The Crab Nebula - A unique astrophysical laboratory

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Crab Nebula, Neutron Stars, Pulsars, Stellar Rotation, Supernova Remnants, X Ray Astronomy, Astrometry, Energy Dissipation, Stellar Spectra, Stellar Winds, Supernovae, Synchrotron Radiation

Scientific paper

Evidence that the pulsar directly or indirectly responsible for the intense emission of the Crab Nebula is a rapidly rotating neutron star, and that synchrotron radiation is the dominant mechanism underlying the Nebula's copious X-ray emission, is reviewed. The misalignment of the star's rotation axis and magnetic dipole axis, with resultant wobble of the X-ray beacon, is discussed. The interaction between the stellar wind shock front and the debris of the 1054 A.D. supernova explosion, evidenced visually by luminous wisps, is seen as the cosmic 'accelerator' responsible for the X-ray output from nebular regions remote from the pulsar. The rotational energy of the neutron star, the relation between the slow-down of its rotation and the total energy loss of the nebula over the entire EM spectrum, and the ratio of the neutron star diameter to the diameter of the nebula, are discussed.

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