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The 2006-2007 Active Phase Of Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61: Radiative and Timing Changes, Bursts, and Burst Spectral FeaturesAfter at least 6 years of quiescence, Anomalous X-ray Pulsar (AXP) 4U 0142+61 entered an active phase in 2006 March that lasted several months and included six X-ray bursts as well as many changes in the persistent X-ray emission. The bursts, the first seen from this AXP in >11 years of Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer monitoring, all occurred in the interval between 2006 April 6 and 2007 February 7. The burst durations ranged from 8-3x10(exp 3)s. The first five burst spectra are well modeled by blackbodies, with temperatures kT approx. 2 - 6 keV. However, the sixth burst had a complicated spectrum that is well characterized by a blackbody plus three emission features whose amplitude varied throughout the burst. The most prominent feature was at 14.0 keV. Upon entry into the active phase the pulsar showed a significant change in pulse morphology and a likely timing glitch. The glitch had a total frequency jump of (1.9+/-0.4)x10(exp -7) Hz, which recovered with a decay time of 17+/-2 days by more than the initial jump, implying a net spin-down of the pulsar. We discuss these events in the context of the magnetar model.
Document ID
20090023873
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Gavril, Fotis P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Dib, Rim
(McGill Univ. Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
Kaspi, Victoria M.
(McGill Univ. Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
April 28, 2009
Subject Category
Astronomy
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG06EO90A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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