Possible Optical Detection of the Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar CXOU J010043.1-721134

12 July 2005

journal article
Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astrophysical Journal

Vol. 628 (2) , L135-L138
https://doi.org/10.1086/432882

Abstract

Archival Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud serendipitously reveal a possible counterpart to the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar CXOU J010043.1-721134. The candidate is faint, but its location and strange colours make it an interesting object. We estimate, that the probability of such a detection being due to a non-physical source is less than 1.5%. We have tried to confirm the identification with Gemini-South and Magellan, but the conditions were insufficiently favourable. If confirmed, the object will allow the first detailed studies of the optical and ultraviolet emission of magnetars.Comment: 9 pages LaTeX, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

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