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Accession Number:
AD1099654
Title:
Searching a Thousand Radio Pulsars for Gamma-Ray Emission
Descriptive Note:
Journal Article - Open Access
Corporate Author:
NAVAL RESEARCH LAB WASHINGTON DC WASHINGTON United States
Report Date:
2019-01-23
Pagination or Media Count:
13.0
Abstract:
Identifying as many gamma-ray pulsars as possible in the Fermi Large Area Telescope LAT data helps test pulsar emission models by comparing predicted and observed properties for a large, varied sample with as little selection bias as possible. It also improves extrapolations from the observed population to estimate the contribution of unresolved pulsars to the diffuse gamma-ray emission. We use a recently developed method to determine the probability that a given gamma-ray photon comes from a known position in the sky, convolving the photons energy with the LATs energy-dependent point-spread function, without the need for an accurate spatial and spectral model of the gamma-ray sky around the pulsar. The method is simple and fast and, importantly, provides probabilities, or weights, for gamma-rays from pulsars too faint for phase-integrated detection. We applied the method to over a thousand pulsars for which we obtained rotation ephemerides from radio observations, and discovered gamma-ray pulsations from 16 pulsars, 12 young and 4 recycled. PSR J2208 4056 has spindown power E 8 x 1032 erg s-1, about three times lower than the previous observed gamma-ray emission deathline. PSRs J2208 4056 and J1816-0755 have radio interpulses, constraining their geometry and perhaps enhancing their gamma-ray luminosity. We discuss whether the deathline is an artifact of selection bias due to the pulsar distance.
Distribution Statement:
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
