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R. Petre (NASA/GSFC), E. V. Gotthelf (Columbia U.), G. Vasisht (JPL/Caltech)
We present a new ASCA observation of {1E\hspace{1.5pt}161348-5055}, the neutron star candidate located at the center of the supernova remnant {RCW\hspace{1.5pt}103}. Analysis of this data reveals a suprising order-of-magnitude decreased in the X-ray flux from this compact object when compared to the previous ASCA detection acquired four years earlier. This result disputes the suggestions that the bulk of the emission is simple quasi-blackbody, cooling radiation from an isolated neutron star. Furthermore, archived Einstein and ROSAT datasets spanning 18 years confirm that this source manifests variability to a lesser degree. This result provides a natural explanation for difficulties encountered in reproducing the original Einstein detection of {1E\hspace{1.5pt}161348-5055}. Spectra derived from the new observation are too noisy to allow a unique parameterization, but indicate no spectral change despite the decline in luminosity. We find no evidence for a pulsed component in any of the data sets, with a best upper limit on the pulsed modulation of 15 percent. We discuss the phenomenology of this remarkable engimatic source.