[ITAL]ASCA[/ITAL] Detection of Pulsed X-Ray Emission from PSR J0631+1036

Abstract

ASCA's long look at the 288 millisecond radio pulsar, PSR J0631+1036, reveals coherent X-ray pulsation from this source for the first time. The source was first detected in the serendipitous Einstein observation and later identified as a radio pulsar. Possible pulsation in the gamma-ray band has been detected from the CGRO EGRET data (Zepka, et al. 1996). The X-ray spectrum in the ASCA band is characterized by a hard power-law type emission with a photon index of about 2.3, when fitted with a single power-law function modified with absorption. An additional blackbody component of about 0.14 keV increases the quality of the spectral fit. The observed X-ray flux is 2.1e-13 ergs/s/cm2 in the 1-10 keV band. We find that many characteristics of PSR J0631+1036 are similar to those of middle-aged gamma-ray pulsars such as PSR B1055-52, PSR B0633+17 (Geminga), and PSR B0656+14.