The modeling of the Vela pulsar pulses - from optical to hard gamma-ray energy

TL;DR

This paper presents a 3D outer-gap model of the Vela pulsar's radiation, explaining its complex energy-dependent pulse patterns from optical to gamma-ray energies through inverse Compton scattering.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed 3D outer-gap model that reproduces the Vela pulsar's energy-dependent pulse structures across a broad spectrum.

Findings

Inverse Compton scattering explains pulse energy dependence.

Model reproduces observed pulse patterns qualitatively and quantitatively.

Highlights the complexity of pulsar radiation patterns.

Abstract

The pulsed radiation from PSR B0833-45 (Vela) has a phased-averaged spectral energy distribution (SED) of an apparently simple structure across a wide energy range, from optical light to hard gamma-rays. However, the Vela pulses in narrow energy bands reveal astonishing complexity of the directional pattern of the radiation. These pulses are, therefore, a unique clue to the underlying radiative processes. We present the results of a 3D modeling of the Vela radiation properties within an outer-gap scenario. We show how the inverse Compton scattering of photons by primary and secondary particles in its magnetic and non-magnetic regimes reproduces qualitatively, and in some cases quantitatively, the observed energy-dependent pulses of Vela.