Paper

Radio and Gamma-Ray Constraints on the Emission Geometry and Birthplace of PSR J2043+2740

Tanaka, T, Camilo, F, Drell, P S, Morselli, A, Grove, J E, Monte, C, Celik, O, Nolan, P L, Mazziotta, M N, Kuss, M, Cutini, S, Lyne, A G, Colafrancesco, S, Rain, S, Sgro, C, Usher, T L, Fusco, P, Vilchez, N, Knoedlseder, J, Lande, J, Chaty, S, Funk, S, Kramer, M, Cecchi, C, Cognard, I, Claus, R, Moskalenko, I V, Focke, W B, Harding, A K, Katagiri, H, Orlando, E, Nuss, E, Torres, D F, Noutsos, A, Brigida, M, Caraveo, P A, Abdo, A A, Johnson, W N, Thorsett, S E, A von Kienlin, Romani, R W, Saz Parkinson, P M, Panetta, J H, Chiang, J, Wang, P, Baring, M G, Monzani, M E, Persic, M, Weltevrede, P, Longo, F, Spandre, G, Loparco, F, Bonamente, E, Gargano, F, Kataoka, J, Pelassa, V, Borgland, A W, Tibolla, O, McEnery, J E, Strickman, M S, Siskind, E J, Bellazzini, R, Dumora, D, Ziegler, M, Frailis, M, Vianello, G, Freire, P C C, Sadrozinski, H F -W, Giroletti, M, Ohsugi, T, Razzano, M, Reposeur, T, Watters, K, Johannesson, G, Bruel, P, Sander, A, Spinelli, P, Takahashi, H, de Palma, F, Johnson, T J, Winer, B L, Berenji, B, Fukazawa, Y, Germani, S, Cohen-Tanugi, J, Ormes, J F, Caliandro, G A, Ferrara, E C, Stappers, B W, Ray, P S, Porter, T A, Piron, F, Vitale, V, Guillemot, L

2010

Overview

We report on the first year of Fermi gamma-ray observations of pulsed high-energy emission from the old PSR J2043+2740. The study of the gamma-ray efficiency of such old pulsars gives us an insight into the evolution of pulsars' ability to emit in gammma rays as they age. The gamma-ray lightcurve of this pulsar above 0.1 GeV is clearly defined by two sharp peaks, 0.353+/-0.035 periods apart. We have combined the gamma-ray profile characteristics of PSR J2043+2740 with the geometrical properties of the pulsar's radio emission, derived from radio polarization data, and constrained the pulsar-beam geometry in the framework of a Two Pole Caustic and an Outer Gap model. The ranges of magnetic inclination and viewing angle were determined to be {alpha,zeta}~{52-57,61-68} for the Two Pole Caustic model, and {alpha,zeta}~{62-73,74-81} and {alpha,zeta}~{72-83,60-75} for the Outer Gap model. Based on this geometry, we assess possible birth locations for this pulsar and derive a likely proper motion, sufficiently high to be measurable with VLBI. At a characteristic age of 1.2 Myr, PSR J2043+2740 is the third oldest of all discovered, non-recycled, gamma-ray pulsars: it is twice as old as the next oldest, PSR J0357+32, and younger only than the recently discovered PSR J1836+5925 and PSR J2055+25, both of which are at least 5 and 10 times less energetic, respectively.

• Publisher: Cornell University Library, arXiv.org
• Subject: Emission analysis / Gamma rays / Geometry / Inclination / Pulsars / Radio emission