Probing the Nature of the Vela X Cocoon

TL;DR

This study analyzes the X-ray properties of the Vela X cocoon, revealing ejecta-rich material and modeling multi-wavelength emission processes, including synchrotron and inverse Compton scattering, to understand electron acceleration in this pulsar wind nebula.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed X-ray spectral analysis of the Vela X cocoon and models the electron energy distribution across radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands.

Findings

Enhanced O, Ne, Mg abundances indicate ejecta-rich material.

Synchrotron emission explains radio and X-ray data.

Inverse Compton scattering accounts for gamma-ray emission.

Abstract

Vela X is a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) associated with the active pulsar B0833-45 and contained within the Vela supernova remnant (SNR). A collimated X-ray filament ("cocoon") extends south-southwest from the pulsar to the center of Vela X. VLA observations uncovered radio emission coincident with the eastern edge of the cocoon and H.E.S.S. has detected TeV $\gamma$-ray emission from this region as well. Using XMM-\textit{Newton} archival data, covering the southern portion of this feature, we analyze the X-ray properties of the cocoon. The X-ray data are best fit by an absorbed nonequilibrium plasma model with a powerlaw component. Our analysis of the thermal emission shows enhanced abundances of O, Ne, and Mg within the cocoon, indicating the presence of ejecta-rich material from the propagation of the SNR reverse shock, consistent with Vela X being a disrupted PWN. We investigate the physical processes that excite the electrons in the PWN to emit in the radio, X-ray and $\gamma$-ray bands. The radio and non-thermal X-ray emission can be explained by synchrotron emission. We model the $\gamma$-ray emission by Inverse Compton scattering of electrons off of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons. We use a 3-component broken power law to model the synchrotron emission, finding an intrinsic break in the electron spectrum at $\sim5 \times 10^{6}$ keV and a cooling break at $\sim$ 5.5 $\times 10^{10}$ keV. This cooling break along with a magnetic field strength of 5 $\times 10^{-6}$ G indicate that the synchrotron break occurs at $\sim$1 keV.