FERMI LAT PULSED DETECTION OF PSR J0737-3039A IN THE DOUBLE PULSAR SYSTEM
- Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
- National Research Council Research Associate, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 20001 (United States)
- 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)
- Centre for Space Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, 2520 Potchefstroom (South Africa)
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL (United Kingdom)
We report the Fermi Large Area Telescope discovery of {gamma}-ray pulsations from the 22.7 ms pulsar A in the double pulsar system J0737-3039A/B. This is the first mildly recycled millisecond pulsar (MSP) detected in the GeV domain. The 2.7 s companion object PSR J0737-3039B is not detected in {gamma} rays. PSR J0737-3039A is a faint {gamma}-ray emitter, so that its spectral properties are only weakly constrained; however, its measured efficiency is typical of other MSPs. The two peaks of the {gamma}-ray light curve are separated by roughly half a rotation and are well offset from the radio and X-ray emission, suggesting that the GeV radiation originates in a distinct part of the magnetosphere from the other types of emission. From the modeling of the radio and the {gamma}-ray emission profiles and the analysis of radio polarization data, we constrain the magnetic inclination {alpha} and the viewing angle {zeta} to be close to 90 Degree-Sign , which is consistent with independent studies of the radio emission from PSR J0737-3039A. A small misalignment angle between the pulsar's spin axis and the system's orbital axis is therefore favored, supporting the hypothesis that pulsar B was formed in a nearly symmetric supernova explosion as has been discussed in the literature already.
- OSTI ID:
- 22126721
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 768, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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