Speaker
Bronislaw Rudak
(Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences)
Description
We used the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) to observe the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45), one of the very few pulsars observed in radio and from the mid-infrared up to the very high-energy gamma-rays. We detected Vela at frequencies of 97.5, 145, 233, 343.5 GHz and found that its energy density spectrum follows a power-law. The ALMA fluxes correspond to high brightness temperatures suggesting that this emission is due to a coherent radiative process. This is, therefore, the first indication of coherent emission reaching the submillimetre regime in pulsars. Moreover, we identified an extended structure, preliminarily detected in ground-based observations. We support its interpretation as a counter-jet protruding from the pulsar.
Primary author
Bronislaw Rudak
(Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences)
Co-author
Prof.
Roberto Mignani
(INAF - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Milano)