Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2004-09-02
Astrophys.Space Sci. 297 (2005) 63-70
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
10 pages, 4 figures, to appear in proceedings of "The Multiwavelength Approach to Unidentified Sources", ed. G. Romero & K.S.
Scientific paper
10.1007/s10509-005-7576-z
A new picture of pulsar high-energy emission is proposed that is different from both the traditional polar cap and outer gap models, but combines elements of each. The slot gap model is based on electron acceleration along the edge of the open field region from the neutron star surface to near the light cylinder. Along the last open field line, the pair formation front rises to very high altitude forming a slot gap, where the accelerating electric field is unscreened by pairs. The resulting radiation features both hollow cones from the lower-altitude pair cascades, seen at small viewing angles, as well as caustic emission on the trailing-edge field lines at high altitude, seen from both poles at large viewing angle. The combination of the small solid angle of slot gap emission (<< 1 sr) with a high probability of viewing the emission predicts that more gamma-ray pulsars could be detected at larger distances. In this picture, many of the positional coincidences of radio pulsars with unidentified EGRET sources become plausible as real associations, as the flux predicted by the slot gap model for many of the pulsars would provide the observed EGRET source flux. The expected probability of seeing radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars in this model will also be discussed.
Harding Alice
Muslimov Alexander
No associations
LandOfFree
Pulsar Slot Gaps and Unidentified EGRET Sources does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Pulsar Slot Gaps and Unidentified EGRET Sources, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Pulsar Slot Gaps and Unidentified EGRET Sources will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-171547