ROSAT HRI Observations of the Crab Pulsar: An Improved Temperature upper limit for PSR 0531+21

Abstract

ROSAT HRI observations have been used to determine an upper limit of the Crab pulsar surface temperature from the off-pulse count rate. For a neutron star mass of 1.4 \Mo and a radius of 10 km as well as the standard distance and interstellar column density, the redshifted temperature upper limit is\/ $T_s^{\infty }\le 1.55\times 10^6$ K $(3\ddot{I}ƒ)$. This is the lowest temperature upper limit obtained for the Crab pulsar so far. Slightly different values for $T_s^{\infty }$ are computed for the various neutron star models available in the literature, reflecting the difference in the equation of state.

5 pages, uuencoded postscript, to be published in the Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Insitute on "Lives of the Neutron Stars", ed. A. Alpar, U. Kiziloglu and J. van Paradijs ( Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1995 ).