On the complex X-ray structure tracing the motion of Geminga

Abstract

A deep (100 ks) XMM-Newton observation of Geminga has shown two faint tails of diffuse X-ray emission, extending for ~2' behind the pulsar, well aligned with the proper motion (PM) direction. We report here on a recent ~20 ks Chandra observation, which unveils a new structure, ~25'' long and ~5'' thick, starting at the pulsar position and perfectly aligned with the PM direction, with a surface brightness ~40 times higher than that of the XMM Tails. The Chandra comet-like feature has a remarkably hard spectrum (photon index 0.9-1.4) and a luminosity of ~5.5x10^28 erg s^-1, comparable to the energetics of the larger XMM one. Geminga is thus the first neutron star to show a clear X-ray evidence of a large-scale, outer bow-shock as well as a short, inner cometary trail.

5 pages, accepted for publication in A&A Letters

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• The pulsar wind nebula of the Geminga pulsar
• A broadband X-ray study of the Geminga pulsar with NuSTAR and XMM-Newton
• New X-ray observations of the Geminga pulsar wind nebula
• Detection of extended gamma-ray emission around the Geminga pulsar with H.E.S.S
• The Vela and Geminga pulsars in the mid-infrared
• Chandra and XMM-Newton Observations of the Vela-like Pulsar B1046-58
• Search for VHE gamma-ray emission from Geminga pulsar and nebula with the MAGIC telescopes
• Detection of continuum radio emission associated with Geminga