The Pulsed Hard X-Ray Spectrum of PSR B1509-58
Abstract
OSSE observed the 150 ms X-ray pulsar PSR B1509-58 in the supernova remnant MSH 15-52 for four weeks in 1992. The pulsed spectrum from 50 keV to 5 MeV is well-fit by a single power law photon spectrum of the form (3.14 plus or minus 0.16) x 10(exp 6) x(E/118.5 keV)(exp-1.68 plus or minus 0.09) photons cm(exp-2) s(exp-1) keV(exp -1). this is significantly harder than the Crab pulsar spectrum in this energy range. The Ginga soft X-ray spectrum (2-60 keV) reported by Kawai et al. Is significantly harder than the observed OSSE spectrum and predicts a flux two times higher than we observe in the ~55 -170 keV energy band. This requires a break to a steeper spectrum somewhere in the intermediate energy range (~ 40 - 80 keV). The spectrum must soften again at higher energies or the pulsar would have easily been detected by EGRET, COS B, and SAS-2.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA464483
Entities
People
- David A. Grabelsky
- G. V. Jung
- J. Eric Grove
- James D. Kurfess
- Mark S. Strickman
- Melville P. Ulmer
- Robert L. Kinzer
- S. M. Matz
- W. Neil Johnson
- William R. Purcell
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory