Central compact object

Summary

A central compact object (CCO) is an x-ray source found near the center of a young, nearby supernova remnant (SNR). Given the x-ray flux and spectra of these compact objects, the almost certain conclusion is that CCOs are remnant neutron stars associated with recent supernovae. Unlike most pulsars, CCOs generally lack pulsed radio emission or variation in the observed x-rays due to such phenomena being either nonexistent or difficult to detect. The weaker magnetic fields than most other detected neutron stars means that most of the detected x-rays are due to blackbody radiation. Confirmation that the CCO is associated with the past supernova can be done using the kinematics of the objects and matching them to the age and kinematics of the host SNR.