NuSTAR's Preliminary Results of the Pulsar Wind Nebula G21.5-0.9
Abstract
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is the first hard X-ray (3 - 80 keV) focusing telescope on-orbit. With orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity, and arcminute imaging capability, NuSTAR is providing valuable insight into the morphology of of pulsar wind nebulae (PWN). G21.5-0.9 is classified as a Crab-like composite SNR, with a centrally-peaked, non-thermal PWN spectrum powered by a young, weak pulsar. With no detectable thermal spectrum, G21.5-0.9 is an ideal candidate to investigate synchrotron emission in PWNe. We present preliminary results from NuSTAR observations of G21.5-0.9. Specifically, we will report on the power-law spectral indices at both soft and hard energies, and compare those with results from other X-ray missions. We will also investigate two known characteristics of this plerion: the softening of the spectrum towards the edges of the remnant, and the size dependence on energy.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #221
- Pub Date:
- January 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AAS...22124410N