A Search for Fallback Disks in Four Young Supernova Remnants

Abstract

We report on our search for the optical/infrared counterparts to the central compact objects in four young supernova remnants: Pup A, PKS 1209-52, RCW 103, and Cas A. The X-ray point sources in these supernova remnants are excellent targets for probing the existence of supernova fallback disks, since irradiation of a disk by a central X-ray source should lead to an infrared excess. We used ground-based optical and near-infrared imaging and Spitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared imaging to search for optical/infrared counterparts at the X-ray point source positions measured by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. We did not detect any counterparts, and hence find no evidence for fallback disks around any of these sources. In PKS 1209-52, we are able to exclude a nearby optical/infrared candidate counterpart. In RCW 103, a blend of 3 faint stars at the X-ray source position prevents us from deriving useful limits. For the other targets, the upper limits on the infrared/X-ray flux ratio are as deep as (1.0--1.7)$\times 10^{-4}$. Comparing these limits to the ratio of $\approx 6\times 10^{-5}$ measured for 4U 0142+61 (a young pulsar recently found with an X-ray irradiated dust disk), we conclude that the non-detection of any disks around young neutron stars studied here are consistent with their relatively low X-ray luminosities, although we note that a similar dust disk around the neutron star in Pup A should be detectable by deeper infrared observations.

9 pages, 5 figures, revised to address referee's comments, and accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (31)

• Maps of Dust IR Emission for Use in Estimation of Reddening and CMBR Foregrounds
• The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) for the Spitzer Space Telescope
• The u'g'r'i'z' Standard Star Network
• The Wavelength Dependence of Interstellar Extinction from 1.25 to 8.0 microns Using GLIMPSE Data
• A Debris Disk Around An Isolated Young Neutron Star
• An Accretion Model for Anomalous X-Ray Pulsars
• On Young Neutron Stars as Propellers and Accretors with Conventional Magnetic Fields
• Discovery of absorption features in the X-ray spectrum of an isolated neutron star
• Simulation of Stellar Objects in SDSS Color Space
• The Expansion Center and Dynamical Age of the Galactic Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
• Emission Spectra of Fallback Disks Around Young Neutron Stars
• The Compact Central Object in Cas A: A Neutron Star with Hot Polar Caps or a Black Hole?
• Discovery of 424 ms pulsations from the radio-quiet neutron star in the PKS 1209-52 supernova remnant
• Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy of the Crab Nebula
• The Central X-Ray Point Source in Cassiopeia A
• Nature vs. Nurture: The Origin of Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars
• X-ray emission from the old pulsar B0950+08
• XMM-Newton and VLT observations of the isolated neutron star 1E 1207.4-5209
• PANIC: A Near-infrared Camera for the Magellan Telescopes
• 1E 1207.4-5209: The puzzling pulsar at the center of the PKS 1209-51/52 supernova remnant
• Discovery of a 105 ms X-ray Pulsar in Kesteven 79: On the Nature of Compact Central Objects in Supernova Remnants
• X-ray Variability from the Compact Source in the Supernova Remnant RCW 103
• Observations of the neutral hydrogen surrounding the radio quiet neutron star RX J0822-4300 in Puppis A
• Near-Infrared and Optical Limits for the Central X-ray Point Source in the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant
• Iron Opacity and the Pulsar of Supernova 1987A
• Variations in the spin period of the radio-quiet pulsar 1E 1207.4-5209
• X-ray observations of RX J0822-4300 and Puppis-A
• Supernova Fallback and the Emergence of a Black Hole
• Influence of the neutron star 1E 161348-5055 in RCW 103 on the surrounding medium
• Pulsars With Jets May Harbor Dynamically Important Accretion Disks
• Search for an Near-IR Counterpart to the Cas A X-ray Point Source

Cited by in corpus (29)

• The r-process of stellar nucleosynthesis: Astrophysics and nuclear physics achievements and mysteries
• First search for gravitational waves from the youngest known neutron star
• Measuring the Cooling of the Neutron Star in Cassiopeia A with all Chandra X-ray Observatory Detectors
• Precise Timing of the X-ray Pulsar 1E 1207.4-5209: A Steady Neutron Star Weakly Magnetized at Birth
• Optical, ultraviolet, and infrared observations of isolated neutron stars
• Evidence for the magnetar nature of 1E 161348-5055 in RCW 103
• A JWST Survey of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
• X-ray Timing of PSR J1852+0040 in Kesteven 79: Evidence of Neutron Stars Weakly Magnetized at Birth
• PSR J2322$-$2650 -- A low-luminosity millisecond pulsar with a planetary-mass companion
• The Nature of the Compact X-ray Source in Supernova Remnant RCW 103
• AXPs/SGRs: Magnetars or Quark-stars?
• Why are pulsar planets rare?
• Deep infrared observations of the puzzling central X-ray source in RCW103
• VLT/NACO observations of the High-Magnetic field radio pulsar PSR J1119-6127
• Optical and Infrared Observations of the X-ray source 1WGA J1713.4$-$3949 in the G347.3-0.5 SNR
• Near Infrared Counterpart of 2E 1613.5-5053, the Central Source in Supernova Remnant RCW 103
• A new look at the origin of the 6.67\,hr period X-ray pulsar 1E~161348-5055
• HST and VLT observations of the neutron star 1E 1207.4-5209
• VLT observations of the Central Compact Object in the Vela Jr. supernova remnant
• The influence of fallback discs on the spectral and timing properties of neutron stars
• Deep VLT infrared observations of X-ray Dim Isolated Neutron Stars
• Herschel and Spitzer observations of slowly rotating, nearby isolated neutron stars
• Searching for Debris Disks around Seven Radio Pulsars
• Constraints on fall-back disks in radio pulsars and anomalous X-ray pulsars
• Central Compact Objects: some of them could be spinning up?
• Deep optical observations of the central X-ray source in the Puppis A supernova remnant
• Searching for Debris Disks around Isolated Pulsars
• Evidence for a Binary Companion to the Central Compact Object 1E 1207.4-5209
• Aspherical supernova explosions and formation of compact black hole low-mass X-ray binaries