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1997•The Astrophysical JournalOpen access

Size of the Vela Pulsar's Radio Emission Region: 500 Kilometers

C. R. Gwinn, M. J. Ojeda, M. C. Britton, J. E. Reynolds, D. L. Jauncey, Edward King, P. M. McCulloch, J. E. J. Lovell, C. S. Flanagan, D. P. Smits, R. A. Preston, Dayton L. Jones

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Abstract

We use interstellar scattering of the Vela pulsar to determine the size of its emission region. We find that radio-wave scattering in the Vela supernova remnant broadens the source by 3.3 ± 0.2 mas × 2.0 ± 0.1 mas, with the major axis at a position angle of 92° ± 10°. From the modulation of the pulsar's scintillation, we infer a size of 500 km for the pulsar's emission region, with an estimated uncertainty of about a factor of 2, including systematic errors. We suggest that radio-wave refraction within the pulsar's magnetosphere may plausibly explain this size.

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We use interstellar scattering of the Vela pulsar to determine the size of its emission region. We find that radio-wave scattering in the Vela supernova remnant broadens the source by 3.3 ± 0.2 mas × 2.0 ± 0.1 mas, with the major axis at a position angle of 92° ± 10°. From the modulation of the pulsar's scintillation, we infer a size of 500 km for the pulsar's emission region, with an estimated uncertainty of about a factor of 2, including systematic errors. We suggest that radio-wave refraction within the pulsar's magnetosphere may plausibly explain this size.

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Available abstract

We use interstellar scattering of the Vela pulsar to determine the size of its emission region. We find that radio-wave scattering in the Vela supernova remnant broadens the source by 3.3 ± 0.2 mas × 2.0 ± 0.1 mas, with the major axis at a position angle of 92° ± 10°. From the modulation of the pulsar's scintillation, we infer a size of 500 km for the pulsar's emission region, with an estimated uncertainty of about a factor of 2, including systematic errors. We suggest that radio-wave refraction within the pulsar's magnetosphere may plausibly explain this size.

Key concepts: Pulsar, Vela, Physics, Astrophysics, Scintillation, Radio wave, Astronomy, Magnetosphere

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