The X-ray jet in the Crab Nebula: radical implications for pulsar theory?
Abstract
The recent Chandra image of the Crab nebula shows a striking, axisymmetric polar jet. It is shown that jets are formed in axisymmetric, magnetized pulsar winds and that the jet luminosity scales relative to the total as (γ0σeq)-4/3, where σeq is the ratio of Poynting flux to particle kinetic energy output at the equator at the base of the flow and γ0 the initial Lorentz factor of the flow. The results are applied to the image of the Crab nebula, and the limit is set for the Crab pulsar of σeq ≤ 100. It is argued that conventional pulsar theory needs to be reexamined in light of these limits.
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