G359.95-0.04: An Energetic Pulsar Candidate Near Sgr A*

Q.D. Wang, F.J. Lu, and E.V. Gotthelf


(1) Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
(2) Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540
(3) Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS, Beijing 100039, P.R. China
(4) Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027

Paper: MNRAS, accepted

EPrint Server: astro-ph/0512643


Abstract:

We report the discovery of a prominent nonthermal X-ray feature located near the Galactic center that we identify as an energetic pulsar wind nebula. This feature, G359.95-0.04, lies 1 lyr north of Sgr A* (in projection), is comet-like in shape, and has a power law spectrum that steepens with increasing distance from the putative pulsar. The distinct spectral and spatial X-ray characteristics of the feature are similar to those belonging the rare class of ram-pressure confined pulsar wind nebulae. The luminosity of the nebula at the distance of Sgr A*, consistent with the inferred X-ray absorptions, is Lx 1 * 1034 ergs s-1 in the 2-10 keV energy band. The cometary tail extends back to a region centered at the massive stellar complex IRS 13 and surrounded by enhanced diffuse X-ray emission, which may represent an associated supernova remnant. Furthermore, the inverse Compton scattering of the strong ambient radiation by the nebula consistently explains the observed TeV emission from the Galactic center. We also briefly discuss plausible connections of G359.95-0.04 to other high-energy sources in the region, such as the young stellar complex IRS 13 and SNR Sgr A East.


Preprints available from the authors at wqd@astro.umass.edu , or the raw TeX (no figures) if you click here.

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