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Inductive Spikes in the Crab Nebula: A Theory of γ-Ray Flares

John G. Kirk and Gwenael Giacinti
Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 211101 – Published 21 November 2017
Physics logo See Synopsis: Wind Gusts Could Explain Gamma-Ray Flares
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Abstract

We show that the mysterious, rapidly variable emission at 400MeV observed from the Crab Nebula by the AGILE and Fermi satellites could be the result of a sudden drop in the mass loading of the pulsar wind. The current required to maintain wave activity in the wind is then carried by very few particles of a high Lorentz factor. On impacting the nebula, these particles produce a tightly beamed, high-luminosity burst of hard gamma rays, similar to those observed. This implies that (i) the emission is synchrotron radiation in the toroidal field of the nebula and, therefore, linearly polarized and (ii) this mechanism potentially contributes to the gamma-ray emission from other powerful pulsars, such as the Magellanic Cloud objects J0537-6910 and B0540-69.

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  • Received 29 August 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.211101

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsPlasma Physics

Synopsis

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Wind Gusts Could Explain Gamma-Ray Flares

Published 21 November 2017

A mysterious gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula—a giant interstellar cloud of gas—may be due to fluctuations in the wind blown out from the pulsar in the nebula’s center.

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Authors & Affiliations

John G. Kirk* and Gwenael Giacinti

  • Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

  • *john.kirk@mpi-hd.mpg.de
  • gwenael.giacinti@mpi-hd.mpg.de

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Issue

Vol. 119, Iss. 21 — 24 November 2017

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