Detection of bridge emission above 50 GeV from the Crab pulsar with the MAGIC telescopes

Abstract

Context. The Crab pulsar is the only astronomical pulsed source detected at very high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma rays. The emission mechanism of VHE pulsation is not yet fully understood, although several theoretical models have been proposed. Aims. In order to test new models, we measured the light curve and the spectra of the Crab pulsar with high precision by means of deep observations. Methods. We analyzed 135 h of selected MAGIC data taken between 2009 and 2013 in stereoscopic mode. In order to discuss the spectral shape in connection with lower energies, 5.5 years of Fermi-LAT data were also analyzed. Results. The known two pulses per period were detected with a significance of 8.0σ and 12.6σ. In addition, significant emission was found between the two pulses with 6.2σ. Conclusions. We discovered the bridge emission above 50 GeV between the two main pulses. This emission can not be explained with the existing theories. These data can be used for testing new theoretical models. © ESO, 2014.