Discovery of a possible anomalous X-ray pulsar in the small Magellanic Cloud

We report the serendipitous detection of a previously unreported pulsar from the direction of the Small Magellanic Cloud using data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Because of its luminosity (similar to1.5 x 10(35) ergs s(-1)), its near lack of variability for more than 20 yr, and its very soft spectrum, we propose that it is an anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP). Data from the ROSAT PSPC in conjunction with the Chandra data give a period, P, of 5.44 s and a spin-down time, P/(P) over dot, of 11 kyr. If this is a correct identification, it will be the first extragalactic AXP and the fastest yet discovered.