Work

Long-period radio transient PSR J0901-4046 is not an Isolated White Dwarf Pulsar

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: We report the {\it Chandra} non-detection of PSR J0901$-$4046, a $P=75.89 $ seconds long-period radio transient (LPT). For a distance of 467 pc, the upper limit on X-ray luminosity is $L_X \leq$ few $\times 10^{28}$ erg s$^{-1}$. For the measured $P$ and $\dot{P}$, this upper limit, approximately 50 times lower than the previous {\it Swift} observations, is comparable to the spin-down luminosity of a neutron star, but would be approximately four orders of magnitude smaller than the spindown power of a white dwarf. Our results disfavor isolated WDs as the central star in PSR J0901$-$4046. We suggest that the isolated LPTs are powered by magnetic dissipation (not rotation), in a way similar to magnetars' radio emission.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2607.03848

Authors: Lyutikov, Maxim, Kilic, Mukremin, Wolszczan, Alexander, Heinke, Craig

Institutions: Purdue University West Lafayette, University of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania State University, University of Alberta

Language: English

Topic: Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Awards: G1627983296, G1693568110, G4998900716, Current Challenges in the Physics of White Dwarfs: the Origins of the Ultramassive White Dwarf population, G7649896884

OpenAlex ID: W7167585532

Cites: 41

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Related to: 10