FLARES IN THE CRAB NEBULA DRIVEN BY UNTWISTING MAGNETIC FIELDS

Journal Article · Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/751/2/L32· OSTI ID:22047791

Sturrock, Peter ^[1]

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1. Center of Space Science and Astrophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

The recent discovery of PeV electrons from the Crab Nebula, produced on rapid timescales of one day or less with a sharply peaked gamma-ray spectrum without hard X-rays, challenges traditional models of diffusive shock acceleration followed by synchrotron radiation. Here, we outline an acceleration model involving a DC electric field parallel to the magnetic field in a twisted toroidal field around the pulsar. Sudden developments of resistivity in localized regions of the twisted field are thought to drive the particle acceleration, up to PeV energies, resulting in flares. This model can reproduce the observed timescales of T Almost-Equal-To 1 day, the peak photon energies of U{sub {Phi},rr} Almost-Equal-To 1 MeV, maximum electron energies of U{sub e,rr} Almost-Equal-To 1 PeV, and luminosities of L Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 36} erg s{sup -1}.

• OSTI ID: 22047791
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 751, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCELERATION
ASTROPHYSICS
COSMIC ELECTRONS
COSMIC PHOTONS
CRAB NEBULA
ELECTRIC FIELDS
GAMMA ASTRONOMY
GAMMA SPECTRA
HARD X RADIATION
LUMINOSITY
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MEV RANGE
PEV RANGE
PULSARS
STELLAR FLARES
SYNCHROTRON RADIATION