380 research outputs found
Time Variability in the X-ray Nebula Powered by Pulsar B1509-58
We use new and archival Chandra and ROSAT data to study the time variability
of the X-ray emission from the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by PSR B1509-58
on timescales of one week to twelve years. There is variability in the size,
number, and brightness of compact knots appearing within 20" of the pulsar,
with at least one knot showing a possible outflow velocity of ~0.6c (assuming a
distance to the source of 5.2 kpc). The transient nature of these knots may
indicate that they are produced by turbulence in the flows surrounding the
pulsar. A previously identified prominent jet extending 12 pc to the southeast
of the pulsar increased in brightness by 30% over 9 years; apparent outflow of
material along this jet is observed with a velocity of ~0.5c. However, outflow
alone cannot account for the changes in the jet on such short timescales.
Magnetohydrodynamic sausage or kink instabilities are feasible explanations for
the jet variability with timescale of ~1.3-2 years. An arc structure, located
30"-45" north of the pulsar, shows transverse structural variations and appears
to have moved inward with a velocity of ~0.03c over three years. The overall
structure and brightness of the diffuse PWN exterior to this arc and excluding
the jet has remained the same over the twelve year span. The photon indices of
the diffuse PWN and possibly the jet steepen with increasing radius, likely
indicating synchrotron cooling at X-ray energies.Comment: accepted to ApJ, 14 pages, 8 figure
Theory of high-energy emission from the pulsar/Be-star system PSR 125963 I: radiation mechanisms and interaction geometry
We study the physical processes of the PSR B1259-63 system containing a 47 ms
pulsar orbiting around a Be star in a highly eccentric orbit. Motivated by the
results of a multiwavelength campaign during the January 1994 periastron
passage of PSR B1259-63, we discuss several issues regarding the mechanism of
high-energy emission. Unpulsed power law emission from the this system was
detected near periastron in the energy range 1-200 keV. We find that the
observed high energy emission from the PSR B1259-63 system is not compatible
with accretion or propeller-powered emission. Shock-powered high-energy
emission produced by the pulsar/outflow interaction is consistent with all high
energy observations. By studying the evolution of the pulsar cavity we
constrain the magnitude and geometry of the mass outflow outflow of the Be
star. The pulsar/outflow interaction is most likely mediated by a collisionless
shock at the internal boundary of the pulsar cavity. The system shows all the
characteristics of a {\it binary plerion} being {\it diffuse} and {\it compact}
near apastron and periastron, respectively. The PSR B1259-63 cavity is subject
to different radiative regimes depending on whether synchrotron or inverse
Compton (IC) cooling dominates the radiation of electron/positron pairs
advected away from the inner boundary of the pulsar cavity. The highly
non-thermal nature of the observed X-ray/gamma-ray emission near periastron
establishes the existence of an efficient particle acceleration mechanism
within a timescale shown to be less than s. A synchrotron/IC
model of emission of e\pm-pairs accelerated at the inner shock front of the
pulsar cavity and adiabatically expanding in the MHD flow provides an excellent
explanation of the observed time variableX-ray flux and spectrum from the PSRComment: 68 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophys. J. on Aug. 26,
199
Pulsar Magnetospheric Emission Mapping: Images and Implications of Polar-Cap Weather
The beautiful sequences of ``drifting'' subpulses observed in some radio
pulsars have been regarded as among the most salient and potentially
instructive characteristics of their emission, not least because they have
appeared to represent a system of subbeams in motion within the emission zone
of the star. Numerous studies of these ``drift'' sequences have been published,
and a model of their generation and motion articulated long ago by Ruderman &
Sutherland (1975); but efforts thus far have failed to establish an
illuminating connection between the drift phemomenon and the actual sites of
radio emission. Through a detailed analysis of a nearly coherent sequence of
``drifting'' pulses from pulsar B0943+10, we have in fact identified a system
of subbeams circulating around the magnetic axis of the star. A mapping
technique, involving a ``cartographic'' transform and its inverse, permits us
to study the character of the polar-cap emission ``map'' and then to confirm
that it, in turn, represents the observed pulse sequence. On this basis, we
have been able to trace the physical origin of the ``drifting-subpulse''
emission to a stably rotating and remarkably organized configuration of
emission columns, in turn traceable possibly to the magnetic polar-cap ``gap''
region envisioned by some theories.Comment: latex with five eps figure
A Tale of Two Current Sheets
I outline a new model of particle acceleration in the current sheet
separating the closed from the open field lines in the force-free model of
pulsar magnetospheres, based on reconnection at the light cylinder and
"auroral" acceleration occurring in the return current channel that connects
the light cylinder to the neutron star surface. I discuss recent studies of
Pulsar Wind Nebulae, which find that pair outflow rates in excess of those
predicted by existing theories of pair creation occur, and use those results to
point out that dissipation of the magnetic field in a pulsar's wind upstream of
the termination shock is restored to life as a viable model for the solution of
the "" problem as a consequence of the lower wind 4-velocity implied by
the larger mass loading.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, Invited Review, Proceedings of the "ICREA
Workshop on The High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Systems", Sant
Cugat, Spain, April 12-16, 201
Near-Infrared, Kilosecond Variability of the Wisps and Jet in the Crab Pulsar Wind Nebula
We present a time-lapse sequence of 20 near-infrared (J- and K'-band)
snapshots of the central 20x20 arcsec of the Crab pulsar wind nebula, taken at
subarcsecond resolution with the Hokupa'a/QUIRC adaptive optics camera on the
Gemini North Telescope, and sampled at intervals of 10 min and 24 hr. It is
observed that the equatorial wisps and polar knots in the termination shock of
the pulsar wind appear to fluctuate in brightness on kilosecond time-scales.
Maximum flux variations of +/-24 +/-4 and +/-14 +/-4 per cent relative to the
mean (in 1.2 ks) are measured for the wisps and knots respectively, with
greatest statistical significance in J band where the nebula background is less
prominent. The J and K' flux densities imply different near-infrared spectra
for the nonthermal continuum emission from the wisps and outermost polar knot
(sprite), giving F_nu ~ nu^{-0.56+/-0.12} and F_nu ~ nu^{-0.21+/-0.13)
respectively. The data are compared with existing optical and UV photometry and
applied to constrain theories of the variability of the wisps (relativistic
ion-cyclotron instability) and knots (relativistic fire hose instability).Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journa
A Research-Based Curriculum for Teaching the Photoelectric Effect
Physics faculty consider the photoelectric effect important, but many
erroneously believe it is easy for students to understand. We have developed
curriculum on this topic including an interactive computer simulation,
interactive lectures with peer instruction, and conceptual and mathematical
homework problems. Our curriculum addresses established student difficulties
and is designed to achieve two learning goals, for students to be able to (1)
correctly predict the results of photoelectric effect experiments, and (2)
describe how these results lead to the photon model of light. We designed two
exam questions to test these learning goals. Our instruction leads to better
student mastery of the first goal than either traditional instruction or
previous reformed instruction, with approximately 85% of students correctly
predicting the results of changes to the experimental conditions. On the
question designed to test the second goal, most students are able to correctly
state both the observations made in the photoelectric effect experiment and the
inferences that can be made from these observations, but are less successful in
drawing a clear logical connection between the observations and inferences.
This is likely a symptom of a more general lack of the reasoning skills to
logically draw inferences from observations.Comment: submitted to American Journal of Physic
Plasma Magnetosphere Formation Around Oscillating Magnetized Neutron Stars
The notion of death line of rotating pulsars is applied to model of
oscillating neutron stars. It is shown that the magnetosphere of typical
non-rotating oscillating stars may not contain secondary plasma to support the
generation of radio emission in the region of open field lines of plasma
magnetosphere.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Magnetars in the Metagalaxy: An Origin for Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays in the Nearby Universe
I show that the relativistic winds of newly born magnetars with khz initial
spin rates, occurring in all normal galaxies, can accelerate ultrarelativistic
light ions with an E^{-1} injection spectrum, steepening to E^{-2} at higher
energies, with an upper cutoff above 10^{21} eV. Interactions with the CMB
yield a spectrum in good accord with the observed spectrum of Ultra-High Energy
Cosmic Rays (UHECR), if ~ 5-10% of the magnetars are born with voltages
sufficiently high to accelerate the UHECR. The form the spectrum spectrum takes
depends on the gravitational wave losses during the magnetars' early spindown -
pure electromagnetic spindown yields a flattening of the E^3 J(E) spectrum
below 10^{20} eV, while a moderate GZK ``cutoff'' appears if gravitational wave
losses are strong enough. I outline the physics such that the high energy
particles escape with small energy losses from a magnetar's natal supernova,
including Rayleigh-Taylor ``shredding'' of the supernova envelope, expansion of
a relativistic blast wave into the interstellar medium, acceleration of the UHE
ions through surf-riding in the electromgnetic fields of the wind, and escape
of the UHE ions in the rotational equator with negligible radiation loss. The
abundance of interstellar supershells and unusually large supernova remnants
suggests that most of the initial spindown energy is radiated in khz
gravitational waves for several hours after each supernova, with effective
strains from sources at typical distances ~ 3 x 10^{-21}. Such bursts of
gravitational radiation should correlate with bursts of ultra-high energy
particles. The Auger experiment should see such bursts every few years.Comment: 49 pages, 2 Figures, LaTeX (aastex, epsfig, graphicx, float), to be
published June 1, 2003 in the ApJ. Corrected discussion of electromagnetic
surf-riding as the acceleration mechanism and more typos, and reference
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