The evolution of two types of pulsars

We have discussed the evolution of two pulsar types suggested by Huanget al. (1985). Starting from the formulae given by them, we find that these two types of pulsars follow different evolutionary tracks, different structures, different average ages; and they are going to different graveyards. From these differences we may infer that the two pulsar types may have different progenitors.     

Photon capture in pulsar magnetic fields

We investigate the process of photon capture by strong magnetic fields, by transforming it into a positronium, and the subsequent decay of the positronium into two photons. We discuss the implications of this process for the polar gap models of pulsars. We find that the capture process is energy-dependent and photons above a certain energy (depending on the magnetic field) are not captured and can decay into electron-positron pairs. This leads to increased gap heights in the modle and leads to higher luminosities than found earlier. We also find that it may be possible for very high-energy positronia to escape the magnetosphere of the pulsar and be observed near the Earth as photons in agreement with the recent observations of 10¹² eV gamma-rays from some pulsars.     

Population statistics study of radio and gamma-ray pulsars in the Galactic plane

We present results of our pulsar population synthesis of normal and millisecond pulsars in the Galactic plane. Over the past several years, a program has been developed to simulate pulsar birth, evolution and emission using Monte Carlo techniques. We have added to the program the capability to simulate millisecond pulsars, which are old, recycled pulsars with extremely short periods. We model the spatial distribution of the simulated pulsars by assuming that they start with a random kick velocity and then evolve through the Galactic potential. We use a polar cap/slot gap model for γ-ray emission from both millisecond and normal pulsars. From our studies of radio pulsars that have clearly identifiable core and cone components, in which we fit the polarization sweep as well as the pulse profiles in order to constrain the viewing geometry, we develop a model describing the ratio of radio core-to-cone peak fluxes. In this model, short period pulsars are more cone-dominated than in our previous studies. We present the preliminary results of our recent study and the implications for observing these pulsars with GLAST and AGILE.      

The Geminga fraction

Radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars like Geminga may account for a number of the unidentified EGRET sources in the Galaxy. The number of Geminga-like pulsars is very sensitive to the geometry of both the γ-ray and radio beams. Recent studies of the shape and polarization of pulse profiles of young radio pulsars have provided evidence that their radio emission originates in wide cone beams at altitudes that are a significant fraction (1–10%) of their light cylinder radius. Such wide radio emission beams will be visible at a much larger range of observer angles than the narrow core components thought to originate at lower altitude. Using 3D geometrical modeling that includes relativistic effects from pulsar rotation, we study the visibility of such radio cone beams as well as that of the γ-ray beams predicted by slot gap and outer gap models. From the results of this study, one can obtain revised predictions for the fraction of Geminga-like, radio quiet pulsars present in the γ-ray pulsar population.      

Some remarks on the hypothesis of relativistic beaming of pulsar emission

The hypothesis of the relativistic beaming of pulsar emission is discussed in connection with objections advanced by Manchesteret al. (1973). It is shown that the same pulse duration of some pulsars with the non-power-law spectrum over a wide frequency interval may be associated either with large source sizes in longitude, or with location of the emitting source at various distances from the rotation axis of the neutron star (depending on the emission frequency).     

One-dimensional electric field structure of an outer gap accelerator – III. Location of the gap and the gamma-ray spectrum

We investigate a stationary particle acceleration zone in the outer magnetosphere of an obliquely rotating neutron star. The charge depletion as a result of global current causes a large electric field along the magnetic field lines. Migratory electrons and/or positrons are accelerated by this field to radiate curvature gamma-rays, some of which collide with the X-rays to materialize as pairs in the gap. As a result of this pair-production cascade, the replenished charges partially screen the electric field, which is self-consistently solved together with the distribution of particles and gamma-rays. If no current is injected at either of the boundaries of the accelerator, the gap is located around the so-called null surface, where the local Goldreich–Julian charge density vanishes. However, we find that the gap position shifts outwards (or inwards) when particles are injected at the inner (or outer) boundary. We apply the theory to the seven pulsars whose X-ray fields are known from observations. We show that the gap should be located near to or outside of the null surface for the Vela pulsar and PSR B1951+32, so that their expected GeV spectrum may be consistent with observations. We then demonstrate that the intrinsically large TeV flux from the outer gap of PSR B0540–69 is absorbed by the magnetospheric infrared photons, causing it to be undetectable. We also point out that the electrodynamic structure and the resultant GeV emission properties of millisecond pulsars are similar to young pulsars.     

Associated HI absorption in thez = 3.4 radio galaxy B2 0902 + 343 observed with the GMRT

We have made observations of the as sociated HI absorption of a high redshift radio galaxy 0902+34 atz = 3.395 with the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope in the 323 ± 1 MHz band. We find a narrow absorption line with a flux density of 11.5 mJy at a redshift of 3.397 consistent with that observed by Usonet al. (1991), Briggset al. (1993) and de Bruyn (1996). A weak broad absorption feature reported by de Bruyn (1996) has not been detected in our observations. We also place an upper limit of 4mJy(2σ) on emission line strength at the position where Usonet al. (1991) claimed to have found a narrow emission line.     

A note on the magnetic perfect fluid Bianchi type-VIo solutions

We make some comments concerning the magnetic perfect fluid Bianchi type-VI_o solutions given recently by Royet al. (1985a).     

X-ray observations of filament eruption in the 1980 May 21 flare

X-ray and H observations of an erupting filament, discussed herein, and other observations of the associated flare on 1980 May 21, suggest that an erupting filament played a major role in the X-ray flare. While Antonucci et al. (1985) analyzed the May 21 flare as one of the best cases of chromospheric evaporation, the possible contribution from X-ray emitting erupting plasma has been ignored. We show that pre-heated plasma existed and may have contributed part of the blue-shifted X-ray emission observed in the Caxix line, which was formerly attributed solely to chromospheric evaporation. Thus it remains an open question - in two-ribbon flares in particular - just how important chromospheric evaporation is in flare dynamics.     

Synchrotron radiation of a pulsar wind

We predict the synchrotron radiation from transient pulsars. The radiation is generated under the interaction of the magneto-dipole radiation with the relativistic electron-positron wind just after switching off of a radio pulsar. We calculate the spectrum and the flux of this radiation. The synchrotron radiation is estimated to observe from two nulling pulsars B1929+10 and B0656+14 on the level of several tens mJansky. The observed bright spiky emission of B0656+14 by Weltevrede et al. (Astron. Astrophys. 458:269, 2006) allows us to suggest that it has synchrotron nature. Observation of the synchrotron radiation gives possibility to determine the pulsar magnetic field and parameters and geometry of the pulsar wind.     

The contribution of pulsars to diffuse gamma-rays in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We study the contribution of young pulsars, with characteristic ages of less than 10⁶ yr, to the diffuse γ-ray emission from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Based on the outer gap model for γ-ray emission proposed by Zhang & Cheng and pulsar properties in the LMC given by Hartmann, Brown & Schnepf, we simulate the properties of the young pulsars in the LMC. We show that γ-rays produced by the pulsars in the LMC may make an important contribution to the diffuse γ-rays in the LMC, especially in the high-energy range. We calculate the γ-ray energy spectrum of the pulsars in the LMC and show that the γ-ray component contributed by the pulsars to the diffuse γ-rays in the high-energy range (above ∼1 GeV) becomes dominant. We expect that none of the young pulsars should be detectable as an individual point source of γ-ray emission by EGRET. We also expect that pulsar contribution above ∼1 GeV in the SMC is very important.     

Are PSR 0656+14, PSR 0950+08, and PSR 1822-09 gamma-ray pulsars?

The possible discovery of three new -ray pulsars PSR 0656+14, PSR 0950+08, and PSR 1822-09 (Ma, Lu, Yu, and Young, 1993) in data obtained with the COS-B experiment is reinvestigated using a refined technique for pulsar light curve analysis. The results of this study do not confirm the previously claimed -ray pulsar nature of any of these pulsars. Even when using the standard epoch folding technique in conjunction with energy-dependent acceptance cones, we do not detect pulsed -ray emission from these sources. We suspect that insufficient position accuracy is the cause for the discrepancy between our results and those of Maet al. (1993). We do not rule out that any one of the three candidates, or all of them, is in fact a -ray pulsar, but their spin properties must differ from those derived by Maet al. (1993). More work is needed to determine the correct high-energy properties of these three sources.     

Gamma-ray emission from pulsars

We have attempted to devise a scheme by which it may be possible to identify pulsars which are likely to be γ-ray pulsars. We apply this test to a representative population of pulsars and identify the likely candidates for γ emission. We also discuss some individual cases including the Crab and Vela pulsars.     

On the aberration–retardation effects in pulsars

The magnetospheric locations of pulsar radio emission region are not well known. The actual form of the so-called radius-to-frequency mapping should be reflected in the aberration–retardation (A/R) effects that shift and/or delay the photons depending on the emission height in the magnetosphere. Recent studies suggest that in a handful of pulsars the A/R effect can be discerned with respect to the peak of the central core emission region. To verify these effects in an ensemble of pulsars, we launched a project analysing multifrequency total intensity pulsar profiles obtained from the new observations from the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Arecibo Observatory (AO) and archival European Pulsar Network (EPN) data. For all these profiles, we measure the shift of the outer cone components with respect to the core component, which is necessary for establishing the A/R effect. Within our sample of 23 pulsars, seven show the A/R effects, 12 of them (doubtful cases) show a tendency towards this effect, while the remaining four are obvious counterexamples. The counterexamples and doubtful cases may arise from uncertainties in the determination of the location of the meridional plane and/or the core emission component. Hence, it appears that the A/R effects are likely to operate in most pulsars from our sample. We conclude that in cases where those effects are present the core emission has to originate below the conal emission region.     

Pulsar Slot Gaps and Unidentified Egret Sources

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 and thus could form a physical basis for the two-pole caustic model of Dyks and Rudak (2003). 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. The resulting radiation features both hollow cones from the lower-altitude pair cascades, seen at small viewing angles, as well as caustic emission on the trailing-edge field lines at high altitude, seen from both poles at large viewing angle. The combination of the small solid angle of slot gap emission (≪ 1 sr) with a high probability of viewing the emission predicts that more gamma-ray pulsars could be detected at larger distances. In this picture, many of the positional coincidences of radio pulsars with unidentified EGRET sources become plausible as real associations, as the flux predicted by the slot gap model for many of the pulsars would provide the observed EGRET source flux. The expected probability of seeing radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars in this model will also be discussed.     

Distinguishing RBL-like Objects and XBL-Like Objects With thePeak Emission Frequency of the Overall Energy Spectrum

We investigate quantitatively how the peak emission frequency of the overall energy spectrum is at work in distinguishing RBL-like and XBL-like objects. We employ the sample of Giommi et al. (1995) to study the distribution of BL Lacertae objects with various locations of the cutoff of the overall energy spectrum. We find that the sources with the cutoff located at lower frequency are indeed sited in the RBL region of the α_ro-α_oxplane, while those with the cutoff located at higher frequency are distributed in the XBL region. For a more quantitative study, we employ the BL Lacerta esamples presented by Sambruna et al. (1996), where the peak emission frequency, ν_p, of each source is estimated by fitting the data with a parabolic function. In the plot of α_rx -log ν_p we find that, in the four different regions divided by the α_rx = 0.75 line and thelogν_p = 14.7 line, all the RBL-like objects are inside the upper left region, while most XBL-like objects are within the lower right region. A few sources are located in the lower left region. No sources are in the upper right region. This result is rather quantitative. It provides an evidence supporting what Giommi et al. (1995) suggested: RBL-like and XBL-like objects can be distinguished by the difference of the peak emission frequency of the overall energy spectrum. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pulsar sensitivity studies of the GLAST large area telescope

In this contribution we present our preliminary investigation on pulsar sensitivity of the Large Area Telescope, the main instrument aboard the GLAST mission. In particular we concentrated our attention to pulsars located at low galactic latitudes. We created a set of simulated pulsars having different fluxes in an array of galactic coordinates separated by a distance greater than the LAT Point Spread Function in order to avoid confusion between adjacent sources. Galactic gamma-ray sky background as used during the second LAT Data Challenge (DC2) is also included. We then run an automatic routine for testing periodicity for all the pulsars considering an opportune timing solution. In this way we can obtain a map of the sensitivity of the periodic searches for different fluxes and for various Galactic latitudes. Some assumptions have been made by simulating the pulsar sources, but this study is a first step toward an estimate for pulsed emission sensitivity of the GLAST LAT. The pulsed flux sensitivity profile we generate could also be input to a population synthesis code of Galactic pulsars in order to obtain more accurate predictions of the number of expected pulsar detections by GLAST. On behalf of the GLAST LAT Collaboration.     

A new look at pulsar statistics — Birthrate and evidence for injection

We make a statistical analysis of the periodsP and period-derivativesP of pulsars using a model independent theory of pulsar flow in theP-P diagram. Using the available sample ofP andP values, we estimate the current of pulsars flowing unidirectionally along theP-axis, which is related to the pulsar birthrate. Because of radio luminosity selection effects, the observed pulsar sample is biased towards lowP and highP. We allow for this by weighting each pulsar by a suitable scale factor. We obtain the number of pulsars in our galaxy to be 6.05_−2.80 ^+3.32 × 10⁵ and the birthrate to be 0.048_−0.011 ^+0.014 pulsars yr⁻¹ galaxy⁻¹. The quoted errors refer to 95 per cent confidence limits corresponding to fluctuations arising from sampling, but make no allowance for other systematic and random errors which could be substantial. The birthrate estimated here is consistent with the supernova rate. We further conclude that a large majority of pulsars make their first appearance at periods greater than 0.5 s. This ‘injection’, which runs counter to present thinking, is probably connected with the physics of pulsar radio emission. Using a variant of our theory, where we compute the current as a function of pulsar ‘age’ (1/2P/P), we find support for the dipole braking model of pulsar evolution upto 6 × 10⁶ yr of age. We estimate the mean pulsar braking index to be 3.7_−0.8 ^+0.8.     

Ionized gas in the Irr galaxy IC 10: The emission spectrum and ionization sources

We present the observations of the Irr galaxy IC 10 at the 6-m SAO telescope with the panoramic Multi-Pupil Fiber Spectrograph (MPFS). Based on the results of these observations and our long-slit spectroscopy performed previously, we have investigated the ionized-gas emission spectrum in the region of intense star formation and refined the gas metallicity estimates. We show that the “diagnostic diagrams” constructed from our observations agree best with the new improved ionization models by Martin-Manjon et al. Using these models, we have determined the electron density and gas ionization parameter and ionizing-cluster characteristics, the age and mass, from the spectra of the investigated HII regions. The cluster ages and masses are shown to be within the ranges 2.5–5 Myr and (0.2–1) × 10⁵ M _⊗, respectively.     

The lunar farside: The nature of highlands east of Mare Smythii

Available lunar orbital data were studied in detail to determine the nature and origin of geochemical variation in a portion of the farside highlands east of the Smythii basin. Such data exist for the elements Al, Mg, Fe, Ti, and Th (Clark and Hawke, 1981; Davis, 1980; Metzger et al., 1977). As in our previous studies (Clarke and Hawke, 1981, 1987), averages and ranges of concentrations for these elements are calculated and correlated for photogeologically defined units associated with features such as Babcock, King, Al-Khwarezmi, Langemak, Pasteur, and Sklodowska and with the region as a whole. In addition, comparisons are made between this and other highland regions which have been investigated by other workers in a similar manner (Andre et al., 1977; Haines et al., 1978; Maxwell and Andre, 1981). The region is shown to be distinctively enriched in the anorthositic end-members of the ANT-suite. Anomalies which have been reported for this region (Hawke et al., 1985) are confirmed by this study. An area south of Pasteur shows enrichment in some mafic components, giving evidence for the presence of buried mare basalt, and lending support to the hypothesis that volcanic activity may be fairly widespread even in the farside highlands. The units just southeast of Mare Smythii appear to be geochemically related to the area partly surrounding the Smythii on the west (Clark and Hawke, 1987). Considerable geochemical heterogeneity exists in this area, as in areas of the nearside highlands (Clark and Hawke, 1981, 1982, 1987; Hawke et al., 1985).