Spectral features in gamma-rays expected from millisecond pulsars
Abstract
In the advent of next generation gamma-ray missions, we present general properties of spectral features of high-energy emission above expected for a class of millisecond, low magnetic field () pulsars. We extend polar-cap model calculations of Rudak & Dyks (1999) by including inverse Compton scattering events in ambient field of thermal X-ray photons and by allowing for two models of particle acceleration. In the range between and a few hundred GeV the main spectral component is due to curvature radiation of primary particles. Synchrotron component due to secondary pairs becomes dominant only below . The slope of the curvature radiation spectrum in the energy range from to strongly depends on the model of longitudinal acceleration, whereas below all slopes converge to a unique value of 4/3 (in a convention). The thermal soft X-ray photons, which come either from the polar cap or from the surface, are Compton upscattered to a domain of the VHE and form a separate spectral component peaking at . We discuss observability of millisecond pulsars by future high energy instruments and present two rankings relevant for GLAST and MAGIC. We point to the pulsar J0437-4715 as a promising candidate for observations.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9912274,
title = {Spectral features in gamma-rays expected from millisecond pulsars},
author = {T. Bulik and B. Rudak and J. Dyks},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9912274},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
9 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRAS