The nearest neutron star candidate in a binary revealed by optical time-domain surveys

Abstract

The near-Earth (within ∼100 pc) supernova explosions in the past several million years can cause the global deposition of radioactive elements (e.g., 60Fe) on Earth. The remnants of such supernovae are too old to be easily identified. It is therefore of great interest to search for million-year-old near-Earth neutron stars or black holes, the products of supernovae. However, neutron stars and black holes are challenging to find even in our Solar neighbourhood if they are not radio pulsars or X-ray/γ-ray emitters. Here we report the discovery of one of the nearest (127.7 ± 0.3 pc) neutron star candidates in a detached single-lined spectroscopic binary LAMOST J235456.73+335625.9 (hereafter J2354). Utilizing the time-resolved ground-based spectroscopy and space photometry, we find that J2354 hosts an unseen compact object with M inv being 1.4–1.6 M ⊙. The follow-up Swift ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray observations suggest that the UV and X-ray emission is produced by the visible star rather than the compact object. Hence, J2354 probably harbours a neutron star rather than a hot ultramassive white dwarf. Two-hour exceptionally sensitive radio follow-up observations with Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope fail to reveal any pulsating radio signals at the 6σ flux upper limit of 12.5 µJy. Therefore, the neutron star candidate in J2354 can only be revealed via our time-resolved observations. Interestingly, the distance between J2354 and our Earth can be as close as ∼ 50 pc around 2.5 million years (Myrs) ago, as revealed by the Gaia kinematics. Our discovery demonstrates a promising way to unveil the hidden near-Earth neutron stars in binaries by exploring the optical time domain, thereby facilitating understanding of the metal-enrichment history in our Solar neighbourhood.