Getting a Grip on Pulsar Emission with Gamma Rays
Matthew Kerr (Stanford) - April 9, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Despite the wealth of detailed observations of more than 2000 radio
pulsars, the mechanisms by which neutron star magnetospheres
accelerate ultrarelativistic particles and by which those particles
radiate over a broad band remains unclear. Gamma rays, which are
produced incoherently and which make up the bulk of the radiated
energy, are a powerful probe of these processes. By comparing light
curves from models of magnetospheric emission with those observed by
the Fermi Large Area Telescope, we can begin to understand which
portions of the magnetosphere are involved in acceleration/emission.
A challenge to these inferences is the unknown inclination of the
pulsar to the line of sight, and of the magnetic axis to the spin
axis.
I will give a brief overview of the state of pulsar astronomy with
particular attention to the advances facilitated by the LAT. I will
also advertise the 2nd Fermi Pulsar Catalog and its exquisitely
detailed observables from over 100 gamma-ray pulsars---a bonanza for
modelers. Finally, I will present preliminary results from an
analysis of the 2PC light curves with geometric emission models.
The seminar will be held in B1 Hearst Field Annex.
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