THE VELA-X PULSAR WIND NEBULA REVISITED WITH FOUR YEARS OF FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS
- Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, P.O. Box 103980, D-69029 Heidelberg (Germany)
- W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
- Universite Bordeaux 1, CNRS/IN2p3, Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, F-33175 Gradignan (France)
- Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
The Vela supernova remnant (SNR) is the closest SNR to Earth containing an active pulsar, the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45). This pulsar is an archetype of the middle-aged pulsar class and powers a bright pulsar wind nebula (PWN), Vela-X, spanning a region of 2 Degree-Sign Multiplication-Sign 3 Degree-Sign south of the pulsar and observed in the radio, X-ray, and very high energy {gamma}-ray domains. The detection of the Vela-X PWN by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) was reported in the first year of the mission. Subsequently, we have reinvestigated this complex region and performed a detailed morphological and spectral analysis of this source using 4 yr of Fermi-LAT observations. This study lowers the threshold for morphological analysis of the nebula from 0.8 GeV to 0.3 GeV, allowing for the inspection of distinct energy bands by the LAT for the first time. We describe the recent results obtained on this PWN and discuss the origin of the newly detected spatial features.
- OSTI ID:
- 22133905
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 774, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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