Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
The large number of gamma-ray pulsars discovered by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope since its launch in 2008 dwarfs the handful that were previously known. The variety of observed light curves makes possible a tomography of both the ensemble-averaged field structure and the high-energy emission regions of a pulsar magnetosphere. Fitting the gamma-ray pulsar light curves with model magnetospheres and emission models has revealed that most of the high-energy emission, and the particles acceleration, takes place near or beyond the light cylinder, near the current sheet. As pulsar magnetosphere models become more sophisticated, it is possible to probe magnetic field structure and emission that are self-consistently determined. Light curve modeling will continue to be a powerful tool for constraining the pulsar magnetosphere physics.
Keywords:
Numerical Analysis; Astrophysics
Type:
GSFC-E-DAA-TN41804
,
Journal of Plasma Physics (ISSN 0022-3778) (e-ISSN 1469-7807); 82; 3; 635820306
Format:
text
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