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G359.95-0.04: An Energetic Pulsar Candidate Near Sgr A*, Qd Wang, Fj Lu, Ev Gotthelf

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We report the discovery of a prominent non-thermal X-ray feature located near the Galactic centre that we identify as an energetic pulsar wind nebula. This feature, G359.95-0.04, lies 1-lyr north of Sgr A* (in projection), is comet like in shape, and has a power-law spectrum that steepens with increasing distance from the putative pulsar. The distinct spectral and spatial X-ray characteristics of the feature are similar to those belonging to the rare class of ram-pressure confined pulsar wind nebulae. The luminosity of the nebula at the distance of Sgr A*, consistent with the inferred X-ray absorptions, is L_x∼ …