An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A member of a small class of → X-ray pulsars with long rotation periods (6-12 seconds), short → spin-down times (~ 10³-10⁵ years), and
→ soft X-ray spectrum. AXPs show no evidence of being → X-ray binary systems.
Their magnetic fields, as deduced from their spin-down rate, are the highest known, reaching 10¹³-10¹⁵ → gauss. AXPs are generally believed to be → magnetars.

See also: → anomalous; → X-ray;
→ pulsar.