Monitoring the Crab Nebula with Chandra . A search for the location of the gamma -ray flares
Abstract
Subsequent to announcements by the AGILE and by the Fermi-LAT teams of the discovery of gamma -ray flares from the Crab Nebula in the fall of 2010, an international collaboration has been monitoring X-Ray emission from the Crab on a regular basis using the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Observations occurr typically once per month when viewing constraints allow. The aim of the program is to characterize in depth the X-Ray variations within the Nebula, and, if possible, to much more precisely locate the origin of the gamma -ray flares. In 2011 April we triggered a set of Chandra Target-of-Opportunity observations in conjunction with the brightest gamma -ray flare yet observed. We briefly summarize the April X-ray observations and the information we have gleaned to date.
- Publication:
-
Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana
- Pub Date:
- 2013
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.1211.7109
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1211.7109
- Bibcode:
- 2013MmSAI..84..582W
- Keywords:
-
- SNR: individual: Crab Nebula;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 2 figures presented at the meeting "X-ray Astronomy: toward the next 50 years!" held in Milan at the beginning of October