Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “PULSARS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Analysis of the COS B data for evidence of linear polarization of Vela pulsar gamma rays

The COS B spark chamber telescope observations of the Vela pulsar were analyzed for gamma-ray polarization. No significant quadrupole moment is found in the azimuthal distribution of the electron-positron pair production planes. However, analysis of the sensitivity indicates that even 100-percent polarization would not be detected. Therefore, the null result does not constrain the polarization of the Vela pulsar gamma-ray emission. This result contradicts the report of Caraveo et al. (1988) of possible evidence for polarization of the Vela pulsar gamma rays.

Mattox, John R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

On the detectability of pulsars in close binary systems

The limitations of standard pulse searches in close binary systems are quantitively investigated. An efficiency factor gamma is introduced to describe the ease with which binary pulsars can be found, and the results of calculations of gamma as a function of pulsar spin period and binary orbital period are presented for both standard pulse searches and for searches using sophisticated acceleration codes. Two strategies are suggested which maximize the probability of finding pulsars in close binaries, and empirical relations between the optimum observation time and the parameters of a binary orbit are given.

Johnston, Helen M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Discovery of a young, 267 millisecond pulsar in the supernova remnant W44

This paper reports the discovery of a 267 msec pulsar, PSR 1853 + 01, in the SNR W44 (G34.7 - 0.4), located south of the W44, well within its radio shell and at the outher edge of the X-ray emission region which fills the SNR interior. The PSR 1853 + 01 is separated only 20 arcmin from the PSR 1854 + 00 pulsar discovered by Mohanty (1983). Results of timing observatons of PSR 1853 + 01 are presented, and a possible relationship between the two objects is examined. It is suggested that the two pulsars may have a common origin in a binary system disrupted by the explosion that produced W44.

Wolszczan, A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

'Hidden' millisecond pulsars

The radiative and hydrodynamical processes occurring near the region where the pulsar wind interacts with the material outflowing from the illuminated companion star atmosphere are addressed. The emphasis is placed on the properties of a class of 'hidden' millisecond pulsars. Attention is given to three different classes of star-vaporizing pulsars (SVPs) characterized by a radio-emission which turns out to be sharply defined (type I), loosely defined (type II), and absent (type III), respectively. It is suggested that even though the pulsed and continuum radio emission of hidden SVPs is probably completely blocked, they can be visible in the X-ray band, gamma-ray band, and indirectly. It is shown how a class of blue stragglers might contain a rapidly spinning neutron star. Since the radiation spectrum originating from the bubble surrounding an SVP can be either relatively soft or a power-law extending up energy about 100 GeV, hidden SVPs can be important for the interpretation of X-ray and gamma-ray sources already known or to be discovered by ongoing missions such as Rosat and GRO.

Tavani, Marco↗
NASA NTRS1991

On the nature of pulsar radiation

A key question in the interpretation of the emission of pulsars is that of the excitation and propagation of waves in the magnetospheric plasma. The magnetosphere of a pulsar has an extremely complex structure and there are many difficulties in the development of its self-consistent model. At present there exist some sufficiently well-grounded models not exactly agreeing with each other. However, the creation of a dense, relativistic, electron-positron plasma in the polar regions of a rotating neutron star magnetospheres is the point of similarity among these models. The pulsar radiation should be generated in such a plasma. The following subject areas are discussed: the pulse radiation mechanism and applications to the central object in SN1987A remnant.

Kazbegi, A. Z.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Creation by stellar ablation of the low-mass companion to pulsar 1829 - 10

It is argued that the low-mass companion of PSR1829 - 10 began its life as a star and has been ablated down to its present mass by absorbing a portion of the pulsar's spindown energy. Similar phenomena have already been seen in two other binary pulsars, PSR1957 + 20 and PSR1744 + 24A. The final mass of the remnant is determined by the interplay between decreasing spindown luminosity, recession of the companion from the pulsar as a result of its mass loss, and most important, shrinkage of the companion due to convective cooling of its interior.

Krolik, Julian H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Magnetized stimulated scattering in pulsar winds

The effects of stimulated scattering on a collimated high brightness temperature beam of photons traversing a relativistically streaming magnetized plasma are studied. Under the assumption that the center of the photon beam is parallel to the bulk motion, we calculate the scattering rate as a function of the angular spread of the beam and the Lorentz factor gamma. Magnetization changes the photon recoil, without which stimulated scattering has no effect. It also introduces a strong dependence on frequency and polarization: if the photon frequency matches the electron cyclotron frequency, the scattering rate of photons polarized perpendicular to the magnetic field can be substantially enhanced relative to Thomson, and if the photon frequency is much less than the cyclotron frequency, the scattering is suppressed. Applying these calculations to pulsars, we find that stimulated scattering of the radio beam in the magnetized wind believed to exist outside the light cylinder can substantially alter the spectrum and polarization state of the radio signal. We suggest that the scattering rate is so high in some pulsars that the ability of the radio signal to penetrate the pulsar magnetosphere requires modification of either the conventional model of the magnetosphere or assumptions about the effects of stimulated scattering upon a beam.

Sincell, Mark W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Soft x ray properties of the Geminga pulsar

The ROSAT soft x ray spectrum and pulse profile of the Geminga pulsar are analyzed and interpreted in terms of thermal emission from the surface of the neutron star. The x ray spectrum appears to consist of two blackbody components with T(sub 1) = (5.2 +/- 1.0) x 10 (exp 5) K and T(sub 2) approximately 3 x 10(exp 6) K, respectively. The inferred ratio of surface areas, A(sub 2)/A(sub 1), is approximately 3 x 10(exp -5). Both components are highly modulated at the pulsar rotation period, but the harder x ray pulse is narrower, and leads the main (soft) x ray pulse by about 105 deg of phase. The soft x ray component is interpreted as photospheric cooling of much of the neutron star's surface area, while the small, hot region could be part of the much smaller polar cap heated by energetic particles flowing inward from the magnetospheric accelerator which is responsible for the production of Geminga's gamma rays. Geminga's gamma ray emission is consistent with outer-magnetosphere accelerator models for highly inclined dipoles. These predict the beaming of energetic gamma rays close enough to the star to give copious e(+/-) production in the stellar magnetic field and a large circumstellar pair density from pair inflow toward the surface. These pairs may quench radio emission, and also reflect most of the hard polar cap x rays back to the stellar surface by cyclotron resonance scattering. They are then reemitted from that much larger area at the lower temperature T(sub 1). The single-peaked nature of the x ray pulse and its energy-dependent phase suggest an off-center dipole geometry for the surface magnetic field. Under the assumption that the soft x ray emission comes from the full surface of a neutron star of radius R = 10 km, a distance estimate of (150-400) pc is derived. This range is consistent with the fit interstellar column density of (1.5 +/- 0.5) x 10(exp 20) cm(exp -2). Distances less than 150 pc are probably ruled out both by the lower limit on the column density, and also by the requirement that the Rayleigh-Jeans extrapolation of the soft x ray spectrum not exceed the observed blue flux of the faint optical counterpart. This distance estimate implies that Geminga's efficiency for converting spindown power into gamma-rays is near unity, and that there may be significant beaming of the gamma rays as well. These results tend to bolster the prospect that most of the unidentified high-energy gamma ray sources in the Galactic plane are pulsars, some of which may be radio quiet.

Halpern, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

High-energy emission from the eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR 1957+20

The properties of the high-energy emission expected from the eclipsing millisecond pulsar system PSR 1957+20 are investigated. Emission is considered by both the relativistic shock produced by the pulsar wind in the nebula surrounding the binary and by the shock constraining the mass outflow from the companion star of PSR 1957+20. On the basis of the results of microscopic plasma physical models of relativistic shocks it is suggested that the high-energy radiation is produced in the range from X-rays to MeV gamma rays in the binary and in the range from 0.01 eV to about 40 keV in the nebula. Doppler boost of the emission in the radiating wind suggests the flux should vary on the orbital time scale, with the largest flux observed roughly coincident with the pulsar's radio eclipse.

Arons, Jonathan↗
NASA NTRS1993

Discovery of the Orbit of the X-ray pulsar OAO 1657-415

Timing observations of the 38 s accreting X-ray pulsar OAO 1657-415 made with the BATSE large-area detectors on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory have revealed a binary orbit with an X-ray eclipse by the stellar companion. From the pulsar mass function fx(M) = 11.7 +/- 0.2 solar masses and the measured eclipse half-angle theta(e) = 29.7 +/- 1.3 deg, we infer that the stellar companion is a supergiant of spectral class B0-B6. If the companion can be identified and its orbital velocity measured, the neutron star mass can be constrained. Both intrinsic spin-up and spin-down of the pulsar were measured during our observation.

Chakrabarty, Deepto↗
NASA NTRS1993

Understanding soft gamma-ray repeaters in the context of the extragalactic radio pulsar origin of gamma-ray bursts

Gamma-ray burst (GRB) sources and soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs) may be neutron stars undergoing structural adjustments that produce transient gamma-ray events. A unified scenario is proposed in which young radio pulsars are responsible for SGRs and classical GRB sources. The radiative emission associated with a pulsar 'glitch' is seen as a GRB or an SGR event depending on the direction of our line of sight. Burst spectra, energetics, and statistics of GRBs and SGRs are discussed. It is shown that classical GRB spectra arise from Compton upscattering by charges accelerated along the viewing direction and SGR burst spectra are due to the thermalization of Alfven wave energy away from this direction. If crustal adjustments occur within the first 50,000 years of a pulsar's lifetime, the model predicts two SGR sources within the galaxy, in agreement with current observations.

Melia, Fulvio↗
NASA NTRS1993

Planets around pulsars - Implications for planetary formation

Data on planets around pulsars are summarized, and different models intended to explain the formation mechanism are described. Both theoretical and observational evidence suggest that very special circumstances are required for the formation of planetary systems around pulsars, namely, the prior presence of a millisecond pulsar with a close binary companion, probably a low mass main-sequence star. It is concluded that the discovery of two planets around PSR 1257+12 is important for better understanding the problems of dynamics and stellar evolution. The process of planetary formation should be learned through intensive studies of the properties of disks near young objects and application of techniques for detection of planets around main-sequence solar-type stars.

Bodenheimer, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1993

ROSAT observations of the LMC pulsar PSR 0540-69

Observations of the LMC pulsar PSR 0540-69 acquired during June-July 1990 and February 1991 with the Position Sensitive Proportional Counter on board ROSAT are reported, as are the results of timing and spectral analyses. The timing data are consistent with contemporaneous optical ephemerides, suggesting that the optical and X-ray pulses are in phase. The timing properties are used to ascertain the spectral characteristics of the pulsar and nebula separately. The spectral index of the pulsed component is determined using solely X-ray data. While many of the characteristics of the LMC pulsar are found to be similar to those of the Crab, the differences have yet to be explained.

Finley, John P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Reliability of magnetic inclination angle determinations for pulsars

We compare the recent estimates of the inclination angle alpha between the rotation and magnetic axes of 56 pulsars made by both Lyne and Manchester (1988) and Rankin (1990). Their results agree reasonably well when alpha is less than about 40 deg; however, there is no correlation between the two estimates of alpha if either estimate exceeds 40 deg. The correlation is better for pulsars with beams having more complicated core structure. Nevertheless, the differences between the two sets of estimates are large enough that use of these estimates to investigate pulsar physics is questionable. We discuss the method for determining alpha based on the Radhakrishnan and Cooke (1969) single-vector model, emphasizing its sensitivity to measurement errors. This method complements the approaches of Rankin and Lyne and Manchester and is preferable when accurate polarization data are available.

Miller, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The optical counterpart of the bright nearby millisecond pulsar PSR J0437-4715

Optical imaging of the field of PSR J0437-4715 reveals a candidate optical counterpart less than 1 arcsec from the radio source location. The color and magnitude of this star are consistent with a 0.2-solar mass helium white dwarf with T(eff) about 4400 K at a distance of 150 parsecs. Such an object is expected as the binary companion of the neutron star, given the orbital characteristics determined from the radio observations. The cooling time for the white dwarf is greater than the characteristic spin-down age of the pulsar, which suggests that, in some cases, spin-down times computed from pulsar periods and period derivatives may not in fact represent an upper limit to the pulsar age. No luminosity variations over the orbital period are observed, down to a limit of a few tenths of a magnitude.

Bailyn, Charles D.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Gamma ray observations of the Crab pulsar - Past, present, future

The paper describes some of the high-energy observations of the Crab-Nebula pulsar, PSR0531+22. The pulse profiles of the Crab pulsar obtained in balloon-borne observations in 1967 and 1980 are presented. At present, gamma-ray scintillation detectors aboard the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) form the basis of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). The pulsar, which is observed daily by the BATSE, is used by all four GRO/BATSE detectors as a calibration source since it emits a steady, strong, well-known spectrum of gamma rays over the entire energy range to which detectors are sensitive. The paper presents an example of a pulse profile obtained with the BATSE.

Fishman, Gerald J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Gamma ray emission from radio pulsars

While the proposed research received partial funding under this grant, during the term of support substantial progress was made on the development of a new model for the emission of gamma-rays from isolated rotation-powered pulsars. In phase one of the work, we showed how a modified version of the 'outer gap' model of pulsar emission could reproduce the double peaked profiles seen in CGRO pulsar observations. This work also demonstrated the spectrum of gap radiation varies significantly with position in the magnetosphere, and produced approximate computations of the emission from outer magnetosphere gap zones, including primary curvature radiation, gamma - gamma pair production and synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton scattering by the resulting secondary particles. This work was followed in phase two by a more complete treatment of the geometry of the radiation zone, and improved connections with observations at other wavelengths.

Romani, Roger W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

EGRET observations of the Vela pulsar PSR 0833-45

During the all sky survey (May 1991 - Nov. 1992) of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory the Vela pulsar PSR0833-45 was in the field of view of the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) in ten separate viewing periods. The pulsar was detected in each one. The average intensity from 100 MeV to 2 GeV was (7.8 +/- 1.0) x 10 (exp -6) photons cm(exp -2) s(exp -1), which indicates that the pulsar in the years 1991/92 was in a state comparable to the low fluxes observed in 1977-1980. No significant changes in intensity were detected during the EGRET observations. The total spectrum of PSR0833-45 measured by EGRET can be described by a power law with index -(1.70 +/- 0.02) over the range 30 MeV to 2 GeV. The extrapolation of this spectrum into the 3 to 30 MeV range agrees with the observations by COMPTEL. Above 2 to 4 GeV EGRET detects a strong spectral break. The lightcurves obtained show a familar structure in the phase histogram: two peaks separated by 0.424 +/- 0.002 in phase with considerable emission in the phase interval between the peaks. The first gamma ray peak maximum trails the single radio peak maximum by 10.54 +/- 0.09 ms (= 0.118 +/- 0.001 in phase). The widths of the emission peaks (FWHM) are 2.7 ms for the first peak (0.03 phase) and 4.1 ms for the second peak (0.05 phase). The widths are approximately constant below a GeV, but show a tendency to become narrower at higher energies. On Jul. 20 1991 a glitch of the Vela period was registered in monitor radio observations. No significant differences between the pre- and post-glitch gamma ray lightcurves were found. The statistics available for the Vela observations allow for a division of the lightcurve into eight phase intervals. The emission peak cores (central FWHM) with leading and trailing wings and two interval regions were defined and spectra were derived for all parts of the lightcurve. The energy spectra for the eight phase intervals show significant differences: the first peak (approximately E(exp -1.81 +/- 0.04)) is somewhat softer than the second peak (approximately E(exp -1.71 +/- 0.03)); the wings attached to each peak show softer spectra than the code of the peaks; the interval emission has the hardest spectrum (approximately E(exp -1.52 +/- 0.03)).

Kanbach, G.↗