss rate ((E) over dot similar to 4.5 x 1035 erg s-1), make it a suitable candidate for an optical follow-up. Here, we present deep optical observations of PSR J0007+7303. The pulsar is not detected in the Gran Telescopio Canarias images down to a limit of r' similar to 27.6 (3 sigma), the deepest ever obtained for this pulsar, while William Herschel Telescope images yield a limit of V similar to 26.9. Our r' -band limit corresponds to an optical emission efficiency eta(opt) = L-opt/(E) over dot less than or similar to 9.4 x 10(-8). This limit is more constraining than those derived for other Vela-like pulsars, but is still above the measured optical efficiency of the Vela pulsar. We compared the optical upper limits with the extrapolation of the XMM-Newton X-ray spectrum and found that the optical emission is compatible with the extrapolation of the X-ray power-law component, at variance with what is observed, e.g. in the Vela pulsar.
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Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publisher DOI
10.1093/mnras/stt013
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland