THE FIRST FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE CATALOG OF GAMMA-RAY PULSARS

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/187/2/460; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21301165

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

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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 Accelerator 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. Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, 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. Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, MS-108, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 (United States)
9. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova (Italy)
10. Department of Physics, Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)

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{sup -8} ph cm{sup -2} s{sup -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{sup -8} ph cm{sup -2} s{sup -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 {approx}1-5 GeV. The rotational energy-loss rate (E) of these neutron stars spans five decades, from {approx}3 x 10{sup 33} erg s{sup -1} to 5 x 10{sup 38} erg s{sup -1}, and the apparent efficiencies for conversion to gamma-ray emission range from {approx}0.1% to {approx} 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 {approx}>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.

• OSTI ID: 21301165
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, Vol. 187, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/187/2/460; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0067-0049
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
CATALOGS
COSMIC GAMMA SOURCES
DISTANCE
EMISSION
ENERGY LOSSES
ENERGY SPECTRA
GAMMA RADIATION
GEV RANGE 01-10
MEV RANGE 100-1000
NEBULAE
NEUTRON STARS
NEUTRONS
PULSARS
PULSE SHAPERS
PULSES
TELESCOPES