Abstract Details
| Name: Prakash Arumugasamy Affiliation: NCRA-TIFR Conference ID: ASI2017_1299 Title : Absorption-like features in middle-aged pulsars Authors and Co-Authors : Prakash Arumugasamy, NCRA-TIFR Abstract Type : Oral Abstract Category : Stars,ISM and the Galaxy Abstract : X-ray emission in pulsars originates from the hot stellar surface via thermal and from the magnetosphere via non-thermal processes. The spectra observed from pulsars spanning a wide range of characteristic ages are hence well-fit with a single or a combination of blackbody and/or power-law models. Middle-aged pulsars (100 - 1000 yr characteristic ages) are ideal for studying the phase-resolved variations of these emission components simultaneously, and some of them are bright enough to provide high signal-to-noise data in reasonable integration times. I will focus on two such objects where in addition to the conventional continuum emission components, we detected broad absorption-like features between 0.5 - 1 keV. I will discuss the possible origins of absorption lines in pulsar atmosphere and magnetospheres as well as the thermal or magnetic processes that mimic such features. Finally, I will motivate the work needed to devise realistic models to explain these features. |