TeV Gamma-Rays from Millisecond Pulsars and the Detectability of
Globular Clusters
Smith, I. A.
I investigate the detectability of TeV gamma rays from millisecond pulsars,
assuming the energy source that powers this emission is the loss of
rotational energy of the spinning neutron star.
I show that although individual sources may be too weak to detect, the
contribution of many (about 1000) active millisecond pulsars may lead to
currently detectable TeV gamma-ray emissions from globular clusters,
provided the average pulsar converts about 0.1 percent of its spin-down
energy into TeV gamma rays.
Future detections of TeV gamma rays from globular clusters (or more
restrictive upper limits on the fluxes) will lead to better estimates of
the number of active millisecond pulsars the clusters contain, and to a
better understanding of the pulsar emission mechanism.
I also derive flux estimates for the following sources:
(1) the Crab Nebula, (2) PSR 1937+21, PSR 1953+29, and PSR 1855+09,
and (3) nearby millisecond pulsars in the galactic disk.
Status:
1993, ApJ, 408, 468.
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