CHANDRA, KECK, and VLA Observations of the Crab Nebula During the 2011-April Gamma-Ray Flare

Weisskopf, Martin C.; Tennant, Allyn F.; Arons, Jonathan; Blandford, Roger; Buehler, Rolf; Caraveo, Patrizia; Cheung, Chi C.; Costa, Enrico; de Luca, Andrea; Ferrigno, Carlo; Fu, Hai; Funk, Stefan; Habermehl, Moritz; Horns, Dieter; Linford, Justin D.; Lobanov, Andrei; Max, Claire; Mignani, Roberto; O'Dell, Stephen L.; Romani, Roger W.; Striani, Edoardo; Tavani, Marco; Taylor, Gregory B.; Uchiyama, Yasunobu; Yuan, Yajie

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/765/1/56

CHANDRA, KECK, and VLA Observations of the Crab Nebula During the 2011-April Gamma-Ray Flare

Journal Article · Fri Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2013 · The Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/765/1/56· OSTI ID:1356596

Weisskopf, Martin C.; Tennant, Allyn F.; Arons, Jonathan; Blandford, Roger; Buehler, Rolf; Caraveo, Patrizia; Cheung, Chi C.; Costa, Enrico; de Luca, Andrea; Ferrigno, Carlo; Fu, Hai; Funk, Stefan; Habermehl, Moritz; Horns, Dieter; Linford, Justin D.; Lobanov, Andrei; Max, Claire; Mignani, Roberto; O'Dell, Stephen L.; Romani, Roger W. more »

In this paper, we present results from our analysis of Chandra X-Ray Observatory, W. M. Keck Observatory, and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) images of the Crab Nebula that were contemporaneous with the γ-ray flare of 2011 April. Despite hints in the X-ray data, we find no evidence for statistically significant variations that pinpoint the specific location of the flares within the Nebula. The Keck observations extend this conclusion to the "inner knot," i.e., the feature within an arcsecond of the pulsar. The VLA observations support this conclusion. Lastly, we also discuss theoretical implications of the γ-ray flares and suggest that the most dramatic γ-ray flares are due to radiation-reaction-limited synchrotron emission associated with sudden, dissipative changes in the current system sustained by the central pulsar.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Contributing Organization:: Fermi-LAT Collaboration

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-76SF00515

OSTI ID:: 1356596

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 22167605

Journal Information:: The Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 765; ISSN 0004-637X

Publisher:: Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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