Published October 1, 2013 | Version v1
Journal article Metadata-only

RAPID GAMMA-RAY FLUX VARIABILITY DURING THE 2013 MARCH CRAB NEBULA FLARE

Creators

  • 1. Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron DESY, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany)
  • 2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
  • 3. Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375-5352 (United States)
  • 4. Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064 (United States)
  • 5. 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)
  • 6. ORAU/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

Description

We report on a bright flare in the Crab Nebula detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The period of significantly increased luminosity occurred in 2013 March and lasted for approximately two weeks. During this period, we observed flux variability on timescales of approximately 5 hr. The combined photon flux above 100 MeV from the pulsar and its nebula reached a peak value of (12.5 ± 0.8) · 10–6 cm–2 s–1 on 2013 March 6. This value exceeds the average flux by almost a factor of six and implies a ∼20 times higher flux for the synchrotron component of the nebula alone. This is the second brightest flare observed from this source. Spectral and temporal analysis of the LAT data collected during the outburst reveal a rapidly varying synchrotron component of the Crab Nebula while the pulsar emission remains constant in time

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/775/2/L37

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1088/2041-8205/775/2/L37;

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Journal Volume
775
Journal Issue
2
Journal Page Range
[6 p.]
ISSN
2041-8205

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
45036410
Subject category
S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
Descriptors DEI
CRAB NEBULA; EMISSION; GAMMA RADIATION; LUMINOSITY; MEV RANGE 100-1000; MEV RANGE 10-100; PEAKS; PHOTONS; PULSARS; SPACE; STARS; SYNCHROTRONS; TELESCOPES
Descriptors DEC
ACCELERATORS; BOSONS; COSMIC RADIO SOURCES; CYCLIC ACCELERATORS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ELEMENTARY PARTICLES; ENERGY RANGE; IONIZING RADIATIONS; MASSLESS PARTICLES; MEV RANGE; NEBULAE; OPTICAL PROPERTIES; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; RADIATIONS; SUPERNOVA REMNANTS