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- Pulsed Gamma-rays from the millisecond pulsar J0030+0451 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope doi link

Author(s): Abdo A.A., Ackermann M., B. Atwood W., Axelsson M., Ballet J., Bruel P., M. Casandjian J., Cognard I., Cohen-Tanugi J., Dumora D., Farnier C., Giebels B., A. Grenier I., Grondin M.-H., Guillemot L., Guiriec Sylvain, Knodlseder J., Komin Nukri, Lemoine-Goumard M., Lott B., Nuss E., Pancrazi B., Parent D., Piron F., Reposeur T., Sanchez D., A. Smith D., Starck J.-L., Theureau G., Vilchez N.

(Article) Published: The Astrophysical Journal / The Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 699 p.1171-1177 (2009)
Links openAccess full text : arxiv


Ref HAL: in2p3-00380184_v1
Ref Arxiv: 0904.4377
DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/699/2/1171
Ref. & Cit.: NASA ADS
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37 citations
Abstract:

We report the discovery of gamma-ray pulsations from the nearby isolated millisecond pulsar PSR J0030+0451 with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the \emph{Fermi} Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST). This discovery makes PSR J0030+0451 the second millisecond pulsar to be detected in gamma-rays after PSR J0218+4232, observed by the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The spin-down power $\dot E = $ 3.5 $\times$ 10$^{33}$ ergs s$^{-1}$ is an order of magnitude lower than the empirical lower bound of previously known gamma-ray pulsars. The emission profile is characterized by two narrow peaks, respectively 0.07 $\pm$ 0.01 and 0.08 $\pm$ 0.02 wide, separated by 0.44 $\pm$ 0.02 in phase. The first gamma-ray peak falls 0.15 $\pm$ 0.01 after the main radio peak. The pulse shape is similar to that of the "normal" gamma-ray pulsars. An exponentially cut-off power-law fit of the emission spectrum leads to an integral photon flux above 100 MeV of (6.76 $\pm$ 1.05 $\pm$ 1.35) $\times 10^{-8}$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ with cut-off energy (1.7 $\pm$ 0.4 $\pm$ 0.5) GeV. Based on its parallax distance of $(300 \pm 90)$ pc, we obtain a gamma-ray efficiency $L_\gamma / \dot{E} \simeq 15%$ for the conversion of spin-down energy rate into gamma-ray radiation, assuming isotropic emission.



Comments: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal