A Neutron Star Identification for the High-Energy Gamma-Ray Source 3EG J1835+5918 Detected in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2001-01-24

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

N. Mirabal and J. P. Halpern, A Neutron Star Identification for the High-Energy Gamma-Ray Source 3EG J1835+5918 Detected in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, ApJ 547 L137 (2001), doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/318911

Rights

This item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
© 2001. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Subjects

Abstract

In the error box of 3EG J1835+5918, the brightest as-yet unidentified EGRET source at intermediate Galactic latitude, we find a weak, ultrasoft X-ray source at energies E < 0.3 keV in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. Deep optical imaging at the location of this source, as pinpointed by an observation with the ROSAT HRI, reveals a blank field to a limit of V > 25.2. The corresponding lower limit on fX/fV is 300, which signifies that the X-ray source is probably a thermally emitting neutron star. Considering our previous complete multiwavelength survey of the 3EG J1835+5918 region, which failed to find any other notable candidate for identification with 3EG J1835+5918, we propose that this X-ray source, RX J1836.2+5925, is a rotation-powered γ-ray pulsar that is either older or more distant than the prototype Geminga. We see marginal evidence for variability between two ROSAT HRI observations. If real, this would indicate that the X-ray emission has an external origin, perhaps due to intermittent heating of the polar caps by a variable particle accelerator. RX J1836.2+5925 could even be an old, recycled pulsar, which may nevertheless have a high γ-ray efficiency.