Prospects for the characterization of the VHE emission from the Crab Nebula and Pulsar with the Cherenkov Telescope Array. (arXiv:1912.01921v1 [astro-ph.HE])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Mestre_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">Enrique Mestre</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Wilhelmi_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">Emma de Oña Wilhelmi</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Zanin_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Roberta Zanin</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Torres_D/0/1/0/all/0/1">Diego F. Torres</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Tibaldo_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">Luigi Tibaldo</a>
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next generation instrument
for the very high energy gamma-ray astrophysics domain. With its enhanced
sensitivity in comparison with the current facilities, CTA is expected to shed
light on a varied population of sources. In particular, we will achieve a
deeper knowledge of the Crab nebula and pulsar, which are the best
characterized pulsar wind nebula and rotation powered pulsar, respectively. We
aim at studying the capabilities of CTA regarding these objects through
simulations, using the main tools currently in development for the CTA future
data analysis: Gammapy and ctools. We conclude that, even using conservative
Instrument Response Functions, CTA will be able to resolve many uncertainties
regarding the spectrum and morphology of the pulsar and its nebula. The large
energy range covered by CTA will allow us to disentangle the nebula spectral
shape among different hypotheses, corresponding to different underlying
emitting mechanisms. In addition, resolving internal structures (smaller than ~
0.02 degrees in size) in the nebula and unveiling their location, would provide
crucial information about the propagation of particles in the magnetized
medium. We used a theoretical asymmetric model to characterise the morphology
of the nebula and we showed that if predictions of such morphology exist, for
instance as a result of hydrodynamical or magneto-hydrodynamical simulations,
it can be directly compared with CTA results. We also tested the capability of
CTA to detect periodic radiation from the Crab pulsar obtaining a precise
measurement of different light curves shapes.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next generation instrument
for the very high energy gamma-ray astrophysics domain. With its enhanced
sensitivity in comparison with the current facilities, CTA is expected to shed
light on a varied population of sources. In particular, we will achieve a
deeper knowledge of the Crab nebula and pulsar, which are the best
characterized pulsar wind nebula and rotation powered pulsar, respectively. We
aim at studying the capabilities of CTA regarding these objects through
simulations, using the main tools currently in development for the CTA future
data analysis: Gammapy and ctools. We conclude that, even using conservative
Instrument Response Functions, CTA will be able to resolve many uncertainties
regarding the spectrum and morphology of the pulsar and its nebula. The large
energy range covered by CTA will allow us to disentangle the nebula spectral
shape among different hypotheses, corresponding to different underlying
emitting mechanisms. In addition, resolving internal structures (smaller than ~
0.02 degrees in size) in the nebula and unveiling their location, would provide
crucial information about the propagation of particles in the magnetized
medium. We used a theoretical asymmetric model to characterise the morphology
of the nebula and we showed that if predictions of such morphology exist, for
instance as a result of hydrodynamical or magneto-hydrodynamical simulations,
it can be directly compared with CTA results. We also tested the capability of
CTA to detect periodic radiation from the Crab pulsar obtaining a precise
measurement of different light curves shapes.
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