Discovery of a Candidate Central Compact Object in the Galactic Nonthermal SNR G330.2+1.0

We report on the discovery of a pointlike source (CXOU J160103.1-513353) at the center of the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G330.2+1.0 with Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The X-ray spectrum fits a blackbody model with kT~0.49 keV, implying a small emission region of R~0.4 km at the distance of 5 kpc. The estimated X-ray luminosity is L_X~1×10³³ ergs s^-1 in the 1-10 keV band. A power-law model may also fit the observed spectrum, but the fit results in a very large photon index, Γ~5. We find no counterparts at other wavelengths. The X-ray emission was steady over the ~13 hr observation period, showing no variability. While we find marginal evidence for X-ray pulsations (P~7.5 s), the presence of a pulsar at the position of this object is not conclusive with the current data, requiring an independent confirmation. These results are generally consistent with an interpretation of this object as a central compact object associated with SNR G330.2+1.0.