PSR J1838-0537: DISCOVERY OF A YOUNG, ENERGETIC GAMMA-RAY PULSAR

Journal Article · Fri Aug 10 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/755/1/L20· OSTI ID:22047605

Pletsch, H J; Allen, B; Aulbert, C; Fehrmann, H ^[1]; Guillemot, L; Kramer, M ^[2]; Baring, M G ^[3]; Camilo, F ^[4]; Caraveo, P A; Marelli, M ^[5]; Grove, J E; Ray, P S ^[6]; Kerr, M ^[7]; Ransom, S M ^[8]

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1. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), D-30167 Hannover (Germany)
2. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, MS-108, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 (United States)
4. Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
5. INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, I-20133 Milano (Italy)
6. Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375-5352 (United States)
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. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States)

We report the discovery of PSR J1838-0537, a gamma-ray pulsar found through a blind search of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The pulsar has a spin frequency of 6.9 Hz and a frequency derivative of -2.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -11} Hz s{sup -1}, implying a young characteristic age of 4970 yr and a large spin-down power of 5.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 36} erg s{sup -1}. Follow-up observations with radio telescopes detected no pulsations; thus PSR J1838-0537 appears radio-quiet as viewed from Earth. In 2009 September the pulsar suffered the largest glitch so far seen in any gamma-ray-only pulsar, causing a relative increase in spin frequency of about 5.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6}. After the glitch, during a putative recovery period, the timing analysis is complicated by the sparsity of the LAT photon data, the weakness of the pulsations, and the reduction in average exposure from a coincidental, contemporaneous change in LAT's sky-survey observing pattern. The pulsar's sky position is coincident with the spatially extended TeV source HESS J1841-055 detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). The inferred energetics suggest that HESS J1841-055 contains a pulsar wind nebula powered by the pulsar.

• OSTI ID: 22047605
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 755; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
COSMIC GAMMA SOURCES
COSMIC PHOTONS
GAMMA RADIATION
NEBULAE
PULSARS
PULSATIONS
RADIO TELESCOPES
SPIN
STARS
TEV RANGE