An explanation for recently detected radiation from the Crab Pulsar – one of the brightest persistent gamma-ray sources in the sky – is proposed in Nature this week. The pulses of very high-energy gamma-ray emission are ascribed to a cold wind originating near to the site of emission. Pulsars are neutron stars that are thought to eject electron-positron winds. Initially the winds are dominated by electromagnetic energy but as they move away from the pulsar their energy becomes more kinetic. Constraining where this acceleration takes place has been difficult, but Felix Aharonian and colleagues estimate the point where this transition occurs. They suggest that the recent observations of pulsed, very high-energy gamma-ray emission from the Crab pulsar are produced by this accelerating wind.
Leave a Comment
Last Updated: 23rd May 2018 by Anne Grace
February 2012 – DIAS astronomer provides explanation for radiation detected from the Crab Pulsar
An explanation for recently detected radiation from the Crab Pulsar – one of the brightest persistent gamma-ray sources in the sky – is proposed in Nature this week. The pulses of very high-energy gamma-ray emission are ascribed to a cold wind originating near to the site of emission. Pulsars are neutron stars that are thought to eject electron-positron winds. Initially the winds are dominated by electromagnetic energy but as they move away from the pulsar their energy becomes more kinetic. Constraining where this acceleration takes place has been difficult, but Felix Aharonian and colleagues estimate the point where this transition occurs. They suggest that the recent observations of pulsed, very high-energy gamma-ray emission from the Crab pulsar are produced by this accelerating wind.
Category: News
Recent Posts
International physics conference, hosted by DIAS, seeks to address gender equality
DIAS Astrophotography competition goes mobile for 2024
Irish scientists are part of groundbreaking discovery with James Webb Space Telescope
Dr Pauline Gagnon (formerly of CERN) to deliver two talks at DIAS
DIAS Professor announced as next President of the European Southern Observatory’s Council
Language switcher