4U 0142+61

{{short description|Pulsar in the constellation Cassiopeia}}

{{Starbox begin

| name=4U 0142+61

}}

{{Starbox image

| image = 250px

| caption = Artist's conception of 4U 0142+61

}}

{{Starbox observe

| epoch=J2000

| ra={{RA|01|46|22.41}}

| dec={{DEC|+61|45|03.2}}

| appmag_v= 25.62

| constell=Cassiopeia

}}

{{Starbox character

| class=

| b-v= 0.63

| u-b=

| variable=Suspected

}}

{{Starbox astrometry

| radial_v=

| prop_mo_ra=26.58958

| prop_mo_dec=+61.75264

| parallax=

| p_error=

| absmag_v=

}}

{{Starbox detail

| age=

| metal=

| mass=

| radius=16.1 km{{cite journal | url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/323857/pdf | doi=10.1086/323857 | title=High‐Energy Gamma‐Ray Emission from Anomalous X‐Ray Pulsars | year=2001 | last1=Cheng | first1=K. S. | last2=Zhang | first2=L. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=562 | issue=2 | pages=918–924 | bibcode=2001ApJ...562..918C | hdl=10722/43336 | s2cid=123042196 | hdl-access=free }}

| rotation= {{val|8.68832905|u=s}}

| luminosity=0.63

| temperature=

}}

{{Starbox catalog

| names= PSR J0146+61, 1RXS J014621.5+614509

}}

{{Starbox reference

| Simbad= PSR+J0146%2B6145

}}

{{Starbox end}}

4U 0142+61 is a magnetar at an approximate distance of {{val|13000|ul=light-years}} from Earth, located in the constellation Cassiopeia.

In an article published in Nature on April 6, 2006, Deepto Chakrabarty et al. of MIT revealed that a circumstellar disk was discovered around the pulsar. This may prove that pulsar planets are common around neutron stars. The debris disk is likely to be composed of mainly heavier metals. The star had undergone a supernova event approximately 100,000 years ago. The disk orbits about 1.6 million kilometers away from the pulsar and probably contains about 10 Earth-masses of material.{{Cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Zhongxiang|last2=Chakrabarty|first2=Deepto|last3=Kaplan|first3=David L.|date=April 2006|title=A debris disk around an isolated young neutron star|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=440|issue=7085|pages=772–775|doi=10.1038/nature04669|pmid=16598251|arxiv=astro-ph/0604076|bibcode=2006Natur.440..772W|s2cid=4372235 |issn=0028-0836}} This also marks the first time that a pulsar has been discovered with a debris disk orbiting it.{{cite journal|last1=Ertan|first1=Ü|last2=Erkut|first2=M. H.|last3=Ekşi|first3=K. Y.|last4=Alpar|first4=M. A.|date=March 2007|title=The Anomalous X-Ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61: A Neutron Star with a Gaseous Fallback Disk|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=657|issue=1|pages=441–447|doi=10.1086/510303|arxiv=astro-ph/0612587|bibcode=2007ApJ...657..441E|s2cid=16726942}}

In May 2022, the first study of this source by the IXPE space observatory hinted at the possibility of vacuum birefringence on 4U 0142+61.{{cite journal |last1=Taverna |first1=Roberto |last2=Turolla |first2=Roberto |last3=Muleri |first3=Fabio |last4=Heyl |first4=Jeremy |last5=Zane |first5=Silvia |last6=Baldini |first6=Luca |last7=González-Caniulef |first7=Denis |last8=Bachetti |first8=Matteo |last9=Rankin |first9=John |last10=Caiazzo |first10=Ilaria |last11=Di Lalla |first11=Niccolò |last12=Doroshenko |first12=Victor |last13=Errando |first13=Manel |last14=Gau |first14=Ephraim |last15=Kırmızıbayrak |first15=Demet |date=2022-05-18 |title=Polarized x-rays from a magnetar |journal=Science |volume=378 |issue=6620 |pages=646–650 |doi=10.1126/science.add0080 |pmid=36356124 |arxiv=2205.08898 |bibcode=2022Sci...378..646T |s2cid=248863030 }}{{Cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=X-ray polarisation probes extreme physics |url=https://cerncourier.com/a/x-ray-polarisation-probes-extreme-physics/ |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=CERN Courier |language=en-GB}} This same study using IXPE also reported that the star may have a solid surface, with no atmosphere.{{cite news |title=Magnetised dead star likely has solid surface |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/nov/magnetised-dead-star-likely-has-solid-surface |work=UCL |date=3 November 2022|access-date=21 November 2022}}{{cite news |title=NASA's IXPE Finds Powerful Magnetic Fields and Solid Crust at Neutron Star |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ixpe/news/2022/nasa-s-ixpe-finds-powerful-magnetic-fields-and-solid-crust-at-neutron-star.html |work=NASA |date=10 November 2022|access-date=21 November 2022}}