SAX J1808.4-3657 in Quiescence A Keystone for Neutron Star Science.pdfVIP

SAX J1808.4-3657 in Quiescence: A Keystone for Neutron Star Science ∗,† † ∗∗,§ † ¶ Heinke, C. O. , Deloye, C. J. , Jonker, P. G. , Taam, R. E. and Wijnands, R. ∗ University of Virginia, Dept. of Astronomy, P.O. Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325 †Northwestern University, Dept. of Physics Astronomy, 2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208 7 ∗∗SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA, Utrecht, the Netherlands 0 ‡Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, MA, U.S.A. 0 §Astronomical Institute, Utrecht University, PO Box 80000, 3508 TA, Utrecht, the Netherlands 2 ¶Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ, The Netherlands t c O Abstract. The accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 may be a transition object between accreting X-ray binaries and millisecond radio pulsars. We have constrained the thermal radiation from its surface through XMM-Newton X-ray 8 observations, providing strong evidence for neutrino cooling processes from the neutron star core. We have also undertaken simultaneous X-ray and optical (Gemini) observations, shedding light on whether the strong heating of the companion star in ] quiescence may be due to X-ray irradiation, or to a radio pulsar turning on when accretion stops. h p Keywords: Neutron stars, X-ray binaries, Nuclear matter, Pulsars - PACS: 97.60.Jd,97.80.Jp,26.60.Dd,97.60.Gb o r t