PULSED GAMMA RAYS FROM THE MILLISECOND PULSAR J0030+0451 WITH THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE

Journal Article · Fri Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/699/2/1171; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21333745

Abdo, A A ^[1]; Ackermann, M; Bechtol, K; Berenji, B; Bloom, E D; Borgland, A W ^[2]; Atwood, W B ^[3]; Axelsson, M; Battelino, M ^[4]; Baldini, L; Bellazzini, R; Bregeon, J; Brez, A ^[5]; Ballet, J ^[6]; Barbiellini, G ^[7]; Bastieri, D ^[8]; Baughman, B M ^[9]; Bonamente, E ^[10]; Brigida, M ^[11]

---

1. Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)
2. W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
3. Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
4. Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmo Particle Physics, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden)
5. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa (Italy)
6. Laboratoire AIM, CEA-IRFU/CNRS/Universite Paris Diderot, Service d'Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette (France)
7. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste (Italy)
8. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova (Italy)
9. Department of Physics, Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
10. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia (Italy)
11. Dipartimento di Fisica 'M. Merlin' dell'Universita e del Politecnico di Bari, I-70126 Bari (Italy)

We report the discovery of gamma-ray pulsations from the nearby isolated millisecond pulsar (MSP) PSR J0030+0451 with the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST). This discovery makes PSR J0030+0451 the second MSP to be detected in gamma rays after PSR J0218+4232, observed by the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. The spin-down power E-dot=3.5x10{sup 33} erg s{sup -1} is an order of magnitude lower than the empirical lower bound of previously known gamma-ray pulsars. The emission profile is characterized by two narrow peaks, 0.07 {+-} 0.01 and 0.08 {+-} 0.02 wide, respectively, separated by 0.44 {+-} 0.02 in phase. The first gamma-ray peak falls 0.15 {+-} 0.01 after the main radio peak. The pulse shape is similar to that of the 'normal' gamma-ray pulsars. An exponentially cutoff power-law fit of the emission spectrum leads to an integral photon flux above 100 MeV of (6.76 {+-} 1.05 {+-} 1.35) x 10{sup -8} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} with cutoff energy (1.7 {+-} 0.4 {+-} 0.5) GeV. Based on its parallax distance of (300 {+-} 90) pc, we obtain a gamma-ray efficiency L{sub {gamma}}/E-dot{approx_equal}15 percent for the conversion of spin-down energy rate into gamma-ray radiation, assuming isotropic emission.

• OSTI ID: 21333745
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 699, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/699/2/1171; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
EMISSION SPECTRA
GAMMA RADIATION
PHOTONS
PULSARS
PULSE SHAPERS
TELESCOPES