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.

Mössbauer spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation.

Abstract: Delayed coherent nuclear forward scattering of synchrotron radiation by polycrystalline Fe foils (both isotopically enriched and naturally abundant) has been measured. Quantum beats wre observed in the time spectra. With the chosen experimental conditions these can only arise from coherent scattering. The 5-meV bandwidth provided by a special silicon crystal monochromator obviates the need for a nuclear resonant filter. This direct approach offers the possibility of performing a wide range of M\"ossbauer spectroscopy experiments using synchrotron radiation.

High-Altitude Emission from Pulsar Slot Gaps: The Crab Pulsar

Abstract: We present results of a 3D model of optical to gamma-ray emission from the slot gap accelerator of a rotation-powered pulsar. Primary electrons accelerating to high-altitudes in the unscreened electric field of the slot gap reach radiation-reaction limited Lorentz factors of approx. 2 x 10(exp 7), while electron-positron pairs from lower-altitude cascades flow along field lines interior to the slot gap. The curvature, synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation of both primary electrons and pairs produce a broad spectrum of emission from infra-red to GeV energies. Both primaries and pairs undergo cyclotron resonant absorption of radio photons, allowing them to maintain significant pitch angles. Synchrotron radiation from pairs with a power-law energy spectrum from gamma = 10(exp 2) - 10(exp 5), dominate the spectrum up to approx. 10 MeV. Synchrotron and curvature radiation of primaries dominates from 10 MeV up to a few GeV. We examine the energy-dependent pulse profiles and phase-resolved spectra for parameters of the Crab pulsar as a function of magnetic inclination alpha and viewing angle zeta, comparing to broad-band data. In most cases, the pulse profiles are dominated by caustics on trailing field lines. We also explore the relation of the high-energy and the radio profiles, as well as the possibility of caustic formation in the radio cone emission. We find that the Crab pulsar profiles and spectrum can be reasonably well reproduced by a model with alpha = 45deg and zeta approx. 100deg or 80deg. This model predicts that the slot gap emission below 200 MeV will exhibit correlations in time and phase with the radio emission.

Chandra X-Ray Observations of Pictor A: High-Energy Cosmic Rays in a Radio Galaxy

Abstract: We report X-ray observations of the nearby, powerful radio galaxy Pictor A with the Chandra Observatory and optical and near-UV observations of its western radio hot spot with the Hubble Space Telescope. X-ray emission is detected from the nucleus, a 19 (110 kpc) long jet to the west of the nucleus, the western radio hot spot some 42 (240 kpc) from the nucleus, and the eastern radio lobe. The morphology of the western hot spot is remarkably similar to that seen at radio and optical wavelengths, where the emission is known to be synchrotron radiation. The X-ray spectrum of the hot spot is well described by an absorbed power law with photon index Γ = 2.07 ± 0.11. The X-ray jet coincides with a weak radio jet and is laterally extended by 20 (1.9 kpc). The observed jet is up to 15 times brighter in X-rays than any counterjet, a difference ascribed to relativistic boosting since the western radio lobe is probably the closer. The jet's spectrum is well modeled by an absorbed power law with Γ = 1.94 and poorly fitted by a Raymond-Smith thermal plasma model. The emission processes responsible for the X-rays are discussed in detail. The radio-to-optical spectrum of the hot spot breaks or turns down at 1013-1014 Hz, and its X-ray spectrum is not a simple extension of the radio-to-optical spectrum to higher frequencies. Thermal models for the hot spot's X-ray emission are ruled out. Synchrotron self-Compton models involving scattering from the known population of electrons give the wrong spectral index for the hot spot's X-ray emission and are also excluded. A composite synchrotron plus synchrotron self-Compton model can match the X-ray observations but requires similar contributions from the two components in the Chandra band. We show that the hot spot's X-ray emission could be synchrotron self-Compton emission from a hitherto unobserved population of electrons emitting at low radio frequencies but do not favor this model in view of the very weak magnetic field required. An inverse Compton model of the jet, in which it scatters microwave background photons but moves nonrelativistically, requires a magnetic field a factor of 30 below equipartition and ad hoc conditions to explain why the radio lobes are fainter than the jet in X-rays but brighter in the radio. These problems are alleviated if the jet moves relativistically, but models with an equipartition field require an implausibly small angle (θ) between the jet and the line of sight. A model with θ 23° and a field a factor of 6 below equipartition seems viable. Synchrotron radiation is an alternative process for the X-ray emission. The expected synchrotron spectrum from relativistic electrons accelerated by strong shocks and subject to synchrotron radiation losses is in very good agreement with that observed for both the hot spot and jet. The possibility that the relativistic electrons result via photopion production by high-energy protons accelerated in shocks (a proton-induced cascade) is briefly discussed.

Chandra x-ray imaging and spectroscopy of the m87 jet and nucleus

Abstract: We report X-ray imaging spectroscopy of the jet of M87 at subarcsecond resolution with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The galaxy nucleus and all the knots seen at radio and optical wavelengths, as far from the nucleus as knot C, are detected in the X-ray observations. There is a strong trend for the ratio of X-ray-to-radio, or optical, flux to decline with increasing distance from the nucleus. At least three knots are displaced from their radio/optical counterparts, being tens of parsecs closer to the nucleus at X-ray than at radio or optical wavelengths. The X-ray spectra of the nucleus and knots are well described by power laws absorbed by cold gas, with only the unresolved nucleus exhibiting intrinsic absorption. In view of the similar spectra of the nucleus and jet knots, and the high X-ray flux of the knots closest to the nucleus, we suggest that the X-ray emission coincident with the nucleus may actually originate from the parsec- or subparsec-scale jet rather than the accretion disk. Arguments are given that the X-ray emission process is unlikely to be inverse Compton scattering. Instead, we favor synchrotron radiation. Plotted as νSν, the spectra of the knots generally peak in or just above the optical-near-infrared band. However, the overall spectra of at least three knots cannot be described by simple models in which the spectral index monotonically increases with frequency, as would result from synchrotron losses or a high-energy cut-off to the injected electron spectrum. Instead, these spectra must turn down just above the optical band and then flatten in the X-ray band. In the context of a synchrotron model, this result suggests that either the X-ray-emitting electrons/positrons in these knots represent a separate "population" from those that emit the radio and optical radiation or that the magnetic field is highly inhomogeneous. If the former interpretation is correct, our results provide further support for the notion that radio galaxies produce a hard [γ 2-2.5, N(E) ∝ E-γ] spectrum of high-energy [ ~ 107-108] electrons and possibly positrons.