SHORT-LIVED RADIO BURSTS FROM THE CRAB PULSAR

Journal Article · Wed Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/722/2/1908· OSTI ID:21464578

Crossley, J H; Eilek, J A; Hankins, T H

Our high-time-resolution observations reveal that individual main pulses from the Crab pulsar contain one or more short-lived microbursts. Both the energy and duration of bursts measured above 1 GHz can vary dramatically in less than a millisecond. These fluctuations are too rapid to be caused by propagation through turbulence in the Crab Nebula or in the interstellar medium; they must be intrinsic to the radio emission process in the pulsar. The mean duration of a burst varies with frequency as {nu}{sup -2}, significantly different from the broadening caused by interstellar scattering. We compare the properties of the bursts to some simple models of microstructure in the radio emission region.

• OSTI ID: 21464578
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 722, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/722/2/1908; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
CRAB NEBULA
EMISSION
PULSARS
TIME RESOLUTION
TURBULENCE
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
NEBULAE
RESOLUTION
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS
TIMING PROPERTIES