English

Rapid X-ray variations of the Geminga pulsar wind nebula

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2017-09-20 v1

Abstract

A recent study by Posselt et al. (2017) reported the deepest X-ray investigation of the Geminga pulsar wind nebula (PWN) by using \emph{Chandra X-ray Observatory}. In comparison with previous studies of this system, a number of new findings have been reported and we found these suggest the possible variabilities in various components of this PWN. This motivates us to carry out a dedicated search for the morphological and spectral variations of this complex nebula. We have discovered variabilities on timescales from a few days to a few months from different components of the nebula. The fastest change occurred in the circumstellar environment at a rate of 80 per cent of the speed of light. One of the most spectacular results is the wiggling of a half light-year long tail as an extension of the jet, which is significantly bent by the ram pressure. The jet wiggling occurred at a rate of about 20 per cent of the speed of light. This twisted structure can possibly be a result of a propagating torsional Alf\`{v}en wave. We have also found evidence of spectral hardening along this tail for a period of about nine months.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1708.04179,
  title  = {Rapid X-ray variations of the Geminga pulsar wind nebula},
  author = {C. Y. Hui and Jongsu Lee and A. K. H. Kong and P. H. T. Tam and J. Takata and K. S. Cheng and Dongsu Ryu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1708.04179},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

23 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJ