Synchrotron Radiation in High Magnetic Fields

Abstract

We suggest that if there exist within the Crab Nebula localised condensations of material containing high magnetic fields, (≫ 1 G), the rapidly evolving synchrotron radiation power spectrum emitted by a single electron can give a radiation continuum with a spectral index having a unique value similar to that observed in the optical and low-energy X-ray regions. One implication of this result is that a simple comparison between the observed fluxes of optical and gamma radiation emitted by the Nebula is no longer meaningful, so that one cannot draw any immediate conclusion regarding the fundamental mechanism of electron and gamma ray production.