Related papers: Neutron Star Astronomy with the HST
Recent observations by XMM-Newton detected rotational pulsations in the total brightness and spectrum of several neutron stars. To properly interpret the data, accurate modeling of neutron star emission is necessary. Detailed analysis of…
Recent optical astrometric and spectroscopic surveys have identified numerous neutron star (NS) candidates in non-accreting detached binary systems, but their compact-object nature remains unconfirmed. In this work, we present targeted…
In these lecture notes I briefly discuss the present day situation and new discoveries in astrophysics of neutron stars focusing on isolated objects. The latter include soft gamma repeaters, anomalous X-ray pulsars, central compact objects…
The X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission XMM-Newton is ESA's largest observatory so far; it is dedicated to explore the Universe in the 0.2 - 15 keV X-ray band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of its large collecting area very faint sources…
Discovered over fifty years ago, neutron stars exhibit a remarkable variety of behaviors depending on their age, magnetic field strength, rotational dynamics, emission mechanisms, and surrounding environments. This diversity in their…
Observations of cooling neutron stars allow to measure photospheric radii and to constrain the equation of state of nuclear matter at high densities. In this paper we concentrate on neutron stars, which show thermal (photospheric) X-ray…
The mass of single neutron stars (NSs) can be measured using astrometric microlensing events. In such events, the center-of-light motion of a star lensed by a NS will deviate from the expected non-lensed motion and this deviation can be…
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…
Ultraviolet (UV) planetary astronomy is a unique tool to probe planetary environments of the solar system and beyond. But despite a rising interest for new generation giant UV telescopes regularly proposed to international agencies, none…
Neutron stars cooling passively since their birth may be reheated in their late-stage evolution by a number of possible phenomena: rotochemical, vortex creep, crust cracking, magnetic field decay, or more exotic processes such as removal of…
New ground-based telescopes and instruments, the return of the NICMOS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and the recent launch of the Spitzer Space Telescope have provided new tools that are being utilized in the study of…
The possibility for direct investigation of thermal emission from isolated neutron stars was opened about 25 years ago with the launch of the first X-ray observatory, Einstein. A significant contribution to this study was provided by ROSAT…
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…
A neutron star was first detected as a pulsar in 1967. It is one of the most mysterious compact objects in the universe, with a radius of the order of 10 km and masses that can reach two solar masses. In fact, neutron stars are star…
The study of neutron stars, or more general compact stars, is a topic of central interest in nuclear astrophysics. Furthermore, neutron stars serve as the only physical systems whose properties can be used to infer information on cold and…
PSR J1518+4904 is one of only 9 known double neutron star systems. These systems are highly valuable for measuring the masses of neutron stars, measuring the effects of gravity, and testing gravitational theories. We determine an improved…
The Wide-Field X-ray Telescope (WFXT) is a proposed NASA mission dedicated to performing surveys of the sky in the soft X-ray band (0.3-6 keV). The key characteristics of this missions are a constant point spread function with Half Energy…
Observations obtained in the last years challenged the widespread notion that rotation-powered neutron stars are steady X-ray emitters. Besides a few allegedly rotation-powered neutron stars that showed "magnetar-like" variability, a…
This is a review of X-ray emission from all types of isolated neutron stars, with an emphasis on rotation-powered pulsars. Topics include magnetospheric and thermal emission, as well as pulsar wind nebulae.
Highly magnetised rapidly spinning neutron stars are widely considered to be natural sites for acceleration of charged particles. Powerful acceleration mechanism due to unipolar induction is thought to operate in the magnetospheres of…