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Title: CONSTRAINTS ON THE EMISSION GEOMETRIES AND SPIN EVOLUTION OF GAMMA-RAY MILLISECOND PULSARS

Abstract

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are a growing class of gamma-ray emitters. Pulsed gamma-ray signals have been detected from more than 40 MSPs with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The wider radio beams and more compact magnetospheres of MSPs enable studies of emission geometries over a broader range of phase space than non-recycled radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars. We have modeled the gamma-ray light curves of 40 LAT-detected MSPs using geometric emission models assuming a vacuum retarded-dipole magnetic field. We modeled the radio profiles using a single-altitude hollow-cone beam, with a core component when indicated by polarimetry; however, for MSPs with gamma-ray and radio light curve peaks occurring at nearly the same rotational phase, we assume that the radio emission is co-located with the gamma rays and caustic in nature. The best-fit parameters and confidence intervals are determined using a maximum likelihood technique. We divide the light curves into three model classes, with gamma-ray peaks trailing (Class I), aligned (Class II), or leading (Class III) the radio peaks. Outer gap and slot gap (two-pole caustic) models best fit roughly equal numbers of Class I and II, while Class III are exclusively fit with pair-starved polar cap models. Distinguishing between the model classes basedmore » on typical derived parameters is difficult. We explore the evolution of the magnetic inclination angle with period and spin-down power, finding possible correlations. While the presence of significant off-peak emission can often be used as a discriminator between outer gap and slot gap models, a hybrid model may be needed.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2]; ; ;  [3];  [4]; ;  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8]
  1. National Research Council Research Associate, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 20001 (United States)
  2. Centre for Space Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, 2520 Potchefstroom (South Africa)
  3. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
  4. Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement, LPCE UMR 6115 CNRS, F-45071 Orléans Cedex 02 (France)
  5. Centre d'Études Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, IN2P3/CNRS, Université Bordeaux 1, BP120, F-33175 Gradignan Cedex (France)
  6. Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn (Germany)
  7. W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
  8. Twitter Inc., 1355 Market Street 900, San Francisco, CA 94103 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22340205
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 213; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0067-0049
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CONES; GALACTIC EVOLUTION; GAMMA RADIATION; GEOMETRY; INCLINATION; LIMITING VALUES; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD FIT; PHASE SPACE; POLARIMETRY; PULSARS; PULSES; SPIN; TELESCOPES; VISIBLE RADIATION

Citation Formats

Johnson, T. J., Venter, C., Harding, A. K., Çelik, Ö., Ferrara, E. C., Guillemot, L., Smith, D. A., Hou, X., Kramer, M., Den Hartog, P. R., Lande, J., and Ray, P. S., E-mail: tyrel.j.johnson@gmail.com, E-mail: Christo.Venter@nwu.ac.za, E-mail: ahardingx@yahoo.com. CONSTRAINTS ON THE EMISSION GEOMETRIES AND SPIN EVOLUTION OF GAMMA-RAY MILLISECOND PULSARS. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/213/1/6.
Johnson, T. J., Venter, C., Harding, A. K., Çelik, Ö., Ferrara, E. C., Guillemot, L., Smith, D. A., Hou, X., Kramer, M., Den Hartog, P. R., Lande, J., & Ray, P. S., E-mail: tyrel.j.johnson@gmail.com, E-mail: Christo.Venter@nwu.ac.za, E-mail: ahardingx@yahoo.com. CONSTRAINTS ON THE EMISSION GEOMETRIES AND SPIN EVOLUTION OF GAMMA-RAY MILLISECOND PULSARS. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/213/1/6
Johnson, T. J., Venter, C., Harding, A. K., Çelik, Ö., Ferrara, E. C., Guillemot, L., Smith, D. A., Hou, X., Kramer, M., Den Hartog, P. R., Lande, J., and Ray, P. S., E-mail: tyrel.j.johnson@gmail.com, E-mail: Christo.Venter@nwu.ac.za, E-mail: ahardingx@yahoo.com. 2014. "CONSTRAINTS ON THE EMISSION GEOMETRIES AND SPIN EVOLUTION OF GAMMA-RAY MILLISECOND PULSARS". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/213/1/6.
@article{osti_22340205,
title = {CONSTRAINTS ON THE EMISSION GEOMETRIES AND SPIN EVOLUTION OF GAMMA-RAY MILLISECOND PULSARS},
author = {Johnson, T. J. and Venter, C. and Harding, A. K. and Çelik, Ö. and Ferrara, E. C. and Guillemot, L. and Smith, D. A. and Hou, X. and Kramer, M. and Den Hartog, P. R. and Lande, J. and Ray, P. S., E-mail: tyrel.j.johnson@gmail.com, E-mail: Christo.Venter@nwu.ac.za, E-mail: ahardingx@yahoo.com},
abstractNote = {Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are a growing class of gamma-ray emitters. Pulsed gamma-ray signals have been detected from more than 40 MSPs with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The wider radio beams and more compact magnetospheres of MSPs enable studies of emission geometries over a broader range of phase space than non-recycled radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars. We have modeled the gamma-ray light curves of 40 LAT-detected MSPs using geometric emission models assuming a vacuum retarded-dipole magnetic field. We modeled the radio profiles using a single-altitude hollow-cone beam, with a core component when indicated by polarimetry; however, for MSPs with gamma-ray and radio light curve peaks occurring at nearly the same rotational phase, we assume that the radio emission is co-located with the gamma rays and caustic in nature. The best-fit parameters and confidence intervals are determined using a maximum likelihood technique. We divide the light curves into three model classes, with gamma-ray peaks trailing (Class I), aligned (Class II), or leading (Class III) the radio peaks. Outer gap and slot gap (two-pole caustic) models best fit roughly equal numbers of Class I and II, while Class III are exclusively fit with pair-starved polar cap models. Distinguishing between the model classes based on typical derived parameters is difficult. We explore the evolution of the magnetic inclination angle with period and spin-down power, finding possible correlations. While the presence of significant off-peak emission can often be used as a discriminator between outer gap and slot gap models, a hybrid model may be needed.},
doi = {10.1088/0067-0049/213/1/6},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22340205}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series},
issn = {0067-0049},
number = 1,
volume = 213,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}

Works referencing / citing this record:

PARKES RADIO SEARCHES OF FERMI GAMMA-RAY SOURCES AND MILLISECOND PULSAR DISCOVERIES
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Evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole in the globular cluster NGC 6624
journal, February 2017


Radio emission of the Crab and Crab-like pulsars
journal, November 2018


Einstein@Home discovers a radio-quiet gamma-ray millisecond pulsar
journal, February 2018


Measuring Neutron star Radii via Pulse Profile Modeling with Nicer
journal, November 2016


The crab Pulsar at Centimeter Wavelengths. ii. Single Pulses
journal, December 2016


The Einstein@Home Gamma-Ray Pulsar Survey. i. Search Methods, Sensitivity, and Discovery of new Young Gamma-Ray Pulsars
journal, January 2017


Constraining Relativistic Bow Shock Properties in Rotation-powered Millisecond Pulsar Binaries
journal, April 2017


The Einstein@Home Gamma-ray Pulsar Survey. II. Source Selection, Spectral Analysis, and Multiwavelength Follow-up
journal, February 2018


Resonant Inverse Compton Scattering Spectra from Highly Magnetized Neutron Stars
journal, February 2018


Electron–Positron Pair Flow and Current Composition in the Pulsar Magnetosphere
journal, May 2018


Three-dimensional Kinetic Pulsar Magnetosphere Models: Connecting to Gamma-Ray Observations
journal, April 2018


Population Syntheses of Millisecond Pulsars from the Galactic Disk and Bulge
journal, August 2018


Pressure Balance and Intrabinary Shock Stability in Rotation-powered-state Redback and Transitional Millisecond Pulsar Binary Systems
journal, December 2018


The GMRT High-resolution Southern Sky Survey for Pulsars and Transients. II. New Discoveries, Timing, and Polarization Properties
journal, August 2019


A Millisecond Pulsar Discovery in a Survey of Unidentified Fermi γ -Ray Sources with LOFAR
journal, September 2017


Pulsar Radio Emission Mechanism: Radio Nanoshots as a Low-frequency Afterglow of Relativistic Magnetic Reconnection
journal, April 2019


Discovery of Soft X-Ray Pulsations from PSR J1231–1411 using NICER
journal, June 2019


A NICER View of PSR J0030+0451: Millisecond Pulsar Parameter Estimation
journal, December 2019


PSR J0030+0451 Mass and Radius from NICER Data and Implications for the Properties of Neutron Star Matter
journal, December 2019


A NICER View of PSR J0030+0451: Evidence for a Global-scale Multipolar Magnetic Field
journal, December 2019


Einstein@Home discovers a radio-quiet gamma-ray millisecond pulsar
text, January 2018


Measuring Neutron Star Radii via Pulse Profile Modeling with NICER
text, January 2015


The Crab Pulsar at Centimeter Wavelengths II: Single Pulses
text, January 2016


Population syntheses of millisecond pulsars from the Galactic Disk and Bulge
text, January 2018


Discovery of Soft X-ray Pulsations from PSR J1231-1411 using NICER
text, January 2019