Challenges in explaining the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess with millisecond pulsars
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Center for Particle Astrophysics, Batavia, IL (United States)
- Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)
Millisecond pulsars have been discussed as a possible source of the gamma-ray excess observed from the region surrounding the Galactic Center. With this in mind, we use the observed population of bright low-mass X-ray binaries to estimate the number of millisecond pulsars in the Inner Galaxy. This calculation suggests that only ∼ 1–5% of the excess is produced by millisecond pulsars. We also use the luminosity function derived from local measurements of millisecond pulsars, along with the number of point sources resolved by Fermi, to calculate an upper limit for the diffuse emission from such a population. While this limit is compatible with the millisecond pulsar population implied by the number of low-mass X-ray binaries, it strongly excludes the possibility that most of the excess originates from such objects.
- OSTI ID:
- 22525754
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 06; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1475-7516
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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