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Unpulsed High-Energy Radiation from the Crab Pulsar and Nebula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

W. M. Cheung  and
K. S. Cheng
W. M. Cheung
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
K. S. Cheng
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

Abstract

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Generally, people believe that the unpulsed high-energy gamma rays from the direction of Crab Nebula and pulsar comes from the nebula. But it is entirely possible that the unpulsed high-energy gamma rays from the direction of the Crab Nebula and pulsar are actually emitted from a region extending to a couple of light cylinder radii from the pulsar instead of from the extensive nebula. In this conference paper, we study the possibility that the unpulsed high-energy gamma rays from 100 MeV to 10 GeV are emitted from the extensive nebula. In our model, two pulsed photon beams from two different outer gaps cross each other beyond the light cylinder and result in pair production. Since the pitch angles of these pairs do not correlate with the local magnetic field, and the typical mean free path for pair production is comparable to the local radius of curvature, the subsequent synchrotron radiation and inverse-Compton scattering produce unpulsed X-rays and gamma-rays respectively.

Subject headings: acceleration of particles — gamma rays: theory — ISM: individual (Crab Nebula) — pulsars: individual (Crab) — radiation mechanisms: nonthermal

Type
Poster Papers
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 142: Particle Acceleration Phenomena in Astrophysical Plasmas , 1994 , pp. 827 - 831
Copyright
Copyright © The American Astronomical Society 1994

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