Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

A very high energy γ-ray burst from the Crab pulsar

Abstract

The Crab pulsar, a source of pulsed photons over a wide range of energies, has been observed in the TeV energy range by several groups using the Atmospheric Cerenkov technique1. Time-averaged phasograms have shown signals on only a few occasions. The Durham University group2 detected pulsed TeV γ-rays during two transients lasting 15 min, each in October, 1981, while the Ooty group3,4 has shown that the transient duration could be on time scales of minutes or even seconds. In our recent observations, we identified a 15-min interval on 23 January 1985 during which pulsed TeV γ-rays were detected at a 5.1 sigma level at the same phase as the radio main pulse. Our inference of transient pulsed emission is strengthened by the absence of a signal in a nearby control telescope tilted 8° away from the pulsar and evidence for signal in another telescope 11 km away. We present here an analysis of the data from our 1984–1985 observations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Porter, N. A. & Weekes, T. C. Smithson. astrophys. Obs. spec. Rep. 381(1978).

  2. Gibson, A. I. et al. Nature 296, 833–835 (1982).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Vishwanath, P. R. Proc. International Workshop on Very High Energy Gamma Ray Astronomy (Ootacamund, India), (eds P. V. Ramanamuthy & T. C. Weekes) 21–42 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bhat, P. N. et al. Adv. Space Res. 3, 135–138 (1982).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Ramanamurthy, P. V. Non Solar Gamma Rays, 71–84 (Oxford, Pergamon, 1979).

    Google Scholar 

  6. O'Mongain, E. Nature 241, 376–379 (1973).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Wills, R. D. et al. Nature 296, 723–746 (1982).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dowthwaite, J. C. et al. Astrophys. J. 286, L35–L38 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bhat, P., Ramanamurthy, P., Sreekantan, B. et al. A very high energy γ-ray burst from the Crab pulsar. Nature 319, 127–128 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/319127a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/319127a0

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing