View source for Astronomy:IGR J11014−6103

{{Short description|Nebula in the constellation Carina}}
[[File:Lighthouse nebula.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The pulsar IGR J1104−6103 with supernova remnant origin, nebula and jet]]

'''IGR J11014−6103''', also called the '''Lighthouse Nebula''', is a [[Astronomy:Pulsar wind nebula|pulsar wind nebula]] trailing the neutron star which has the longest [[Astronomy:Astrophysical jet|relativistic jet]] observed in the [[Astronomy:Milky Way|Milky Way]].

==Description==

The object consists of a [[Astronomy:Neutron star|neutron star]] with a radius of about 12&nbsp;km, which formed about 10,000–30,000 years ago in a [[Astronomy:Supernova|supernova]] explosion. The explosion "kicked" the neutron star, which is now moving through space with a velocity of between 0.3% and 0.8% of the [[Physics:Speed of light|speed of light]], faster than almost all other known runaway neutron stars. The pulsar is now about 60 light-years from the original supernova location.

The neutron star is the source of a [[Astronomy:Astrophysical jet|relativistic helical jet]], which is observed in [[Physics:X-rays|X-rays]] but has no detected radio signature.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/02/19/3948039.htm|title=Runaway pulsar has astronomers scratching their heads|publisher=News in Science (ABC Science)|date=2014-02-19}}</ref> In the composite processed image (right) the [[Astronomy:Neutron star|neutron star]] pulsar is the point-like object with a [[Astronomy:Pulsar wind nebula|pulsar wind nebula]] tail trailing behind it for about 3 [[Astronomy:Light-year|light-year]]s. The jet, aligned with the pulsar rotation axis, is perpendicular to the pulsar's trajectory and extends out over 37 light-years (about nine times the distance from the Sun to the nearest visible star). The estimated velocity of the jet is about 80% of the [[Physics:Speed of light|speed of light]].

The star was initially presumed to be rapidly spinning but later measurements indicate that its spin rate is only 15.9&nbsp;Hz.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2014/02/aa22588-13.pdf|doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201322588|title=The long helical jet of the Lighthouse nebula, IGR J11014-6103|journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics|volume=562|pages=A122|year=2014|last1=Pavan|first1=L.|last2=Bordas|first2=P.|last3=Pühlhofer|first3=G.|last4=Filipović|first4=M. D.|last5=De Horta|first5=A.|last6=O'Brien|first6=A.|last7=Balbo|first7=M.|last8=Walter|first8=R.|last9=Bozzo|first9=E.|last10=Ferrigno|first10=C.|last11=Crawford|first11=E.|last12=Stella|first12=L.|arxiv = 1309.6792 |bibcode = 2014A&A...562A.122P |s2cid=118845324 }} Long helical jet of Lighthouse nebula page 7</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|arxiv=1410.2332 |last1= Halpern |first1= J. P. |title= Discovery of X-ray Pulsations from the INTEGRAL Source IGR J11014-6103 |journal= The Astrophysical Journal |volume= 795 |issue= 2 |pages= L27 |last2= Tomsick |first2= J. A. |last3= Gotthelf |first3= E. V. |last4= Camilo |first4= F. |last5= Ng |first5= C. -Y. |last6= Bodaghee |first6= A. |last7= Rodriguez |first7= J. |last8= Chaty |first8= S. |last9= Rahoui |first9= F. |year= 2014 |doi= 10.1088/2041-8205/795/2/L27 |bibcode = 2014ApJ...795L..27H |s2cid= 118637856 }}</ref> This rather slow spin rate and the fact that there is no evidence of accretion suggests that the jet is neither rotation nor accretion powered. A counter-jet (not shown in the image) has been detected, but is much fainter, possibly due to [[Astronomy:Relativistic beaming|relativistic beaming]].<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1984ApJ...278..364L|title=Limits on the gravitational redshift form neutron stars|journal=Astrophysical Journal|volume=278|pages=364|last1=Lindblom|first1=L.|year=1984|doi=10.1086/161800}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| url=http://www.astroscu.unam.mx/rmaa/RMxAA..50-1/PDF/RMxAA..50-1_xzhao.pdf|title=The surface gravitational redshift of the massive neutron star PSR J0348+0432|first1=Xian-Feng |last1=Zhao|first2= Huan-Yu |last2=Jia|pages=103–108|journal=Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica|issn= 0185-1101|volume=50 |issue=1|year= 2014|bibcode = 2014RMxAA..50..103Z }}</ref> The origin of the glitch at about a third of the jet length is not known, but it might be due to the jet switching off and on or the jet orientation changing.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170118184924/https://arxiv.org/abs/1309.6792 The long helical jet of the Lighthouse nebula]
* [http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140221.html The Lighthouse nebula], NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day, 2014 February 21 
* [https://archive.today/20140620203945/http://www.pro-physik.de/details/news/5869071/Ein_Pulsar_als_Leuchtturm.html A lighthouse pulsar] (German)



{{DEFAULTSORT:IGR J11014-6103}}
[[Category:Pulsar wind nebulae]]
[[Category:Carina (constellation)]]

{{Sourceattribution|IGR J11014−6103}}