Detection of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae with Fermi
Abstract
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.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 14, 2009
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.1177023
Entities
People
- A. A. Abdo
- A. A. Moiseev
- A. Brez
- A. Chekhtman
- A. K. Harding
- A. Makeev
- A. Reimer
- A. S. Johnson
- A. Sander
- A. Tramacere
- A. W. Borgland
- A. Y. Rodriguez
- Aldo Morselli
- B. Berenji
- B. Giebels
- B. L. Winer
- B. Lott
- B. M. Baughman
- C. C. Cheung
- C. Cecchi
- C. D. Dermer
- C. Farnier
- C. Favuzzi
- C. Meurer
- C. Monte
- C. Sgrò
- D. A. Smith
- D. Dumora
- D. F. Torres
- D. Horan
- D. J. Suson
- D. J. Thompson
- D. Paneque
- D. Parent
- D. Sanchez
- Dario Gasparrini
- Denis Bastieri
- E. Bonamente
- E. Charles
- E. D. Bloom
- E. Do Couto E Silva
- E. Hays
- E. Nuss
- E. Orlando
- F. De Palma
- F. Giordano
- F. Kuehn
- F. Ryde
- Fabio Gargano
- Francesco Longo
- Francesco Loparco
- G. A. Caliandro
- G. Barbiellini
- G. Godfrey
- G. Jóhannesson
- Gino Tosti
- Gloria Spandre
- H. F.-w. Sadrozinski
- H. Katagiri
- H. Tajima
- H. Takahashi
- I. A. Grenier
- I. V. Moskalenko
- J. B. Thayer
- J. Ballet
- J. Bregeon
- J. Chiang
- J. Cohen-tanugi
- J. Conrad
- J. E. Mcenery
- J. Eric Grove
- J. F. Ormes
- J. G. Thayer
- J. H. Panetta
- J. Knödlseder
- J. Lande
- J. M. Casandjian
- J. P. Norris
- J.-l. Starck
- K. Bechtol
- K. S. Wood
- L. Guillemot
- L. Latronico
- L. S. Rochester
- L. Tibaldo
- Luca Baldini
- M. Ackermann
- M. Axelsson
- M. Brigida
- M. Dormody
- M. E. Monzani
- M. Frailis
- M. Hayashida
- M. Kuss
- M. Lemoine-goumard
- M. N. Lovellette
- M. N. Mazziotta
- M. Pepe
- M. Pierbattista
- M. Ziegler
- Marco Ajello
- Mark S. Strickman
- Massimiliano Razzano
- Matthew Kerr
- Michael Roth
- N. Gehrels
- N. Giglietto
- N. Kawai
- N. Rea
- N. Vilchez
- Nathan J. Webb
- Nicola Omodei
- Olaf Reimer
- P. A. Caraveo
- P. Bruel
- P. D. Smith
- P. F. Michelson
- P. Fusco
- P. L. Nolan
- P. Lubrano
- P. M. Saz Parkinson
- P. S. Drell
- P. Spinelli
- Pingshan Wang
- R. A. Cameron
- R. Bellazzini
- R. Claus
- R. D. Blandford
- R. Dubois
- R. E. Hughes
- R. P. Johnson
- R. W. Romani
- Riccardo Rando
- S. Chaty
- S. Ciprini
- S. Cutini
- S. Germani
- S. J. Fegan
- S. Murgia
- S. Rainò
- S. Ritz
- S. W. Digel
- Sylvain Guiriec
- T. A. Porter
- T. Glanzman
- T. H. Burnett
- T. J. Johnson
- T. Kamae
- T. L. Usher
- T. Ohsugi
- T. Reposeur
- T. Ylinen
- Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Tsunefumi Mizuno
- V. Pelassa
- V. Vasileiou
- V. Vitale
- W. B. Atwood
- W. B. Focke
- W. Mcconville
- W. Mitthumsiri
- W. Neil Johnson
- Y. Fukazawa
- Y. Hanabata
- Y. Uchiyama
- Ö. Çelik
Organizations
- AlbaNova
- George Mason University
- Goddard Space Flight Center
- Hiroshima University
- Instituto de Ciencias del Espacio
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
- Italian Space Agency
- Linnaeus University
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
- Montpellier 2 University
- National Institute for Astrophysics
- Ohio State University
- Paris Diderot University
- Purdue University Northwest
- Royal Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- Stockholm University
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Tor Vergata University of Rome
- United Parcel Service
- United States Naval Research Laboratory
- University of Alabama
- University of Bordeaux
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- University of Denver
- University of Innsbruck
- University of Maryland
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- University of Padua
- University of Perugia
- University of Trieste
- University of Washington
- École polytechnique