XMM-Newton reveals a precessing neutron star

Research report (imported) 2006 - Max Planck Institute for extraterrestrial Physics

Authors
Haberl, Frank
Departments
Röntgen- und Gammastrahlen-Astronomie (Dr. Peter Predehl), MPI für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching
Summary
Observations of nearby neutrons stars with the X-ray observatory XMM-Newton revealed a surprising discovery: variations in the X-ray spectrum of RX J0720.4-3125 were found over only a few years. The likely conclusion is that the neutron star precesses. The study of precession may provide an interesting tool to learn more about the inner structure of neutron

For the full text, see the German version.

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