OSSE Observations of the Crab Pulsar

Abstract

We present results of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory OSSE observations of the Crab pulsar, made during MJD 48373-48406 (27 April 1991-30 May 1991) and MJD 48798-48804 (25 June 1992-1 July 1992). Pulsar light curves and spectra over the ~0.05 to 10 MeV range are presented. The arrival time of the gamma-ray peak and the radio peak agree to within 30 microsecs, which is better than the ~300 microsecs accuracy of the measurements. The overall pulse phase averaged spectrum in the 0.1-10 MeV range is well-fit by a power law of the form 0:05 x (E/0.13 MeV)(exp 1.99 plus or minus 0.03) photons sq cm s(exp -1). The outer-gap model (with gap parameter equal to 0.46) provided to us by Ho agrees with the data to better than 20%. The spectra of the bridge and second peak are slightly harder that the first peak as measured by the hardness ratio (~110-220 keV)/(~50-105 keV): P1 = 0.54 plus or minus 0.01, P2 = 0.63 plus or minus 0.01, bridge = 0.68 plus or minus 0.03. The phase of the two peaks in the light curve is constant over the 50-550 keV range to within the accuracy of the measurements (better than 0.02 in in phase).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA464615

Entities

People

  • David A. Grabelsky
  • G. V. Jung
  • J. Eric Grove
  • James D. Kurfess
  • Mark S. Strickman
  • Melville P. Ulmer
  • R. A. Cameron
  • Robert L. Kinzer
  • S. Lomatch
  • S. M. Matz
  • W. Neil Johnson
  • William R. Purcell

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Acquisition
  • Data Acquisition
  • Data Analysis
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Energy Bands
  • Ephemerides
  • Gamma Rays
  • Measurement
  • Neutron Stars
  • Observation
  • Observatories
  • Spacecraft
  • Statistics
  • Telemetry
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Mathematics or Statistics