CRAB FLARES DUE TO TURBULENT DISSIPATION OF THE PULSAR STRIPED WIND
- Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States)
We interpret γ-ray flares from the Crab Nebula as the signature of turbulence in the pulsar’s electromagnetic outflow. Turbulence is triggered upstream by dynamical instability of the wind’s oscillating magnetic field and accelerates non-thermal particles. On impacting the wind-termination shock, these particles emit a distinct synchrotron component F{sub ν,flare}, which is constantly modulated by intermittency of the upstream plasma flow. Flares are observed when the high-energy cutoff of F{sub ν,flare} emerges above the fast-declining nebular emission around 0.1–1 GeV. Simulations carried out in the force-free electrodynamics approximation predict the striped wind to become fully turbulent well ahead of the wind-termination shock, provided its terminal Lorentz factor is ≲10{sup 4}.
- OSTI ID:
- 22862938
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 823, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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