ESA Science & Technology - Search for pulsed gamma-ray emission from radio pulsars in the COS-B data

Publication date: 15 November 1983

Authors: Buccheri, R., et al.

Journal: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume: 128
Issue: 1
Page: 245-251
Year: 1983

Copyright: European Southern Observatory

Pulsed gamma-ray emission from radio pulsars has been sought in a study of pulsar parameters for 145 radio observations, contemporary with gamma-ray observations, by the COS-B spacecraft. No signal has been detected in the 50 MeV-2 GeV energy range of the study, either globally or from individual pulsars. These results indicate that the average product of the conversion efficiency from the pulsar braking power into gamma-rays, and the pulsar moment of inertia, cannot exceed 6 x 10⁴³ g cm², for pulsar ages greater than 40,000 years. This implies that the contribution of old pulsars to the observed galactic gamma-ray emission is less than 5 percent for gamma-ray energies greater than 50 MeV.