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.      

Pulsar Wind Nebulae in Egret Error Boxes

A remarkable number of pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) are coincident with EGRET γ-ray sources. X-ray and radio imaging studies of unidentified EGRET sources have resulted in the discovery of at least six new pulsar wind nebulae (PWN). Stationary PWN (SPWN) appear to be associated with steady EGRET sources with hard spectra, typical for γ-ray pulsars. Their toroidal morphologies can help determine the geometry of the pulsar which is useful for constraining models of pulsed γ-ray emission. Rapidly moving PWN (RPWN) with more cometary morphologies seem to be associated with variable EGRET sources in regions where the ambient medium is dense compared to what is typical for the ISM.     

Radio-Loud and Radio-Quiet Gamma-Ray Pulsars from the Galaxy and the Gould Belt

We present results of a population synthesis study of radio-loud and radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars from the Galactic plane and the Gould Belt. The simulation includes the Parkes multibeam pulsar survey, realistic beam geometries for radio and γ-ray emission from neutron stars and the new electron density model of Cordes and Lazio. Normalizing to the number of radio pulsars observed by a set of nine radio surveys, the simulation suggests a neutron star birth rate of 1.4 neutron stars per century in the Galactic plane. In addition, the simulation predicts 19 radio-loud and 7 radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars from the plane that EGRET should have observed as point sources. Assuming that during the last 5 Myr the Gould Belt produced 100 neutron stars, only 10 of these would be observed as radio pulsars with three radio-loud and four radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars observed by EGRET. These results are in general agreement with the recent number of about 25 EGRET error boxes that contain Parkes radio pulsars. Since the Gould Belt pulsars are relatively close by, the selection of EGRET radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars strongly favors large impact angles, β, in the viewing geometry where the off-beam emission from curvature radiation provides the γ-ray flux. Therefore, the simulated EGRET radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars, being young and nearby, most closely reflect the current shape of the Gould Belt suggesting that such sources may significantly contribute to the EGRET unidentified γ-ray sources correlated with the Gould Belt.     

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.     

Mapping the magnetosphere of PSR B1055−52

We present a geometric study of the radio and γ-ray pulsar B1055−52 based on recent observations at the Parkes radio telescope. We conclude that the pulsar's magnetic axis is inclined at an angle of 75° to its rotation axis and that both its radio main pulse and interpulse are emitted at the same height above their respective poles. This height is unlikely to be higher or much lower than 700 km, a typical value for radio pulsars.
It is argued that the radio interpulse arises from emission formed on open fieldlines close to the magnetic axis which do not pass through the magnetosphere's null (zero-charge) surface. However, the main pulse emission must originate from fieldlines lying well outside the polar cap boundary beyond the null surface, and farther away from the magnetic axis than those of the outer gap region where the single γ-ray peak is generated. This casts doubt on the common assumption that all pulsars have closed, quiescent, corotating regions stretching to the light cylinder.     

The contribution to the Galactic diffuse gamma-ray spectrum from unresolved rotation-powered pulsars

We consider the contribution to the Galactic diffuse γ-ray emission from unresolved γ-ray pulsars. Based on the thick outer gap model, Monte Carlo methods are used to simulate the properties (period, distance, magnetic field, etc.) of the Galactic population of rotation-powered pulsars the gamma-ray flux of which is lower than the threshold sensitivity of the EGRET detector on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory . Furthermore, the contribution to the Galactic diffuse γ-ray spectrum from the unresolved γ-ray pulsars is calculated. Our results indicate that the unresolved γ-ray pulsars contribute ∼5 to ∼10 per cent to the measured Galactic diffuse γ-ray emission if the birth rate of neutron stars in the Galaxy is 1 to 2 per century, and that these pulsars contribute significantly to the observed Galactic diffuse γ-ray emission above 1 GeV. Comparing the model spectrum with the observed spectrum, we show that the unresolved γ-ray pulsars contribute very little to the diffuse emission at lower energies but can account for ∼50 per cent of the observed spectrum above 1 GeV if the product of the birth rate of neutron stars and the γ-ray beaming fraction is about unity. Such a large pulsar contribution can explain the difference (∼60 per cent) between the intensity of the Galactic diffuse emission as measured by EGRET above 1 GeV and model predictions based on cosmic ray–matter interaction only.     

Radio-to-TeV γ-ray emission from PSR B1259–63

We discuss the implications of the recent X-ray and TeV γ-ray observations of the PSR B1259–63 system (a young rotation powered pulsar orbiting a Be star) for the theoretical models of interaction of pulsar and stellar winds. We show that previously considered models have problems to account for the observed behaviour of the system. We develop a model in which the broad band emission from the binary system is produced in result of collisions of GeV–TeV energy protons accelerated by the pulsar wind and interacting with the stellar disk. In this model the high energy γ-rays are produced in the decays of secondary neutral pions, while radio and X-ray emission are synchrotron and inverse Compton emission produced by low-energy (≤100 MeV) electrons from the decays of secondary charged π ^± mesons. This model can explain not only the observed energy spectra, but also the correlations between TeV, X-ray and radio emission components.      

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.     

HESS observations of extragalactic objects

The HESS experiment (High Energy Stereoscopic System), consisting of four imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) in Namibia, has observed many extragalactic objects in the search for very high energy (VHE) γ-ray emission. These objects include active galactic nuclei (AGN), notably Blazars, Seyferts, radio galaxies, starburst galaxies and others. Beyond the established sources, γ-ray emission has been detected for the first time from several of these objects by HESS, and their energy spectra and variability characteristics have been measured. Multi-wavelength campaigns, including X-ray satellites, radio telescopes, and optical observations, have been carried out for AGNs, in particular for PKS 2155-304, H 2356-309 and 1ES 1101-232, for which the implications concerning emission models are presented. Also results from the investigations of VHE flux variability from the giant radio galaxy M 87 are shown. For the HESS Collaboration.     

Very high energy γ-rays from galactic sources

The field of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma ray astronomy using the Atmospheric Cerenkov Technique has entered an interesting phase with detection of various galactic and extragalactic sources. Among galactic sources, only the Crab nebula has been established as a standard candle. Most observations on pulsars are in agreement as to the necessity for the GeV spectra to steepen at < 200 GeV. While the Imaging method for increase of sensitivity has been successful with many results, an alternate technique —Wavefront Sampling Technique- is also being used by an increasing number of experiments. The recently commissioned experiment at Pachmarhi (PACT) in India is presented as an example of this technique. Preliminary results from this experiment show detection of VHE γ-ray emission from (a) the Crab nebula at a high significance and (b) Crab and Geminga pulsars at > 1.5 TeV which could be the second component of the Outer Gap pulsar models.     

3EG J2020+4017, the γ-Cygni source—before GLAST

The Cygnus region of the Milky Way is prolific in star formation and presents extended diffuse γ-ray emission with a few γ-ray point sources. Among them is 3EG J2020+4017, the brightest of the unidentified EGRET sources, positionally coincident with the supernova remnant G78.2+2.1. Even though the EGRET and multi-wavelength data have not provided a conclusive identification for this γ-ray loud, but otherwise faint object, the evidence favors a pulsar like source. The EGRET photon data lack the signal-to-noise ratio required for a period search, but will serve as a valuable timing baseline extension in the case that GLAST confirms the pulsar nature of the γ-Cygni source. Work sponsored by CONACyT grant SEP-2003-C02-42611.     

Gamma-Ray and VLBI Radio Emission from Gamma-ray-loud Blazars

Based on the γ-ray data of 51 γ-ray-loud blazars in the third EGRET catalog and VLBI radio data at 2.29 GHz in high state. we studied the correlations between the VLBI and γ-rayluminosities and the fluxes using the partial correlation analysis method. The results show that there is a strong correlation between γ-ray and VLBI radio fluxes and a significant correlation between γ-ray and VLBI radio luminosities. These results are likely to provide a possible support for self-Compton model of the γ-ray emission in blazars. It also shows that the γ-ray radiation may come from the region within the order of 1 pc which is consistent with the results given by luminosity variation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Determination of the parameters of the neutron stars in pulsars

It is shown that knowing the energy flux density of the radio emission, the rate of increase in the period, and the distance of a pulsar enables one to calculate all the rest of its most important characteristics (the solid angle of the radio emission beam, the radio luminosity, the solid angle of the beam of γ rays, the energy flux density of the g-ray emission, and the magnetic moment, moment of inertia, and mass of the neutron star). Equations from which these pulsar characteristics can be calculated are given at the end of the paper. The results of calculations for a number of pulsars are given in Tables 2 and 3 as an illustration. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 277-291, April–June, 2000.     

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.     

Pulsar radio luminosities and the magnetic moments of neutron stars

Using equations from the theory of pulsar radio emission, the radio luminosities of pulsars and the magnetic moments of neutron stars are calculated from existing observational data. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 433–437, July–September, 1999.     

Gamma-ray pulsars: the pulse profiles and phase-resolved spectra of Geminga

We present a calculation of a three-dimensional pulsar magnetosphere model to explain high-energy emission from the Geminga pulsar with a thick outer gap. High-energy γ -rays are produced by primary accelerated particles with a power-law energy distribution through curvature radiation inside the outer gap. We also calculate the emission pattern, pulse profile and phase-resolved spectra of high-energy γ -rays of the Geminga pulsar, and find that its pulse profile is consistent with the observed one if the magnetic inclination and viewing angle are ∼50° and ∼86° respectively. We describe the relative phases among soft (thermal) X-rays, hard (non-thermal) X-rays, and γ -rays. Our results indicate that X-ray and γ -ray emission from the Geminga pulsar may be explained by the single thick outer gap model. Finally, we discuss the implications of the radio and optical emission of the Geminga pulsar.     

Coherent Emission Mechanisms in Radio Pulsars

A theory of pulsar radio emission generation, in which the observed waves are produced directly by the maser-type plasma instabilities on the anomalous cyclotron-Cherenkov resonance and the Cherenkov-drift resonance , is capable of explaining the main observational characteristics of pulsar radio emission. The instabilities are due to the interaction of the fast particles of the primary beam and from the tail of the distribution with the normal modes of a strongly magnetized one-dimensional electron-positron plasma. The waves emitted at these resonances are vacuum-like electromagnetic waves that may leave the magnetosphere directly. The cyclotron-Cherenkov instability is responsible for core emission pattern and the Cherenkov-drift instability produces conal emission. The conditions for the development of the cyclotron-Cherenkov instability are satisfied for the both typical and millisecond pulsars provided that the streaming energy of the bulk plasma is not very high γ _p = 5 ÷ 10. In a typical pulsar the cyclotron-Cherenkov and Cherenkov-drift resonances occur in the outer parts of magnetosphere at r _res ≈ 10⁹cm. This theory can account for various aspects of pulsar phenomenology including the morphology of the pulses, their polarization properties and spectral behavior. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Very high energy gamma rays from the crab pulsar

The Ooty data on VHE (> 600 GeV) γ-rays from the Crab pulsar have been used to look at possible emission on three different timescales,viz. years, minutes and hours. When averaged over three years of observation, there is no significant time-averaged emission. But interesting aspects are revealed when the data are subdivided into miniruns of one-minute duration. Minutes with moderate γ-ray activity were isolated with a κ² analysis. The summed phasogram of such minutes shows two strong peaks coinciding with the radio main pulse and the interpulse respectively. The probability that these are due to chance is small. The phasogram has a bimodal distribution which indicates some emission from the middle region between the two phases. In general, there is no significant emission on the timescale of a few hours. However, the main pulse, as well as the bimodal distribution, were seen also in the total data of two nights of simultaneous observation at two sites during 1984–1985.     

Correlation between the Gamma-ray and the Near-infrared Emissions from Gamma-ray-loud Blazars in the Low State

We have studied the correlations between the near-IR and the γ-ray bands using 29 observed γ-ray-loud blazars (16 BL Lac objects and 13flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs)) with near-IR and γ-ray spectralindices and fluxes. The results show that there are very strong correlations between near-IR mean spectral index α_IR and γ-ray mean spectral index α_γ and between near-IR and γ-ray fluxes. Which means that γ-ray radiation from the blazars should be mainly produced by the synchrotron self-Compton process. In addition, the γ-ray emission of BL Lac objects may be somewhat different from flat-spectrum radio quasars. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The gamma-ray conversion efficiency of rotation-powered pulsars

We use a new self-consistent model to derive the conversion efficiency from rotation power to γ-ray power for pulsars (ε_th). Our result indicates that ε_th∝τ^6/7 P ², where τ and P are the characteristic age and period of the pulsar, which shows that although the efficiency increases with the characteristic age of the pulsar, it also depends on the pulsar period. We test our model results with the survey of high-energy γ-rays from pulsars by EGRET. Our model not only successfully explains the efficiency of the confirmed γ-ray pulsars but also explains why the γ-ray efficiency of millisecond pulsars is so low.