X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra Region
We present a detailed analysis of broadband X-ray observations of the pulsar PSR J1420−6048 and its wind nebula (PWN) in the Kookaburra region with Chandra, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR. Using the archival XMM-Newton and new NuSTAR data, we detected 68 ms pulsations of the pulsar and characterized its X-r...
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb1b0 |
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| author | Jaegeun Park Chanho Kim Jooyun Woo Hongjun An Kaya Mori Stephen P. Reynolds Samar Safi-Harb |
| author_facet | Jaegeun Park Chanho Kim Jooyun Woo Hongjun An Kaya Mori Stephen P. Reynolds Samar Safi-Harb |
| author_sort | Jaegeun Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present a detailed analysis of broadband X-ray observations of the pulsar PSR J1420−6048 and its wind nebula (PWN) in the Kookaburra region with Chandra, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR. Using the archival XMM-Newton and new NuSTAR data, we detected 68 ms pulsations of the pulsar and characterized its X-ray pulse profile, which exhibits a sharp spike and a broad bump separated by ∼0.5 in phase. A high-resolution Chandra image revealed a complex morphology of the PWN: a torus-jet structure, a few knots around the torus, one long (∼7′) and two short tails extending in the northwest direction, and a bright diffuse emission region to the south. Spatially integrated Chandra and NuSTAR spectra of the PWN out to 2.′5 are well-described by a power-law model with a photon index Γ ≈ 2. A spatially resolved spectroscopic study, as well as NuSTAR radial profiles of the 3–7 keV and 7–20 keV brightness, showed a hint of spectral softening with increasing distance from the pulsar. A multiwavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) of the source was then obtained by supplementing our X-ray measurements with published radio, Fermi-LAT, and H.E.S.S. data. The SED and radial variations of the X-ray spectrum were fit with a leptonic multizone emission model. Our detailed study of the PWN may be suggestive of (1) particle transport dominated by advection, (2) a low magnetic-field strength ( B ∼ 5 μ G), and (3) electron acceleration to ∼PeV energies. |
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| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:17:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-bcd2999c2c8a405c99f114c2502bc9152023-09-03T14:08:26ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-0194513310.3847/1538-4357/acb1b0X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra RegionJaegeun Park0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9103-506XChanho Kim1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0226-9524Jooyun Woo2Hongjun An3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6389-9012Kaya Mori4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9709-5389Stephen P. Reynolds5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5365-5444Samar Safi-Harb6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6189-7665Department of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungbuk National University , Cheongju, 28644, Republic of Korea ; hjan@cbnu.ac.krDepartment of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungbuk National University , Cheongju, 28644, Republic of Korea ; hjan@cbnu.ac.krColumbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , New York, NY 10027, USADepartment of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungbuk National University , Cheongju, 28644, Republic of Korea ; hjan@cbnu.ac.krColumbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , New York, NY 10027, USAPhysics Department, NC State University , Raleigh, NC 27695, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, CanadaWe present a detailed analysis of broadband X-ray observations of the pulsar PSR J1420−6048 and its wind nebula (PWN) in the Kookaburra region with Chandra, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR. Using the archival XMM-Newton and new NuSTAR data, we detected 68 ms pulsations of the pulsar and characterized its X-ray pulse profile, which exhibits a sharp spike and a broad bump separated by ∼0.5 in phase. A high-resolution Chandra image revealed a complex morphology of the PWN: a torus-jet structure, a few knots around the torus, one long (∼7′) and two short tails extending in the northwest direction, and a bright diffuse emission region to the south. Spatially integrated Chandra and NuSTAR spectra of the PWN out to 2.′5 are well-described by a power-law model with a photon index Γ ≈ 2. A spatially resolved spectroscopic study, as well as NuSTAR radial profiles of the 3–7 keV and 7–20 keV brightness, showed a hint of spectral softening with increasing distance from the pulsar. A multiwavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) of the source was then obtained by supplementing our X-ray measurements with published radio, Fermi-LAT, and H.E.S.S. data. The SED and radial variations of the X-ray spectrum were fit with a leptonic multizone emission model. Our detailed study of the PWN may be suggestive of (1) particle transport dominated by advection, (2) a low magnetic-field strength ( B ∼ 5 μ G), and (3) electron acceleration to ∼PeV energies.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb1b0Pulsar wind nebulaePulsarsSpectral energy distributionHigh-energy astrophysicsGamma-ray sourcesRadiative processes |
| spellingShingle | Jaegeun Park Chanho Kim Jooyun Woo Hongjun An Kaya Mori Stephen P. Reynolds Samar Safi-Harb X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra Region The Astrophysical Journal Pulsar wind nebulae Pulsars Spectral energy distribution High-energy astrophysics Gamma-ray sources Radiative processes |
| title | X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra Region |
| title_full | X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra Region |
| title_fullStr | X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra Region |
| title_short | X-Ray Studies of the Pulsar PSR J1420–6048 and Its TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Kookaburra Region |
| title_sort | x ray studies of the pulsar psr j1420 6048 and its tev pulsar wind nebula in the kookaburra region |
| topic | Pulsar wind nebulae Pulsars Spectral energy distribution High-energy astrophysics Gamma-ray sources Radiative processes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb1b0 |
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