PSR B0656+14: the unified outlook from the infrared to X-rays

Abstract

We report detection of PSR B0656$+$14 with the Gran Telescopio Canarias in narrow optical $F657$, $F754$, $F802$, and $F902$ and near-infrared $JH{K}_s$ bands. The pulsar detection in the $K_s$ band extends its spectrum to 2.2 $\mu$m and confirms its flux increase towards the infrared. We also present a thorough analysis of the optical spectrum obtained by us with the VLT. For a consistency check, we revised the pulsar near-infrared and narrow-band photometry obtained with the \textit{HST}. We find no narrow spectral lines in the optical spectrum. We compile available near-infrared-optical-UV and archival 0.3-20keV X-ray data and perform a self-consistent analysis of the rotation phase-integrated spectrum of the pulsar using unified spectral models. The spectrum is best fitted by the four-component model including two blackbodies, describing the thermal emission from the neutron star surface and its hot polar cap, the broken power-law, originating from the pulsar magnetosphere, and an absorption line near $\sim$0.5 keV detected previously. The fit provides better constraints on the model parameters than using only a single spectral domain. The derived surface temperature is $T_{NS}^{\infty }=7.9(3)\times 10^5$K. The intrinsic radius (7.8-9.9 km) of the emitting region is smaller than a typical neutron star radius (13km) and suggests a nonuniform temperature distribution over the star surface. In contrast, the derived radius of the hot polar cap is about twice as large as the `canonical' one. The spectrum of the nonthermal emission steepens from the optical to X-rays and has a break near 0.1 keV. The X-ray data suggest the presence of another absorption line near 0.3keV.

18 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Upper Limit on the QCD Axion Mass from Isolated Neutron Star Cooling
• Phase-resolved X-ray spectroscopy of PSR B0656+14 with SRG/eROSITA and XMM-Newton
• Leading bounds on micro- to picometer fifth forces from neutron star cooling
• Polarization Signals from Axion-Photon Resonant Conversion in Neutron Star Magnetosphere
• A new understanding of the Gemini-Monoceros X-ray enhancement from discoveries with eROSITA
• The middle-aged pulsar PSR J1741-2054 and its bow-shock nebula in far ultraviolet
• XMM-Newton observations of PSR J0554+3107: pulsing thermal emission from a cooling high-mass neutron star
• Likely optical counterpart of the cool middle-aged pulsar J1957+5033
• Search of nearby resolved neutron stars among optical sources