Authors: Gonthier, P.¹; Guilder, R.²; Harding, A.³; Grenier, I.⁴; Perrot, C.⁵

Source: Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume 297, Numbers 1-4, June 2005 , pp. 71-80(10)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

We present results of a population synthesis study of radio-loud and radio-quiet -ray pulsars from the Galactic plane and the Gould Belt. The simulation includes the Parkes multibeam pulsar survey, realistic beam geometries for radio and -ray emission from neutron stars and the new electron density model of Cordes and Lazio. Normalizing to the number of radio pulsars observed by a set of nine radio surveys, the simulation suggests a neutron star birth rate of 1.4 neutron stars per century in the Galactic plane. In addition, the simulation predicts 19 radio-loud and 7 radio-quiet -ray pulsars from the plane that EGRET should have observed as point sources. Assuming that during the last 5 Myr the Gould Belt produced 100 neutron stars, only 10 of these would be observed as radio pulsars with three radio-loud and four radio-quiet -ray pulsars observed by EGRET. These results are in general agreement with the recent number of about 25 EGRET error boxes that contain Parkes radio pulsars. Since the Gould Belt pulsars are relatively close by, the selection of EGRET radio-quiet -ray pulsars strongly favors large impact angles, , in the viewing geometry where the off-beam emission from curvature radiation provides the -ray flux. Therefore, the simulated EGRET radio-quiet -ray pulsars, being young and nearby, most closely reflect the current shape of the Gould Belt suggesting that such sources may significantly contribute to the EGRET unidentified -ray sources correlated with the Gould Belt.

Keywords: pulsars; pulsar populations; -ray sources; Gould Belt; unidentified -ray sources

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10509-005-7577-y

Affiliations: 1: Hope College, Department of Physics and Engineering, Holland, MI, 49424, USA, Email: gonthier@hope.edu 2: University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, Email: rvanguilder@usa.net 3: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA, Email: harding@twinkie.gsfc.nasa.gov 4: Université Paris VII & Service d’Astrophysique, CEA, Saclay, Email: isabelle.grenier@cea.fr 5: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, USA, Email: cperrot@stanford.edu

Publication date: 2005-06-01

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