OBSERVATIONS OF ENERGETIC HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD PULSARS WITH THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE

Journal Article · Tue Dec 20 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/170· OSTI ID:22004414

Parent, D; Abdo, A A ^[1]; Kerr, M; Den Hartog, P R; Romani, R W; Watters, K; Craig, H A ^[2]; Baring, M G ^[3]; DeCesar, M E; Harding, A K ^[4]; Espinoza, C M; Stappers, B W; Weltevrede, P ^[5]; Gotthelf, E V; Camilo, F ^[6]; Johnston, S ^[7]; Kaspi, V M; Livingstone, M ^[8]; Burgay, M ^[9]; Freire, P C. C., ^[10] ; others, and

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1. College of Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 (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. Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, MS-108, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 (United States)
4. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
5. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL (United Kingdom)
6. Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
7. CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, P.O. Box 76, Epping NSW 1710 (Australia)
8. Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, H3A 2T8 (Canada)
9. INAF-Cagliari Astronomical Observatory, I-09012 Capoterra (Italy)
10. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, 53121 Bonn (Germany)

We report the detection of {gamma}-ray pulsations from the high-magnetic-field rotation-powered pulsar PSR J1119-6127 using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The {gamma}-ray light curve of PSR J1119-6127 shows a single, wide peak offset from the radio peak by 0.43 {+-} 0.02 in phase. Spectral analysis suggests a power law of index 1.0 {+-} 0.3{sup +0.4}{sub -0.2} with an energy cutoff at 0.8 {+-} 0.2{sup +2.0}{sub -0.5} GeV. The first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. We discuss the emission models of PSR J1119-6127 and demonstrate that despite the object's high surface magnetic field-near that of magnetars-the field strength and structure in the {gamma}-ray emitting zone are apparently similar to those of typical young pulsars. Additionally, we present upper limits on the {gamma}-ray pulsed emission for the magnetically active PSR J1846-0258 in the supernova remnant Kesteven 75 and two other energetic high-B pulsars, PSRs J1718-3718 and J1734-3333. We explore possible explanations for the non-detection of these three objects, including peculiarities in their emission geometry.

• OSTI ID: 22004414
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 743, Issue 2; Other Information: 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
GAMMA RADIATION
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PULSARS
PULSATIONS
ROTATION
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS
TELESCOPES