High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback Pulsars
The intrabinary shocks (IBS) of spider pulsars emit nonthermal synchrotron X-rays from accelerated electrons and positrons in the shocked pulsar wind, likely energized by magnetic reconnection. In redback spider pulsars, the IBS typically wraps around the pulsar, leading to a near-normal IBS shock w...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc720 |
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| author | Andrew G. Sullivan Roger W. Romani |
| author_facet | Andrew G. Sullivan Roger W. Romani |
| author_sort | Andrew G. Sullivan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The intrabinary shocks (IBS) of spider pulsars emit nonthermal synchrotron X-rays from accelerated electrons and positrons in the shocked pulsar wind, likely energized by magnetic reconnection. In redback spider pulsars, the IBS typically wraps around the pulsar, leading to a near-normal IBS shock with relatively bright X-ray emission. The characteristic energies of radiating particles and the magnetic fields in the IBS suggest spectral features in the hard X-ray band. Here, we perform joint soft–hard X-ray analyses of three redback pulsars, J1723-2837, J2215+5135, and J2339-0533, including new J2215 NuSTAR data. We identify a significant cooling break in J1723-2837 and a marginal break in J2215+5135, while placing constraints on the break energy in J2339-0533. Interpreting these as synchrotron cooling features allows us to estimate the IBS magnetic field B _IBS ∼ 40–100 G and place lower bounds on the maximum radiating electron energy. Our results constrain the magnetization of the pulsar wind as well as pair production in millisecond pulsar magnetospheres. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5d1fe6f2014a465d90e7db920a1267f9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-5d1fe6f2014a465d90e7db920a1267f92025-08-20T03:52:38ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01984214610.3847/1538-4357/adc720High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback PulsarsAndrew G. Sullivan0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9545-7286Roger W. Romani1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6711-3286Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USAKavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USAThe intrabinary shocks (IBS) of spider pulsars emit nonthermal synchrotron X-rays from accelerated electrons and positrons in the shocked pulsar wind, likely energized by magnetic reconnection. In redback spider pulsars, the IBS typically wraps around the pulsar, leading to a near-normal IBS shock with relatively bright X-ray emission. The characteristic energies of radiating particles and the magnetic fields in the IBS suggest spectral features in the hard X-ray band. Here, we perform joint soft–hard X-ray analyses of three redback pulsars, J1723-2837, J2215+5135, and J2339-0533, including new J2215 NuSTAR data. We identify a significant cooling break in J1723-2837 and a marginal break in J2215+5135, while placing constraints on the break energy in J2339-0533. Interpreting these as synchrotron cooling features allows us to estimate the IBS magnetic field B _IBS ∼ 40–100 G and place lower bounds on the maximum radiating electron energy. Our results constrain the magnetization of the pulsar wind as well as pair production in millisecond pulsar magnetospheres.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc720Non-thermal radiation sourcesPulsarsMillisecond pulsarsBinary pulsarsShocks |
| spellingShingle | Andrew G. Sullivan Roger W. Romani High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback Pulsars The Astrophysical Journal Non-thermal radiation sources Pulsars Millisecond pulsars Binary pulsars Shocks |
| title | High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback Pulsars |
| title_full | High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback Pulsars |
| title_fullStr | High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback Pulsars |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback Pulsars |
| title_short | High-energy Emission from the Intrabinary Shocks in Redback Pulsars |
| title_sort | high energy emission from the intrabinary shocks in redback pulsars |
| topic | Non-thermal radiation sources Pulsars Millisecond pulsars Binary pulsars Shocks |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc720 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andrewgsullivan highenergyemissionfromtheintrabinaryshocksinredbackpulsars AT rogerwromani highenergyemissionfromtheintrabinaryshocksinredbackpulsars |