Five New Millisecond Pulsars from a Radio Survey of 14 Unidentified Fermi-LAT Gamma-Ray Sources
Abstract
We have discovered five millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in a survey of 14 unidentified Fermi Large Area Telescope sources in the southern sky using the Parkes radio telescope. PSRs J0101-6422, J1514-4946, and J1902-5105 reside in binaries, while PSRs J1658-5324 and J1747-4036 are isolated. Using an ephemeris derived from timing observations of PSR J0101-6422 (P = 2.57 ms, DM = 12 pc cm-3), we have detected γ-ray pulsations and measured its proper motion. Its γ-ray spectrum (a power law of Γ = 0.9 with a cutoff at 1.6 GeV) and efficiency are typical of other MSPs, but its radio and γ-ray light curves challenge simple geometric models of emission. The high success rate of this survey—enabled by selecting γ-ray sources based on their detailed spectral characteristics—and other similarly successful searches indicate that a substantial fraction of the local population of MSPs may soon be known.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L2
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1201.5160
- Bibcode:
- 2012ApJ...748L...2K
- Keywords:
-
- gamma rays: general;
- pulsars: individual: PSR J0101-6422;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 6 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted by ApJL