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- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(author)
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The first fermi large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars
- 2010
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In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 187:2, s. 460-494
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The dramatic increase in the number of known gamma-ray pulsars since the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST) offers the first opportunity to study a sizable population of these high-energy objects. This catalog summarizes 46 high-confidence pulsed detections using the first six months of data taken by the Large Area Telescope (LAT), Fermi's main instrument. Sixteen previously unknown pulsars were discovered by searching for pulsed signals at the positions of bright gamma-ray sources seen with the LAT, or at the positions of objects suspected to be neutron stars based on observations at other wavelengths. The dimmest observed flux among these gamma-ray-selected pulsars is 6.0 x 10(-8) ph cm(-2) s(-1) (for E > 100 MeV). Pulsed gamma-ray emission was discovered from 24 known pulsars by using ephemerides (timing solutions) derived from monitoring radio pulsars. Eight of these new gamma-ray pulsars are millisecond pulsars. The dimmest observed flux among the radio-selected pulsars is 1.4 x 10(-8) ph cm(-2) s(-1) (for E > 100 MeV). The remaining six gamma-ray pulsars were known since the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission, or before. The limiting flux for pulse detection is non-uniform over the sky owing to different background levels, especially near the Galactic plane. The pulsed energy spectra can be described by a power law with an exponential cutoff, with cutoff energies in the range similar to 1-5 GeV. The rotational energy-loss rate ((E) over dot) of these neutron stars spans five decades, from similar to 3 x 10(33) erg s(-1) to 5 x 10(38) erg s(-1), and the apparent efficiencies for conversion to gammaray emission range from similar to 0.1% to similar to unity, although distance uncertainties complicate efficiency estimates. The pulse shapes show substantial diversity, but roughly 75% of the gamma-ray pulse profiles have two peaks, separated by greater than or similar to 0.2 of rotational phase. For most of the pulsars, gamma-ray emission appears to come mainly from the outer magnetosphere, while polar-cap emission remains plausible for a remaining few. Spatial associations imply that many of these pulsars power pulsar wind nebulae. Finally, these discoveries suggest that gamma-ray-selected young pulsars are born at a rate comparable to that of their radio-selected cousins and that the birthrate of all young gamma-ray-detected pulsars is a substantial fraction of the expected Galactic supernova rate.
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2. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(author)
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DISCOVERY OF HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM THE BINARY SYSTEM PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 AROUND PERIASTRON WITH FERMI
- 2011
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205. ; 736:1, s. L11-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the discovery of >= 100 MeV gamma-rays from the binary system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 using the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board Fermi. The system comprises a radio pulsar in orbit around a Be star. We report on LAT observations from near apastron to similar to 128 days after the time of periastron, t(p), on 2010 December 15. No gamma-ray emission was detected from this source when it was far from periastron. Faint gamma-ray emission appeared as the pulsar approached periastron. At similar to t(p) + 30 days, the >= 100 MeV gamma-ray flux increased over a period of a few days to a peak flux 20-30 times that seen during the pre-periastron period, but with a softer spectrum. For the following month, it was seen to be variable on daily timescales, but remained at similar to(1-4) x 10(-6) cm(-2) s(-1) before starting to fade at similar to t(p) + 57 days. The total gamma-ray luminosity observed during this period is comparable to the spin-down power of the pulsar. Simultaneous radio and X-ray observations of the source showed no corresponding dramatic changes in radio and X-ray flux between the pre-periastron and post-periastron flares. We discuss possible explanations for the observed gamma-ray-only flaring of the source.
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3. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(author)
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Fermi large area telescope observations of PSR J1836+5925
- 2010
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 712:2, s. 1209-1218
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The discovery of the gamma-ray pulsar PSR J1836+5925, powering the formerly unidentified EGRET source 3EG J1835+5918, was one of the early accomplishments of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Sitting 25 degrees off the Galactic plane, PSR J1836+5925 is a 173 ms pulsar with a characteristic age of 1.8 million years, a spindown luminosity of 1.1 x 10(34) erg s(-1), and a large off-peak (OP) emission component, making it quite unusual among the known gamma-ray pulsar population. We present an analysis of one year of LAT data, including an updated timing solution, detailed spectral results, and a long-term light curve showing no indication of variability. No evidence for a surrounding pulsar wind nebula is seen and the spectral characteristics of the OP emission indicate it is likely magnetospheric. Analysis of recent XMM-Newton observations of the X-ray counterpart yields a detailed characterization of its spectrum, which, like Geminga, is consistent with that of a neutron star showing evidence for both magnetospheric and thermal emission.
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