English

Probing the Pulsar Wind in the gamma-ray Binary System PSR B1259-63/SS 2883

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2009-08-11 v2

Abstract

The spectral energy distribution from the X-ray to the very high energy regime (>100>100 GeV) has been investigated for the γ\gamma-ray binary system PSR B1259-63/SS2883 as a function of orbital phase within the framework of a simple model of a pulsar wind nebula. The emission model is based on the synchrotron radiation process for the X-ray regime and the inverse Compton scattering process boosting stellar photons from the Be star companion to the very high energy (100GeV-TeV) regime. With this model, the observed temporal behavior can, in principle, be used to probe the pulsar wind properties at the shock as a function of the orbital phase. Due to theoretical uncertainties in the detailed microphysics of the acceleration process and the conversion of magnetic energy into particle kinetic energy, the observed X-ray data for the entire orbit are fit using two different methods.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0907.0069,
  title  = {Probing the Pulsar Wind in the gamma-ray Binary System PSR B1259-63/SS 2883},
  author = {Jumpei Takata and Ronald E. Taam},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0907.0069},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

46 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ