Related papers: Multi-wavelength observations of isolated neutron …
Forty years passed since the optical identification of the first isolated neutron star (INS), the Crab pulsar. 25 INSs have been now identified in the optical (O), near-ultraviolet (nUV), or near-infrared (nIR), hereafter UVOIR, including…
Almost 30 Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs) of different flavours have been identified at optical, ultraviolet, or infrared (UVOIR) wavelengths. Here, I present a short review of the historical background and describe the scientific impact of…
Being fast rotating objects, Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs) are natural targets for high-time resolution observations across the whole electromagnetic spectrum. With the number of objects detected at optical (plus ultraviolet and infrared)…
In the last years, optical studies of Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs) have expanded from the more classical rotation-powered ones to other categories, like the Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) and the Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs), which make…
Forty years have gone by since the optical identification of the Crab pulsar (PSR B0531+21), and 25 isolated neutron stars of different types have been now identified. Observations with ESO telescopes historically played a pivotal role in…
Being fast rotating objects, isolated neutron stars (INSs) are obvious targets for high-time resolution observations. With the number of optical/UV/IR INS detections now increased to 24, timing observations become more and more important in…
So far, 24 Isolated neutron stars (INSs) of different types have been identified at optical wavelengths, from the classical radio pulsars to more peculiar objects, like the magnetars. Most identifications have been obtained in the last 20…
Polarisation measurements of pulsars and of their pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are uniquely able to provide deep insights into the highly magnetised relativistic environment of young, rotation-powered isolated neutron stars (INSs). Besides…
The largest number of known young neutron stars are observed as spin-powered pulsars. While the majority of those are detected at radio frequencies, an increasing number can be studied at other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum as well.…
X-ray emission is a common feature of all varieties of isolated neutron stars (INS) and, thanks to the advent of sensitive instruments with good spectroscopic, timing, and imaging capabilities, X-ray observations have become an essential…
Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs) were the first sources identified in the field of high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. At first, in the 70s, there were only two identified sources, the Crab and Vela pulsars. However, although few in number, these…
Only 1% of the Isolated Neutron Star (INS) population has been identified in the optical, albeit with different degrees of confidence. Optical observations of INSs are reviewed and their emission properties discussed in an evolutionary…
High-energy observations have unveiled peculiar classes of isolated neutron stars which, at variance with radio pulsars, are mostly radio silent and not powered by the star rotation. Among these objects are the magnetars, hyper-magnetized…
The X-ray spectra of isolated neutron stars (INSs) typically include a thermal component, that comes from the cooling surface, and a non-thermal component, produced by highly-relativistic particles accelerated in the stellar magnetosphere.…
Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars, that radiate at the expense of their strong magnetic field and their high surface temperature. Five decades of multi-wavelength observations showed a large variety of physical parameters, such as…
Observations of the 5 confirmed optical pulsars indicate that the peak emission scales according to the outer field strength. We show that this gives gives further confirmation that a simple phenomenological models such as Pacini and…
After reviewing the multifrequency behaviour of the Isolated Neutron Stars detected so far, we analyze for each object the efficiency of conversion of the star's rotational energy loss into optical, X and gamma radiation. Although the…
The X-ray dim isolated neutron stars (XDINSs) are peculiar pulsar-like objects, characterized by their very well Planck-like spectrum. In studying their spectral energy distributions, the optical/UV excess is a long standing problem.…
I review the results of radio and X-ray searches for pulsations from young neutron stars, emphasizing work accomplished in the last five years. I cover undirected searches, as well as directed searches of pulsar wind nebulae, EGRET…
The results of optical studies of Isolated Neutron Stars (INSs), their Pulsar-Wind Nebulae (PWNe) and Pulsar Bow Shocks are reviewed and discussed.