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NASA NTRS2000

Gamma-Ray Pulsars: Observations

High-energy gamma rays are a valuable tool for studying particle acceleration and radiation in the magnetospheres of energetic pulsars. The six or more pulsars seen by CGRO/EGRET show that the light curves usually have double-peak structures (suggesting a broad cone of emission); gamma rays are frequently the dominant component of the radiated power; and all the spectra show evidence of a high-energy turnover. Unless a new pulsed component appears at higher energies, progress in gamma-ray pulsar studies will be greatest in the 1-10 GeV range . Ground-based telescopes whose energy ranges extend downward toward 10 GeV should make important measurements of the spectral cutoffs. The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), now in planning for a possible launch in 2005, will provide a major advance in sensitivity, energy range, and sky coverage.

Thompson, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Long-Term Time Variability in the X-Ray Pulse Shape of the Crab Nebula Pulsar

This is the final performance report for our grant 'Long-Term Time Variability in the X-Ray Pulse Shape of the Crab Nebula Pulsar.' In the first year of this grant, we received the 50,000-second ROSAT (German acronym for X-ray satellite) High Resolution Images (HRI) observation of the Crab Nebula pulsar. We used the data to create a 65-ms-resolution pulse profile and compared it to a similar pulse profile obtained in 1991. No statistically significant differences were found. These results were presented at the January 1998 meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Since then, we have performed more sensitive analyses to search for potential changes in the pulse profile shape between the two data sets. Again, no significant variability was found. In order to augment this long (six-year) baseline data set, we have analyzed archival observations of the Crab Nebula pulsar with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). While these observations have shorter time baselines than the ROSAT data set, their higher signal-to-noise offers similar sensitivity to long-term variability. Again, no significant variations have been found, confirming our ROSAT results. This work was done in collaboration with Prof. Stephen Eikenberry, Cornell University. These analyses will be included in Cornell University graduate student Dae-Sik Moon's doctoral thesis.

Fazio, Giovanni G.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Gamma Ray Pulsars: Observations

High-energy gamma rays are a valuable tool for studying particle acceleration and radiation in the magnetospheres of energetic pulsars. The six or more pulsars seen by CGRO/EGRET show that: the light curves usually have double-peak structures (suggesting a broad cone of emission); gamma rays are frequently the dominant component of the radiated power; and all the spectra show evidence of a high-energy turnover. Unless a new pulsed component appears at higher energies, progress in gamma-ray pulsar studies will be greatest in the 1-20 GeV range. Ground-based telescopes whose energy ranges extend downward toward 10 GeV should make important measurements of the spectral cutoffs. The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), now in planning for a launch in 2005, will provide a major advance in sensitivity, energy range, and sky coverage.

Thompson, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Could the Unidentified EGRET Sources in the Gould Belt be of Pulsar Origin?

We explore the possibility, within the polar cap model, that at least some of the recently identified new population of Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) sources in the Gould Belt sources are gamma-ray pulsars, viewed at large angles to the magnetic axis, such that the line-of-sight misses both the bright gamma-ray double cone and the radio beam. We estimate that the detectability of such off-beam gamma-ray sources is about a factor of 4-5 times higher than that of the on-beam sources. The off-beam gamma-ray pulsars also have a faint, soft nature, which is consistent with the observed properties of the Gould Belt sources. We conclude that at least some of the middle latitude sources might be such off-beam gamma-ray pulsars if they are indeed in the Gould Belt.

Zhang, Bing↗
NASA NTRS2001

A Possible X-Ray Detection of the Binary Millisecond Pulsar J1012+5307

A possible X-ray detection of the newly discovered binary millisecond radio pulsar PSR J1012+5307 was obtained from an archival ROSAT observation. The 80 +/- 24 photons detected correspond to a 0.1 - 2.4 keV luminosity of approx. = 2.5 x 10(exp 30) erg/s at the nominal dispersion-measure distance of 520 pc. This luminosity is a factor of 2 less than that of PSR J0437-4715, a near twin of PSR J1012+5307 in its spin parameters and energetics, and the only millisecond pulsar from which pulsed X-rays have definitely been detected. PSR J1012+5307 is also within 6 deg of the "HI hole" in Ursa Major, providing a new estimate of the electron column density through this region which confirms that the ionized column density is also low. The small neutral column density to PSR J1012+5307, N(sub H) less than 7.5 x 10(exp 19)/sq cm, will facilitate future soft X-ray study, which will help to discriminate between thermal and nonthermal origins of the X-ray emission in millisecond pulsars.

Halpern, Jules P.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Search for the Centrifugal Barrier in Transient X-ray Pulsars

This paper discusses a search for the centrifugal barrier in transient X-ray pulsars with RXTE. The RXTE observation associated with this research involved monitoring the X-ray intensities and pulse profiles of six transient x-ray pulsars on five different occasions. The goal was to determine whether the so-called "centrifugal barrier" effects exists for accretion-powered X-ray pulsars. In this long-postulated effects, accretion onto the neutron star should be inhibited when the accretion rate falls below the point where the magnetospheric boundary lies outside the neutron star's corotation radius.

Rappaport, Saul↗
NASA NTRS2001

Chandra Observations of the Crab Pulsar as a Function of Pulse Phase

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory was used to observe the Crab Nebula and its pulsar using the LETGS, i.e. the Low-Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) with the High Resolution Camera Spectroscopy detector (HRC-S). Data from the zeroth-order image was utilized to isolate the pulsar from the surrounding nebula and to measure the pulsar emission as a function of pulse phase. HRC timing problems were overcome by developing special techniques to process the data. For the first time, pulsed x-ray emission has been detected at all pulse phases, allowing us to set a new upper limit to the thermal emission from the surface of the neutron star.

Weisskopf, Martin C.↗
NASA NTRS2002

New Energetic Radio Pulsars: An Archival X-Ray Survey

This ADP grant was to analyze archival X-ray data obtained in the direction of radio pulsars that were recently discovered as part of the Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Search, which was done using the 64-m Parkes radio telescope in Australia. The survey discovered nearly 700 pulsars, of which roughly three dozen were possible candidates for the detection of X-ray emission. Our team looked at 30 of the most interesting candidates. In most cases, there was insufficient data in the archive to conclude anything. However in several cases, there were interesting archival observations. In three cases, a detailed analysis proved scientifically interesting, and two publications have resulted.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2003

Characterization of the Crab Pulsar's Timing Noise

We present a power spectral analysis of the Crab pulsar's timing noise, mainly using radio measurements from Jodrell Bank taken over the period 1982-1989, an interval bounded by sparse data sampling and a large glitch. The power spectral analysis is complicated by nonuniform data sampling and the presence of a steep red power spectrum that can distort power spectra measurement by causing severe power 'leakage'. We develop a simple windowing method for computing red noise power spectra of uniformly sampled data sets and test it on Monte Carlo generated sample realizations of red power-law noise. We generalize time-domain methods of generating power-law red noise with even integer spectral indices to the case of noninteger spectral indices. The Jodrell Bank pulse phase residuals are dense and smooth enough that an interpolation onto a uniform time series is possible. A windowed power spectrum is computed revealing a periodic or nearly periodic component with a period of 568 +/- 10 days and a l/f(exp 3) power-law noise component in pulse phase with a noise strength S(sub infinity)=(1.24 +/- 0.067) x 10(exp 16) cycles(exp 2)/sec(exp 2) over the analysis frequency range f=0.003- 0.1 cycles/day. This result deviates from past analyses which characterized the pulse phase timing residuals as either l/f(sub 4) power-law noise or a quasiperiodic process. The analysis was checked using the Deeter polynomial method of power spectrum estimation that was developed for the case of nonuniform sampling, but has lower spectral resolution. The timing noise is consistent with a torque noise spectrum rising with analysis frequency as f implying blue torque noise, a result not predicted by current models of pulsar timing noise. If the periodic or nearly periodic component is due to a binary companion, we find a mass function f(M) = (6.8 +/- 2.4) x 10(exp -16) solar mass and a companion mass, M(sub c) is greater than or equal to 3.2 solar mass assuming a Crab pulsar mass of 1.4 solar mass.

Scott, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

High-Altitude Particle Acceleration and Radiation in Pulsar Slot Gaps

We explore the pulsar slot gap (SG) electrodynamics up to very high altitudes, where for most relatively rapidly rotating pulsars both the standard small-angle approximation and the assumption that the magnetic field lines are ideal stream lines break down. We address the importance of the electrodynamic conditions at the SG boundaries and the occurrence of a steady-state drift of charged particles across the SG field lines at very high altitudes. These boundary conditions and the cross-field particle motion determine the asymptotic behavior of the scalar potential at all radii from the polar cap (PC) to near the light cylinder. As a result, we demonstrate that the steady-state accelerating electric field, E(sub ll), must approach a small and constant value at high altitude above the PC. This E(sub ll) is capable of maintaining electrons moving with high Lorentz factors (approx. a few x 10(exp 7)) and emitting curvature gamma-ray photons up to nearly the light cylinder. By numerical simulations, we show that primary electrons accelerating from the PC surface to high altitude in the SG along the outer edge of the open field region will form caustic emission patterns on the trailing dipole field lines. Acceleration and emission in such an extended SG may form the physical basis of a model that can successfully reproduce some pulsar high-energy light curves.

Muslimov, Alex G.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Relativistic Effects and Polarization in Three High-Energy Pulsar Models

We present the influence of the special relativistic effects of aberration and light travel time delay on pulsar high-energy lightcurves and polarization characteristics predicted by three models: the two-pole caustic model, the outer gap model, and the polar cap model. Position angle curves and degree of polarization are calculated for the models and compared with the optical data on the Crab pulsar. The relative positions of peaks in gamma-ray and radio lightcurves are discussed in detail for the models. We find that the two-pole caustic model can reproduce qualitatively the optical polarization characteristics of the Crab pulsar - fast swings of the position angle and minima in polarization degree associated with both peaks. The anticorrelation between the observed flux and the polarization degree (observed in the optical band also for B0656+14) naturally results from the caustic nature of the peaks which are produced in the model due to the superposition of radiation from many different altitudes, ie. polarized at different angles. The two-pole caustic model also provides an acceptable interpretation of the main features in the Crab's radio profile. Neither the outer gap model nor the polar cap model are able to reproduce the optical polarization data on the Crab. Although the outer gap model is very successful in reproducing the relative positions of gamma-ray and radio peaks in pulse profiles, it can reproduce the high-energy lightcurves only when photon emission from regions very close to the light cylinder is included.

Dyks, J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Accretion onto Fast X-Ray Pulsars

The recent emergence of a new class of accretion-powered, transient, millisecond X-ray pulsars presents some difficulties for the conventional picture of accretion onto rapidly rotating magnetized neutron stars and their spin behavior during outbursts. In particular, it is not clear that the standard paradigm can accommodate the wide range in M(i.e., approx. greater than a factor of 50) over which these systems manage to accrete and the high rate of spindown that the neutron stars exhibit in at least a number of cases. When the accretion rate drops sufficiently, the X-ray pulsar is said to become a "fast rotator," and in the conventional view, this is accompanied by a transition from accretion to "propellering," in which accretion ceases and the matter is ejected from the system. On the theoretical side, we note that this scenario for the onset of propellering cannot be entirely correct because it is not energetically self-consistent. We show that, instead, the transition is likely to take place through disks that combine accretion with spindown and terminate at the corotation radius. We demonstrate the existence of such disk solutions by modifying the Shakura-Sunyaev equations with a simple magnetic torque prescription. The solutions are completely analytic and have the same dependence on M and a (the viscosity parameter) as the original Shakura-Sunyaev solutions, but the radial profiles can be considerably modified, depending on the degree of fastness. We apply these results to compute the torques expected during the outbursts of the transient millisecond pulsars and find that we can explain the large spin-down rates that are observed for quite plausible surface magnetic fields of approx. 10(exp 90 G.

Rappaport, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Slot Gap Model for Pulsar High-Energy Emission

A new picture of pulsar high-energy emission is proposed that is different from both the traditional polar cap and outer gap models, but combines elements of each. The slot gap model is based on electron acceleration along the edge of the open field region from the neutron star surface to near the light cylinder. Along the last open field line, the pair formation front rises to very high altitude forming a slot gap, where the accelerating electric field is unscreened by pairs. Electrons continue to accelerate to high altitudes in the slot gap, reaching a radiation reaction-limited energy of several TeV. The resulting radiation pattern features sharp caustics on the trailing edge of the open field region, allowing for the possibility of double-peaked pulse profiles very similar to those observed in gamma-ray pulsars. Since emission from a large range of altitudes arrives in phase, this model very naturally explains the phase alignment of radiation at all wavelengths from the Crab pulsar.

Harding, Alice K.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Gamma Ray Pulsars: Multiwavelength Observations

High-energy gamma rays are a valuable tool for studying particle acceleration and radiation in the magnetospheres of energetic pulsars. The seven or more pulsars seen by instruments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) show that: the light curves usually have double-peak structures (suggesting a broad cone of emission); gamma rays are frequently the dominant component of the radiated power; and all the spectra show evidence of a high-energy turnover. For all the known gamma-ray pulsars, multiwavelength observations and theoretical models based on such observations offer the prospect of gaining a broad understanding of these rotating neutron stars. The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), now in planning for a launch in 2006, will provide a major advance in sensitivity, energy range, and sky coverage.

Thompson, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Emission From Rotation-Powered Pulsars and Magnetars

I will review the latest developments in understanding the high-energy emission of rotation-powered pulsars and magnetically-powered Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters (SGRs). These fields have been extremely active in the last few years, both observationally and theoretically, driven partly by new X-ray data from Chandra, XMM-Newton and RXTE. At the same time, the Parkes Multibeam Survey has discovered over 700 new radio pulsars, some of them young, coincident with EGRET sources and others having magnetar-strength magnetic fields. These new observations are raising important questions about neutron star birth and evolution, as well as the properties of their high-energy emission.

Harding, Alice K.↗
NASA NTRS2005

1 - 100 GeV Emission from Millisecond Pulsars

A number of rotation-powered millisecond pulsars are powerful sources of high-energy emission, detected so far at X-ray wavelengths. We present predictions for the spectral characteristics of these sources at gamma-ray energies, using a model for acceleration and pair cascades on open magnetic field lines above the polar caps. Although these pulsars have low surface magnetic fields, their short periods allow them to have large magnetospheric potential drops, but the majority do not produce sufficient pairs to completely screen the accelerating electric field. In these sources, the primary and secondary electrons continue to accelerate to high altitude and their Lorentz factors are limited by curvature and synchrotron radiation reaction. The resulting radiation above 1 GeV comes from curvature radiation by primary electrons with radiation-reaction-limited Lorentz factors. The spectra are very hard power-laws with exponential cutoffs between 1 and 50 GeV, and the spectral power peaks near the cutoff energy. Millisecond pulsars are thus ideal targets for air-Cherenkov detectors that are able to reach energy thresholds below 50 GeV.

Harding, Alice K.↗
NASA NTRS2005

"A Search For The Young and Energetic Pulsar in G328.4+0.2"

The pulsar-powered nebula G328.4+0.2 is one of the largest and most luminous such sources known. The nature of G328.4+0.2 has been a source of controversy - the object s flat radio spectral index has been used to argue that this object is a young pulsar wind nebula (PWN), while others have used radial protrusions in the magnetic field orientation along the source s outer edge to argue that it is an old supernova remnant (SNR). In the first interpretation, the X-ray nebula inside this radio source would be located inside the central "bar" detected in the radio. In the second interpretation, the expectation is that the X-ray PWN would be located at either end of this central "bar". The goals of our XMM observation were to try and detect the pulsar, and to use its location and other properties to distinguish between the above two possibilities.

Gaensler, Bryan M.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Multiwavelength Emission From Pulsar Slot Gaps

We present results of a 3D model of optical to gamma-ray emission from the slot gap accelerator of a rotation-powered pulsar. Primary electrons accelerating to high altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere at the outer edge of the open field volume, as well as electron-positron pairs on field line interior to the slot gap, radiate curvature, inverse Compton and synchrotron radiation. Both primaries and pairs undergo cyclotron resonant absorption of radio photons, allowing them to maintain significant pitch angles and to produce a broad spectrum of emission from infra-red to GeV energies. Synchrotron radiation from pairs with a power-law energy spectrum dominate the spectrum up to 10 MeV. Synchrotron and curvature radiation of primaries dominates from 10 MeV up to a few GeV. The high-energy pulse profiles are dominated by caustics on trailing field lines. In the case of the Crab pulsar, the radio conal emission may also form caustics in phase with the high-energy peaks. If resonant absorption of radio emission produces high-energy synchroti-on radiation, emission below 200 Mev is expected to exhibit correlations in time and phase with the radio emission.

Harding, Alice K.↗