46 research outputs found
Disk Diffusion Propagation Model for the Outburst of XTE J1118+480
We present a linear diffusion model for the evolution of the double-peaked
outburst in the transient source XTEJ1118+480. The model treats the two
outbursts as episodic mass deposition at the outer radius of the disk followed
by evolution of disk structure according to a diffusion process. We demonstrate
that light curves with fast-rise, exponential decay profile are a general
consequence of the diffusion process. Deconvolution of the light curve proves
to be feasible and gives an input function specifying mass deposition at the
outer disk edge as well as the total mass of the disk, both as functions of
time. The derived evolution of total disk mass can be correlated with the
observed evolution of the ~0.1 Hz QPO in the source reported in Wood et al.
(2000).Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray Opacity of the Universe
The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths
from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays
with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological
distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the
gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts
(GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray
blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using
photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations
for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by
the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at
various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from
well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet
wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al.
(2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figures, accepted version (24 Aug.2010) for publication
in ApJ; Contact authors: A. Bouvier, A. Chen, S. Raino, S. Razzaque, A.
Reimer, L.C. Reye
A population of gamma-ray emitting globular clusters seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
Globular clusters with their large populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs)
are believed to be potential emitters of high-energy gamma-ray emission. Our
goal is to constrain the millisecond pulsar populations in globular clusters
from analysis of gamma-ray observations. We use 546 days of continuous
sky-survey observations obtained with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi
Gamma-ray Space Telescope to study the gamma-ray emission towards 13 globular
clusters. Steady point-like high-energy gamma-ray emission has been
significantly detected towards 8 globular clusters. Five of them (47 Tucanae,
Omega Cen, NGC 6388, Terzan 5, and M 28) show hard spectral power indices and clear evidence for an exponential cut-off in the range
1.0-2.6 GeV, which is the characteristic signature of magnetospheric emission
from MSPs. Three of them (M 62, NGC 6440 and NGC 6652) also show hard spectral
indices , however the presence of an exponential cut-off
can not be unambiguously established. Three of them (Omega Cen, NGC 6388, NGC
6652) have no known radio or X-ray MSPs yet still exhibit MSP spectral
properties. From the observed gamma-ray luminosities, we estimate the total
number of MSPs that is expected to be present in these globular clusters. We
show that our estimates of the MSP population correlate with the stellar
encounter rate and we estimate 2600-4700 MSPs in Galactic globular clusters,
commensurate with previous estimates. The observation of high-energy gamma-ray
emission from a globular cluster thus provides a reliable independent method to
assess their millisecond pulsar populations that can be used to make
constraints on the original neutron star X-ray binary population, essential for
understanding the importance of binary systems in slowing the inevitable core
collapse of globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Corresponding authors: J.
Kn\"odlseder, N. Webb, B. Pancraz
The Third Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars
We present 294 pulsars found in GeV data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT)
on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Another 33 millisecond pulsars (MSPs)
discovered in deep radio searches of LAT sources will likely reveal pulsations
once phase-connected rotation ephemerides are achieved. A further dozen optical
and/or X-ray binary systems co-located with LAT sources also likely harbor
gamma-ray MSPs. This catalog thus reports roughly 340 gamma-ray pulsars and
candidates, 10% of all known pulsars, compared to known before Fermi.
Half of the gamma-ray pulsars are young. Of these, the half that are undetected
in radio have a broader Galactic latitude distribution than the young
radio-loud pulsars. The others are MSPs, with 6 undetected in radio. Overall,
>235 are bright enough above 50 MeV to fit the pulse profile, the energy
spectrum, or both. For the common two-peaked profiles, the gamma-ray peak
closest to the magnetic pole crossing generally has a softer spectrum. The
spectral energy distributions tend to narrow as the spindown power
decreases to its observed minimum near erg s, approaching the
shape for synchrotron radiation from monoenergetic electrons. We calculate
gamma-ray luminosities when distances are available. Our all-sky gamma-ray
sensitivity map is useful for population syntheses. The electronic catalog
version provides gamma-ray pulsar ephemerides, properties and fit results to
guide and be compared with modeling results.Comment: 142 pages. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Supplemen
Gamma-ray and radio properties of six pulsars detected by the fermi large area telescope
We report the detection of pulsed γ-rays for PSRs J0631+1036, J0659+1414, J0742-2822, J1420-6048, J1509-5850, and J1718-3825 using the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly known as GLAST). Although these six pulsars are diverse in terms of their spin parameters, they share an important feature: their γ-ray light curves are (at least given the current count statistics) single peaked. For two pulsars, there are hints for a double-peaked structure in the light curves. The shapes of the observed light curves of this group of pulsars are discussed in the light of models for which the emission originates from high up in the magnetosphere. The observed phases of the γ-ray light curves are, in general, consistent with those predicted by high-altitude models, although we speculate that the γ-ray emission of PSR J0659+1414, possibly featuring the softest spectrum of all Fermi pulsars coupled with a very low efficiency, arises from relatively low down in the magnetosphere. High-quality radio polarization data are available showing that all but one have a high degree of linear polarization. This allows us to place some constraints on the viewing geometry and aids the comparison of the γ-ray light curves with high-energy beam models
All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory: Exploring the Extreme Multimessenger Universe
The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO) is a probe class
mission concept that will provide essential contributions to multimessenger
astrophysics in the late 2020s and beyond. AMEGO combines high sensitivity in
the 200 keV to 10 GeV energy range with a wide field of view, good spectral
resolution, and polarization sensitivity. Therefore, AMEGO is key in the study
of multimessenger astrophysical objects that have unique signatures in the
gamma-ray regime, such as neutron star mergers, supernovae, and flaring active
galactic nuclei. The order-of-magnitude improvement compared to previous MeV
missions also enables discoveries of a wide range of phenomena whose energy
output peaks in the relatively unexplored medium-energy gamma-ray band
The Second Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-Ray Pulsars
This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence 0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data
acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT
data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117
pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet
pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information
exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four
pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emission for several young and millisecond pulsars.We compare the gammaray
properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands.We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed
gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray
pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermiメs selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing
comparisons with predicted population distributions
A Population of Gamma-Ray Millisecond Pulsars Seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
Gamma-Ray Pulsar Bonanza
Most of the pulsars we know about were detected through their radio emission; a few are known to pulse gamma rays but were first detected at other wavelengths (see the Perspective by
Halpern
). Using the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope,
Abdo
et al.
(p.
840
, published online 2 July; see the cover) report the detection of 16 previously unknown pulsars based on their gamma-ray emission alone. Thirteen of these coincide with previously unidentified gamma-ray sources, solving the 30-year-old mystery of their identities. Pulsars are fast-rotating neutron stars. With time they slow down and cease to radiate; however, if they are in a binary system, they can have their spin rates increased by mass transfer from their companion stars, starting a new life as millisecond pulsars. In another study,
Abdo
et al.
(p.
845
) report the detection of gamma-ray emission from the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, which is coming from an ensemble of millisecond pulsars in the cluster's core. The data imply that there are up to 60 millisecond pulsars in 47 Tucanae, twice as many as predicted by radio observations. In a further companion study,
Abdo
et al.
(p.
848
, published online 2 July) searched Fermi Large Area Telescope data for pulsations from all known millisecond pulsars outside of stellar clusters, finding gamma-ray pulsations for eight of them. Their properties resemble those of other gamma-ray pulsars, suggesting that they share the same basic emission mechanism. Indeed, both sets of pulsars favor emission models in which the gamma rays are produced in the outer magnetosphere of the neutron star
Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger
On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta