Discovery of a Be/X-ray pulsar binary and associated supernova remnant
  in the Wing of the SMC
  We report on a new Be/X-ray pulsar binary located in the Wing of the Small
Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The strong pulsed X-ray source was discovered with the
Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories. The X-ray pulse period of 1062 s is
consistently determined from both Chandra and XMM-Newton observations,
revealing one of the slowest rotating X-ray pulsars known in the SMC. The
optical counterpart of the X-ray source is the emission-line star 2dFS 3831.
Its B0-0.5(III)e+ spectral type is determined from VLT-FLAMES and 2dF optical
spectroscopy, establishing the system as a Be/X-ray binary (Be-XRB). The hard
X-ray spectrum is well fitted by a power-law with additional thermal and
blackbody components, the latter reminiscent of persistent Be-XRBs. This system
is the first evidence of a recent supernova in the low density surroundings of
NGC 602. We detect a shell nebula around 2dFS 3831 in H-alpha and [O III]
images and conclude that it is most likely a supernova remnant. If it is linked
to the supernova explosion that created this new X-ray pulsar, its kinematic
age of (2-4)x10^4 yr provides a constraint on the age of the pulsar.
