Discovery of X-rays from the supernova remnant G0.9+0.1

During the BeppoSAX survey of the Galactic Center region, we have discovered X-ray emission from the central region of the supernova remnant G0.9+0.1. The high interstellar absorption (NH ∼ 3 x 1023 cm-2) is consistent with a distance of order of 10 kpc and, correspondingly, an X-ray luminosity of ∼ 1035 erg s-1. Although we cannot completely rule out a thermal origin of the X-ray emission, its small angular extent (radius ∼ 2'), the good fit with a power law, the presence of a flat spectrum radio core, and the estimated SNR age of a few thousand years, favour the interpretation in terms of synchrotron emission powered by a young, energetic pulsar