BROADBAND X-RAY IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY OF THE CRAB NEBULA AND PULSAR WITH NuSTAR

作者：Madsen Kristin K^*; Reynolds Stephen; Harrison Fiona; An Hongjun; Boggs Steven; Christensen Finn E; Craig William W; Fryer Chris L; Grefenstette Brian W; Hailey Charles J; Markwardt Craig; Nynka Melania; Stern Daniel; Zoglauer Andreas; Zhang William

来源：Astrophysical Journal, 2015, 801(1): 66.

DOI：10.1088/0004-637X/801/1/66

• pulsars: individual (Crab)
• stars: neutron
• X-rays: individual (Crab)

We present broadband (3-78 keV) NuSTAR X-ray imaging and spectroscopy of the Crab nebula and pulsar. We show that while the phase-averaged and spatially integrated nebula + pulsar spectrum is a power law in this energy band, spatially resolved spectroscopy of the nebula finds a break at similar to 9 keV in the spectral photon index of the torus structure with a steepening characterized by Delta Gamma similar to 0.25. We also confirm a previously reported steepening in the pulsed spectrum, and quantify it with a broken power law with break energy at similar to 12 keV and Delta Gamma similar to 0.27. We present spectral maps of the inner 100 '' the remnant and measure the size of the nebula as a function of energy in seven bands. These results find that the rate of shrinkage with energy of the torus size can be fitted by a power law with an index of gamma = 0.094 +/- 0.018, consistent with the predictions of Kennel and Coroniti. The change in size is more rapid in the NW direction, coinciding with the counter-jet where we find the index to be a factor of two larger. NuSTAR observed the Crab during the latter part of a gamma-ray flare, but found no increase in flux in the 3-78 keV energy band.

• 出版日期2015-3-1
• 单位Los Alamos; McGill