Chandra detection of a new diffuse X-ray component from the globular cluster 47 Tucanae

Abstract

In re-analyzing the archival Chandra data of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, we have detected a new diffuse X-ray emission feature within the half-mass radius of the cluster. The spectrum of the diffuse emission can be described by a power-law model plus a plasma component with photon index $\Gamma \sim 1.0$ and plasma temperature $kT\sim 0.2$ keV. While the thermal component is apparently uniform, the non-thermal contribution falls off exponentially from the core. The observed properties could possibly be explained in the context of multiple shocks resulted from the collisions among the stellar wind in the cluster and the inverse Compton scattering between the pulsar wind and the relic photons.

14 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

References in corpus (3)

• Dynamical Formation of Close Binaries in Globular Clusters II: Cataclysmic Variables
• Neutron stars in globular clusters: formation and observational manifestations
• Diffuse X-ray emission in globular cluster cores

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Ejection of globular cluster interstellar media through ionization by white dwarfs
• The X-ray Emissivity of Low-Density Stellar Populations
• Deep observations of the globular cluster M15 with the MAGIC telescopes
• Identifying the brightest Galactic globular clusters for future observations by H.E.S.S. and CTA
• Characterizing the Gamma-ray Emission Properties of the Globular Cluster M5 with the Fermi-LAT