NUSTAR OBSERVATIONS OF THE YOUNG, ENERGETIC RADIO PULSAR PSR B1509–58
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2T8 (Canada)
- Department of Physics/KIPAC, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4060 (United States)
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Mail Stop 169-221, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
We report on Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) hard X-ray observations of the young rotation-powered radio pulsar PSR B1509−59 in the supernova remnant MSH 15−52. We confirm the previously reported curvature in the hard X-ray spectrum, showing that a log parabolic model provides a statistically superior fit to the spectrum compared with the standard power law. The log parabolic model describes the NuSTAR data, as well as previously published γ-ray data obtained with COMPTEL and AGILE, all together spanning 3 keV through 500 MeV. Our spectral modeling allows us to constrain the peak of the broadband high energy spectrum to be at 2.6 ± 0.8 MeV, an improvement of nearly an order of magnitude in precision over previous measurements. In addition, we calculate NuSTAR spectra in 26 pulse phase bins and confirm previously reported variations of photon indices with phase. Finally, we measure the pulsed fraction of PSR B1509−58 in the hard X-ray energy band for the first time. Using the energy resolved pulsed fraction results, we estimate that the pulsar’s off-pulse emission has a photon index value between 1.26 and 1.96. Our results support a model in which the pulsar’s lack of GeV emission is due to viewing geometry, with the X-rays originating from synchrotron emission from secondary pairs in the magnetosphere.
- OSTI ID:
- 22521639
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 817, 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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