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Analysis of Crab X-ray Polarization using Deeper IXPE Observations

Wong, J; Mizuno, T; Wu, KInwah; Zane, S; Turolla, R; et, al.; (2024) Analysis of Crab X-ray Polarization using Deeper IXPE Observations. The Astrophysical Journal , 973 (2) , Article 172. 10.3847/1538-4357/ad6309. Green open access

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Abstract

We present Crab X-ray polarization measurements using Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) data with a total exposure of 300 ks, three times more than the initial 2022 discovery paper. Polarization is detected in three times more pulsar phase bins, revealing an S-shaped +40° polarization angle sweep in the main pulse and >1σ departures from the OPTIMA optical polarization in both pulses, suggesting different radiation mechanisms or sites for the polarized emission at the two wavebands. Our polarization map of the inner nebula reveals a toroidal magnetic field, as seen in prior IXPE analyses. Along the southern jet, the magnetic field orientation relative to the jet axis changes from perpendicular to parallel and the polarization degree decreases by ∼6%. These observations may be explained by kink instabilities along the jet or a collision with a dense, jet-deflecting medium at the tip. Using spectropolarimetric analysis, we find asymmetric polarization in the four quadrants of the inner nebula, as expected for a toroidal field geometry, and a spatial correlation between polarization degree and photon index.

Type: Article
Title: Analysis of Crab X-ray Polarization using Deeper IXPE Observations
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad6309
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad6309
Language: English
Additional information: © 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10195866
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