Nature of the soft x-ray excess in the spectrum of RX J1037.5-5647

Abstract

The source responsible for the soft x-ray excess in the emission spectrum of the pulsar RX J1037.5-5647 is associated with a hot spot on the surface of the neutron star near the base of an accretion column. The intensity of the emission from this source, however, only undergoes small (on the order of 15%) variations, while the intensity of the hard component varies substantially with the rotation period of the neutron star. We show that this situation can occur if the angle between the axis of rotation and the magnetic axis of the neutron star is no more than 8°. The variation in the intensity of the hard component of the radiation in this case is interpreted in terms of an anisotropy in the directional diagram. In this scenario, the angle of inclination of the orbit of the binary system is close to 10°.