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arXiv 1002.1109astro-ph.HE
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Geminga脉冲星风星云的新X射线观测

New X-ray observations of the Geminga pulsar wind nebula

G. G. Pavlov, S. Bhattacharyya, V. E. Zavlin

摘要:

先前用XMM-牛顿和钱德拉对中年脉冲星Geminga的观测显示了一个不寻常的脉冲星风星云(PWN),有一个20”长的中央(轴向)尾巴指向脉冲星的自行方向,还有两个2“长,弯曲的横向(外部)尾巴。在这里,我们报告了更深(78 ks)的钱德拉观测和一些额外的XMM-牛顿观测的Geminga PWN。新的钱德拉观测表明,轴向尾巴,其中包括多达三个更明亮的斑点,延伸至少50”(即,0.06 d_{250} pc)。它还使我们能够以高分辨率对脉冲星附近的斑片状外尾和发射进行成像。PWN的光度为L_{0.3-8 keV} ~ 3 \times 10^{29} d_{250} ^2 erg/s,比脉冲星的磁层光度低10倍。PWN元素的光谱相当硬(光子指数~ 1)。比较两张钱德拉的图像,我们发现了PWN可变性的证据,包括斑点沿着轴向尾巴的可能运动。X射线PWN是来自脉冲星风的相对论粒子的同步辐射;其形态与Geminga的超音速运动有关。我们推测,外尾要么是(1)在接触不连续区域形成的壳层的边缘增亮边界的天空投影,在那里风体流被剪切不稳定性减速,要么是(2)来自脉冲星的极外流被来自ISM的冲压压力弯曲。在前一种情况下,轴向尾部可能是沿着脉冲星的自旋轴发出的喷流,可能与运动方向一致。在后一种情况下,轴向尾部可能是由冲压压力准直的冲击脉冲星风。

英文摘要:

Previous observations of the middle-aged pulsar Geminga with XMM-Newton and Chandra have shown an unusual pulsar wind nebula (PWN), with a 20" long central (axial) tail directed opposite to the pulsar's proper motion and two 2' long, bent lateral (outer) tails. Here we report on a deeper (78 ks) Chandra observation and a few additional XMM-Newton observations of the Geminga PWN. The new Chandra observation has shown that the axial tail, which includes up to three brighter blobs, extends at least 50" (i.e., 0.06 d_{250} pc) from the pulsar. It also allowed us to image the patchy outer tails and the emission in the immediate vicinity of the pulsar with high resolution. The PWN luminosity, L_{0.3-8 keV} ~ 3\times 10^{29} d_{250}^2 erg/s, is lower than the pulsar's magnetospheric luminosity by a factor of 10. The spectra of the PWN elements are rather hard (photon index ~ 1). Comparing the two Chandra images, we found evidence of PWN variability, including possible motion of the blobs along the axial tail. The X-ray PWN is the synchrotron radiation from relativistic particles of the pulsar wind; its morphology is connected with the supersonic motion of Geminga. We speculate that the outer tails are either (1) a sky projection of the limb-brightened boundary of a shell formed in the region of contact discontinuity, where the wind bulk flow is decelerated by shear instability, or (2) polar outflows from the pulsar bent by the ram pressure from the ISM. In the former case, the axial tail may be a jet emanating along the pulsar's spin axis, perhaps aligned with the direction of motion. In the latter case, the axial tail may be the shocked pulsar wind collimated by the ram pressure.

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