Can a bright and energetic X-ray pulsar be hiding amid the debris of SN 1987A?

Abstract

The mass of the stellar precursor of supernova (SN) 1987A and the burst of neutrinos observed at the moment of the explosion are consistent with the core-collapse formation of a neutron star. However, no compelling evidence for the presence in SN 1987A of a compact object of any kind has been found yet in any band of the electromagnetic spectrum, prompting questions on whether the neutron star survived and, if it did, on its properties. Starting from the analysis of recent Chandra observations, here we appraise the current observational situation. We derived limits on the X-ray luminosity of a compact object with a nonthermal, Crab-pulsar-like spectrum of the order of $\approx$$(1$-$5)\times 10^{35}$ erg s${}^{-1}$, corresponding to limits on the rotational energy loss of a possible X-ray pulsar in SN 1987A of $\approx$$(0.5$-$1.5)\times 10^{38}$ erg s${}^{-1}$. However, a much brighter X-ray source cannot be excluded if, as is likely, it is enshrouded in a cloud of absorbing matter with metallicity similar to that expected in the outer layers of a massive star towards the end of its life. We found that other limits obtained from various arguments and observations in other energy ranges either are unbinding or allow a similar maximum luminosity of the order of $\approx$$10^{35}$ erg s${}^{-1}$. We conclude that while a pulsar alike the one in the Crab Nebula in both luminosity and spectrum is hardly compatible with the observations, there is ample space for an `ordinary' X-ray-emitting young neutron star, born with normal initial spin period, temperature and magnetic field, to be hiding inside the evolving remnant of SN 1987A.

Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal; 10 pages, 3 color figures, 2 tables

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• The Present and Future Status of Heavy Neutral Leptons
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• High angular resolution ALMA images of dust and molecules in the SN 1987A ejecta
• NS 1987A in SN 1987A
• Exciting Prospects for Detecting Late-Time Neutrinos from Core-Collapse Supernovae
• Matter Mixing in Aspherical Core-collapse Supernovae: Three-dimensional Simulations with Single Star and Binary Merger Progenitor Models for SN 1987A
• Three-dimensional simulation of a core-collapse supernova for a binary star progenitor of SN 1987A
• The 30-Year Search for the Compact Object in SN 1987A
• Indication of a Pulsar Wind Nebula in the hard X-ray emission from SN 1987A
• Thermal Emission and Radioactive Lines, but No Pulsar, in the Broadband X-Ray Spectrum of Supernova 1987A
• Additional evidence for a pulsar wind nebula in the heart of SN 1987A from multi-epoch X-ray data and MHD modeling
• Search for a Radio Pulsar in the Remnant of Supernova 1987A
• X-ray Absorption in Young Core-Collapse Supernova Remnants
• Latest Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: Beyond the Inner Ring
• Investigating Time Evolution of Thermal Emission from the Putative Neutron Star in SN 1987A for 50+ Years