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RXTE Observations of the Vela Pulsar: The X-ray-Optical Connection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Alice K Harding
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771USA
Mark S. Strickman
Affiliation:
Code 7651.2, Naval Research Lab., Washington, DCUSA
Carl Gwinn
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
P. McCulloch
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia
D. Moffet
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia

Abstract

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We report on our analysis of a 300 ks observation of the Vela pulsar with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The double-peaked, pulsed emission at 2 - 30 keV, which we had previously detected during a 93 ks observation, is confirmed with much improved statistics. There is now clear evidence, both in the spectrum and the light curve, that the emission in the RXTE band is a blend of two separate components. The spectrum of the harder component connects smoothly with the OSSE, COMPTEL and EGRET spectrum and the peaks in the light curve are in phase coincidence with those of the high-energy light curve. The spectrum of the softer component is consistent with an extrapolation to the pulsed optical flux, and the second RXTE pulse is in phase coincidence with the second optical peak. In addition, we see a peak in the 2-8 keV RXTE pulse profile at the radio phase.

Type
Part 5. High-Energy Observations
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2000

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