ENERGY-DEPENDENT LIGHT CURVES AND PHASE-RESOLVED SPECTRA OF HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAYS FROM THE CRAB PULSAR

Journal Article · Mon Dec 20 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/725/2/2225· OSTI ID:21476642

Li, X; Zhang, L ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Yunnan University, Kunming (China)

Energy-dependent light curves and phase-resolved spectra of high-energy {gamma}-ray emission from the Crab pulsar have been detected recently by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Within the framework of a two-pole, three-dimensional outer gap model, we calculate the energy-dependent light curves and phase-resolved spectra in the inertial observer's frame. Our results show that (1) the observed {gamma}-ray properties from both Fermi LAT and MAGIC can be reproduced well in this model; (2) the first peak of the light curves in the energy region less than {approx}10 GeV comes from the sum of emissions from both the north and south poles, and the second peak comes only from the emission from the south pole; however, the relative contribution of the two poles to the first peak changes with increasing {gamma}-ray energy, and the light curve in the energy region greater than {approx}20 GeV comes completely from the emission of the south pole; and (3) {gamma}-rays in the energy region greater than 100 MeV are produced through inverse Compton scattering from secondary pairs and the survival curvature photons, where the latter dominate over {gamma}-ray emission in the energy region greater than several GeV.

• OSTI ID: 21476642
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 725, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/725/2/2225; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
COMPTON EFFECT
COSMIC GAMMA SOURCES
ENERGY DEPENDENCE
GAMMA RADIATION
NEUTRON STARS
PHOTON EMISSION
PULSARS
TELESCOPES
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
BASIC INTERACTIONS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
COSMIC RAY SOURCES
ELASTIC SCATTERING
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EMISSION
INTERACTIONS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
RADIATIONS
SCATTERING
STARS