Spitzer Space Telescope - General Observer Proposal #40925


Fallback Debris Disks Around Young Neutron Stars

Principal Investigator: Deepto Chakrabarty
           Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

     Technical Contact: Deepto Chakrabarty, MIT

Co-Investigators: 
David Kaplan, MIT                                                     
Zhongxiang Wang, McGill University                                    
Stefanie Wachter, Spitzer Science Center                              

Science Category: compact objects 
 Observing Modes: IracMap MipsPhot 
  Hours Approved: 32.6 

Abstract:
Our Spitzer/IRAC discovery of a dusty debris disk around the young neutron star
4U 0142+61 is likely the first detection of a supernova fallback disk around a
neutron star. Here we propose to test three aspects of this hypothesis with
targeted Spitzer observations: (1) IRAC imaging of the magnetar 1E 2259+586, to
see if debris disks are ubiquitous; (2) deep MIPS 24 micron imaging of 4U
0142+61 to probe the long-wavelength tail of the disk and measure its radial
extent; and (3) IRAC subarray observations of 4U 0142+61 designed to detect for
8.7 sec pulsations or set an upper limit on their amplitude. This last
measurement will allow us to definitively discriminate whether the mid-IR
emission arises from an X-ray heated debris disk or the pulsar magnetosphere.