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Synchrotron radiation

About: Synchrotron radiation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 14639 publications have been published within this topic receiving 244775 citations. The topic is also known as: magnetobremsstrahlung radiation & Synchrotron Radiation.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the synchrotron and self-Compton spectrum of X-ray selected BL Lac (XBL) objects detected in the TeV regime was derived by assuming that the radio-through-X-ray flux from XBLs is nonthermal synchoretron radiation emitted by isotropically-distributed electrons in the randomly oriented magnetic field of a relativistic blazar jet.
Abstract: We introduce a methodology for analysis of multiwavelength data from X-ray selected BL Lac (XBL) objects detected in the TeV regime. By assuming that the radio--through--X-ray flux from XBLs is nonthermal synchrotron radiation emitted by isotropically-distributed electrons in the randomly oriented magnetic field of a relativistic blazar jet, we obtain the electron spectrum. This spectrum is then used to deduce the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) spectrum as a function of the Doppler factor, magnetic field, and variability timescale. The variability timescale is used to infer the comoving blob radius from light travel-time arguments, leaving only two parameters. With this approach, we accurately simulate the synchrotron and SSC spectrum of flaring XBLs in the Thomson through Klein-Nishina regimes. Photoabsorption by interactions with internal jet radiation and the intergalactic background light (IBL) is included. Doppler factors, magnetic fields, and absolute jet powers are obtained by fitting the {\em HESS} and {\em Swift} data of the recent giant TeV flare observed from \object{PKS 2155--304}. For the contemporaneous {\em Swift} and {\em HESS} data from 28 and 30 July 2006, respectively, Doppler factors $\gtrsim 60$ and absolute jet powers $\gtrsim 10^{46}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ are required for a synchrotron/SSC model to give a good fit to the data, for a low intensity of the IBL and a ratio of 10 times more energy in hadrons than nonthermal electrons. Fits are also made to a TeV flare observed in 2001 from Mkn 421 which require Doppler factors $\gtrsim 30$ and jet powers $\gtrsim 10^{45}$ erg s$^{-1}$.

292 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a simple beam line is suggested which would allow a substantial increase in low energy X-ray flux (measurements down to Al and Si) with the sample and detector in a He atmosphere.
Abstract: The problem of absorption of soft X-rays by thick Be windows in hard X-ray beam lines is well known. Although the signal at 2.4 keV was reduced by ∼ 103 we have routinely measured the absorption spectra of S (2472 eV) and elements at higher energies including Cl, Ar and K. These spectra were obtained on hard X-ray beam lines at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) with Si(111) monochromator crystals and a fluorescent ion chamber detector [1]. Higher energy harmonics were minimized by detuning and the end station was enclosed in a helium bag to prevent absorption by air. Although the diminished X-ray flux and decreasing fluorescent yield were serious negative factors at these low X-ray energies the spectra from thick samples were of excellent quality with sufficient sensitivity to characterize 1% S in coal. Representative spectra are shown comparing data from focused and unfocused beam lines and with S data from JUMBO [2]. Comparison of Ar and KCl data to excellent data found in the older literature [3–5] allow a confirmation of the resolution function (energy bandpass) of the monochromator. A simple new beam line is suggested which would allow a substantial increase in low energy X-ray flux (measurements down to Al and Si) with the sample and detector in a He atmosphere.

291 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Abstract: The diffusive shock acceleration process can accelerate particles to a maximum energy depending on the shock speed and age and on any competing loss processes on the particles The shock waves of young supernova remnants can easily accelerate electrons to energies in excess of 1 TeV, where they can produce X-rays by the synchrotron process I describe a detailed calculation of the morphology and spectrum of synchrotron X-rays from supernova remnants Remnants are assumed to be spherical and in the Sedov evolutionary phase, though the results are insensitive to the detailed dynamics The upstream magnetic field is assumed uniform; downstream it is assumed to be compressed but not additionally turbulently amplified In all cases, spectra begin to depart from power laws somewhere in the optical to UV range and roll off smoothly through the X-ray band I show that simple approximations for the electron emissivity are not adequate; a full convolution of the individual electron synchrotron emissivity with a calculated electron distribution at each point in the remnant is required Models limited by the finite shock age, by synchrotron or inverse Compton losses on electrons, or by escape of electrons above some energy have characteristically different spectral shapes, but within each class, models resemble one another strongly and can be related by simple scalings The images and spectra depend primarily on the remnant age, the upstream magnetic field strength, and the level of magnetic turbulence near the shock in which the electrons scatter In addition, images depend on the viewing or aspect angle between the upstream magnetic field and the line of sight The diffusion coefficient is assumed to be proportional to particle energy (or mean free path proportional to gyroradius), but I investigate the possibility that the proportionality constant becomes much larger above some energy, corresponding to an absence of long-wavelength MHD waves Models producing similar spectra may differ significantly in morphology, which allows for possible discriminations I parameterize the model spectra in terms of a slope at 4 keV and a factor by which the X-ray flux density at that energy falls below the extrapolated radio spectrum Synchrotron radiation may contribute significantly to the X-ray emission of remnants up to several thousand years old

291 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors observed that the synchrotron power is observed to peak at hard X-ray energies, a behavior never seen before in this or any other blazar.
Abstract: The BL Lac object Mkn 501, one of the only three extragalactic sources (with Mkn 421 and 1ES 2344+514) so far detected at TeV energies, was observed with the BeppoSAX satellite on 7, 11, and 16 April 1997 during a phase of high activity at TeV energies, as monitored with the Whipple, HEGRA and CAT Cherenkov telescopes. Over the whole 0.1-200 keV range the spectrum was exceptionally hard (alpha =< 1, with F_nu ~ nu^{-alpha}) indicating that the X-ray power output peaked at (or above) ~100 keV. This represents a shift of at least two orders of magnitude with respect to previous observations of Mkn 501, a behavior never seen before in this or any other blazar. The overall X-ray spectrum hardens with increasing intensity and, at each epoch, it is softer at larger energies. The correlated variability from soft X-rays to the TeV band points to models in which the same population of relativistic electrons produces the X-ray continuum via synchrotron radiation and the TeV emission by inverse Compton scattering of the synchrotron photons or other seed photons. For the first time in any blazar the synchrotron power is observed to peak at hard X-ray energies. The large shift of the synchrotron peak frequency with respect to previous observations of Mkn 501 implies that intrinsic changes in the relativistic electron spectrum caused the increase in emitted power. Due to the very high electron energies, the inverse Compton process is limited by the Klein-Nishina regime. This implies a quasi-linear (as opposed to quadratic) relation of the variability amplitude in the TeV and hard X-ray ranges (for the SSC model) and an increase of the inverse Compton peak frequency smaller than that of the synchrotron peak frequency.

288 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
A. A. Abdo1, A. A. Abdo2, Markus Ackermann3, Marco Ajello3  +238 moreInstitutions (44)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on γ-ray observations of the Crab Pulsar and Nebula using 8 months of survey data with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT).
Abstract: We report on γ -ray observations of the Crab Pulsar and Nebula using 8 months of survey data with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The high quality light curve obtained using the ephemeris provided by the Nan¸cay and Jodrell Bank radio telescopes shows two main peaks stable in phase with energy. The first γ -ray peak leads the radio main pulse by (281 ± 12 ± 21) μs, giving new constraints on the production site of non-thermal emission in pulsar magnetospheres. The first uncertainty is due to γ -ray statistics, and the second arises from the rotation parameters. The improved sensitivity and the unprecedented statistics afforded by the LAT enable precise measurement of the Crab Pulsar spectral parameters: cut-off energy at Ec = (5.8 ± 0.5 ± 1.2) GeV, spectral index of Γ = (1.97 ± 0.02 ± 0.06) and integral photon flux above 100 MeV of (2.09 ± 0.03 ± 0.18) × 10−6 cm−2 s−1. The first errors represent the statistical error on the fit parameters, while the second ones are the systematic uncertainties. Pulsed γ -ray photons are observed up to ∼20 GeV which precludes emission near the stellar surface, below altitudes of around 4–5 stellar radii in phase intervals encompassing the two main peaks. A detailed phase-resolved spectral analysis is also performed: the hardest emission from the Crab Pulsar comes from the bridge region between the two γ -ray peaks while the softest comes from the falling edge of the second peak. The spectrum of the nebula in the energy range 100 MeV–300 GeV is well described by the sum of two power laws of indices Γsync = (3.99 ± 0.12 ± 0.08) and ΓIC = (1.64 ± 0.05 ± 0.07), corresponding to the falling edge of the synchrotron and the rising edge of the inverse Compton (IC) components, respectively. This latter, which links up naturally with the spectral data points of Cherenkov experiments, is well reproduced via IC scattering from standard magnetohydrodynamic nebula models, and does not require any additional radiation mechanism.

287 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023266
2022661
2021203
2020258
2019288
2018260