Ultra-high-energy Gamma-Ray Radiation from the Crab Pulsar Wind Nebula

It has been long debated whether the high-energy gamma-ray radiation from the Crab Nebula stems from leptonic or hadronic processes. In this work, we investigate the multiband nonthermal radiation from the Crab pulsar wind nebula with the leptonic and leptonic–hadronic hybrid models, respectively. Then we use the Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling technology and method of sampling trace to study the stability and reasonability of the model parameters according to the recently observed results and obtain the best-fitting values of parameters. Finally, we calculate different radiative components generated by the electrons and protons in the Crab Nebula. The modeling results indicate that the pure leptonic origin model with the one-zone only can partly agree with some segments of the data from various experiments (including the PeV gamma-ray emission reported by the LHAASO and the other radiation ranging from the radio to very-high-energy gamma-ray wave band), and the contribution of hadronic interaction is hardly constrained. However, we find that the hadronic process may also contribute, especially in the energy range exceeding the PeV. In addition, it can be inferred that the higher energy signals from the Crab Nebula could be observed in the future.

Lepton-driven Nonresonant Streaming Instability

A strong super-Alfvénic drift of energetic particles (or cosmic rays) in a magnetized plasma can amplify the magnetic field significantly through nonresonant streaming instability (NRSI). While the traditional analysis is done for an ion current, here we use kinetic particle-in-cell simulations to study how the NRSI behaves when it is driven by electrons or by a mixture of electrons and positrons. In particular, we characterize the growth rate, spectrum, and helicity of the unstable modes, as well the level of the magnetic field at saturation. Our results are potentially relevant for several space/astrophysical environments (e.g., electron strahl in the solar wind, at oblique nonrelativistic shocks, around pulsar wind nebulae), and also in laboratory experiments.

Clumps and Rings of Ejecta in SNR 0540–69.3 as Seen in 3D

The distribution of ejecta in young supernova remnants offers a powerful observational probe of their explosions and progenitors. Here we present a 3D reconstruction of the ejecta in SNR 0540-69.3, which is an O-rich remnant with a pulsar wind nebula located in the LMC. We use observations from the Very Large Telescope (VLT)/MUSE to study Hβ, [O iii] λ λ4959, 5007, Hα, [S ii] λ λ6717, 6731, [Ar iii] λ7136, and [S iii] λ9069. This is complemented by 2D spectra from VLT/X-shooter, which also cover [O ii] λ λ3726, 3729, and [Fe ii] λ12567. We identify three main emission components: (i) clumpy rings in the inner nebula (≲1000 km s−1) with similar morphologies in all lines; (ii) faint extended [O iii] emission dominated by an irregular ring-like structure with radius ∼1600 km s−1 and inclination ∼40°, but with maximal velocities reaching ∼3000 km s−1; and (iii) a blob of Hα and Hβ located southeast of the pulsar at velocities ∼1500–3500 km s−1. We analyze the geometry using a clump-finding algorithm and use the clumps in the [O iii] ring to estimate an age of 1146 ± 116 yr. The observations favor an interpretation of the [O iii] ring as ejecta, while the origin of the H-blob is more uncertain. An alternative explanation is that it is the blown-off envelope of a binary companion. From the detection of Balmer lines in the innermost ejecta we confirm that SNR 0540 was a Type II supernova and that hydrogen was mixed down to low velocities in the explosion.

PeV Emission of the Crab Nebula: Constraints on the Proton Content in Pulsar Wind and Implications

Recently, two photons from the Crab Nebula with energy of approximately 1 PeV were detected by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), opening an ultrahigh-energy window for studying pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). Remarkably, the LHAASO spectrum at the highest-energy end shows a possible hardening, which could indicate the presence of a new component. A two-component scenario with a main electron component and a secondary proton component has been proposed to explain the whole spectrum of the Crab Nebula, requiring a proton energy of 1046–1047 erg remaining in the present Crab Nebula. In this paper, we study the energy content of relativistic protons in pulsar winds using the LHAASO data of the Crab Nebula, considering the effect of diffusive escape of relativistic protons. Depending on the extent of the escape of relativistic protons, the total energy of protons lost in the pulsar wind could be 10–100 times larger than that remaining in the nebula presently. We find that the current LHAASO data allow up to (10–50)% of the spindown energy of pulsars being converted into relativistic protons. The escaping protons from PWNe could make a considerable contribution to the cosmic-ray flux of 10–100 PeV. We also discuss the leptonic scenario for the possible spectral hardening at PeV energies.

Constraining positron emission from pulsar populations with AMS-02 data

The cosmic-ray flux of positrons is measured with high precision by the space-borne particle spectrometer AMS-02. The hypothesis that pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) can significantly contribute to the excess of the positron (e+) cosmic-ray flux has been consolidated after the observation of a γ-ray emission at TeV energies of a few degree size around Geminga and Monogem PWNe. In this work we undertake massive simulations of galactic pulsars populations, adopting different distributions for their position in the Galaxy, intrinsic physical properties, pair emission models, in order to overcome the incompleteness of the ATNF catalog. We fit the e+ AMS-02 data together with a secondary component due to collisions of primary cosmic rays with the interstellar medium. We find that several mock galaxies have a pulsar population able to explain the observed e+ flux, typically by few, bright sources. We determine the physical parameters of the pulsars dominating the e+ flux, and assess the impact of different assumptions on radial distributions, spin-down properties, Galactic propagation scenarios and e+ emission time.

Low-frequency Flux Density Measurements and Pulsars with GHz-peaked Spectra

We have estimated flux densities of several pulsars from radio interferometric observations mainly at 325 MHz using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The new observations allowed us to update the spectral nature of the observed pulsars, and in six sources we identified relatively high frequency turnovers, which can be classified as new GHz-peaked spectrum (GPS) pulsars. For such objects the turnover in the spectrum is most likely caused by absorption in the immediate vicinity of the pulsar (or in the interstellar medium). We modeled the turnover spectra using the thermal free–free absorption model and the physical parameters obtained from the fits enabled us to identify the environments that could potentially be responsible for the observed absorption, such as pulsar wind nebulae, supernova remnant nebulae or H ii regions. The discovery of 6 new GPS pulsars brings the total number of such objects to 33 and we discuss the properties of the entire sample.

The uGMRT Observations of Three New Gigahertz-peaked Spectra Pulsars

Using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, we report the detailed spectral measurements over a wide frequency range of three pulsars (J1741−3016, J1757−2223, and J1845−0743), which allow us to identify them as new gigahertz-peaked spectra pulsars. Our results indicate that their spectra show turnovers at the frequencies of 620 MHz, 640 MHz, and 650 MHz, respectively. Our analysis proves that wideband observations improve estimations of spectral nature using a free–free thermal absorption model, and thus allow for a more accurate approximation of the maximum energy in the spectrum. While there is no evidence as yet that these objects are associated with a supernova remnant or pulsar wind nebula, they will make good targets when looking for interesting environments in the future, or when conducting more sensitive sky surveys.

A Magnetospheric Dichotomy for Pulsars with Extreme Inclinations

In this work, we expand on a comment by Lyne et al. (2017), that intermittent pulsars tend to congregate near a stripe in the logarithmic period versus period-derivative diagram. Such a stripe represents a small range of polar cap electric potential. Taking into account also the fact (already apparent in their Figure 7, but not explicitly stated there) that high-fraction nulling pulsars also tend to reside within this and an additional stripe, we make the observation that the two stripes further match the “death lines” for double- and single-pole interpulses, associated with nearly orthogonal and aligned rotators, respectively. These extreme inclinations are known to suffer from pair production deficiencies, so we propose to explain intermittency and high-fraction nulling by reinvigorating some older quiescent (no pulsar wind or radio emission) “electrosphere” solutions. Specifically, as the polar potential drops below the two threshold bands (i.e., the two stripes), corresponding to the aligned and orthogonal rotators, their respective magnetospheres transition from being of the active pair-production-sustained-type into becoming the electrospheres, in which charges are only lifted from the star. The borderline cases sitting in the gap outside of the stable regime of either case manifest as high-fraction nullers. Hall evolution of the magnetic field inside orthogonally rotating neutron stars can furthermore drive secular regime changes, resulting in intermittent pulsars.

A search for variability of hard X-ray emission from the Vela pulsar wind nebula

Observations of hard X-ray emission from the Vela pulsar wind nebula (PWN) with the ISGRI camera aboard INTEGRAL gamma-ray observatory have been analysed with the aim to search for possible flux variability on scales from weeks to years, which could be caused by short-term evolution of pulsar wind structures similar to those governing sharp flares and flux depressions observed in the sub-GeV emission of the Crab PWN. No statistically significant flux depressions or flares have been found in none of the considered energy ranges: 20-50 keV, 50-100 keV, and 100-200 keV, however some hints of flux instability can be seen in the former two bands. If the variability of the pulsar wind termination surface or instabilities of turbulent magnetic field in the nebula predicted by a number of PWN models indeed influence the synchrotron spectrum of such objects, the variability of the 1-30 MeV emission from the Vela PWN could be checked with the next generation of gamma-ray facilities, like eASTROGAM or HERMES.