Pulsar Simulations for the Fermi Large Area Telescope
arXiv:0907.0101 · doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2009.04.008
Abstract
Pulsars are among the prime targets for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the recently launched Fermi observatory. The LAT will study the gamma-ray Universe between 20 MeV and 300 GeV with unprecedented detail. Increasing numbers of gamma-ray pulsars are being firmly identified, yet their emission mechanisms are far from being understood. To better investigate and exploit the LAT capabilities for pulsar science, a set of new detailed pulsar simulation tools have been developed within the LAT collaboration. The structure of the pulsar simulator package PulsarSpectrum is presented here. Starting from photon distributions in energy and phase obtained from theoretical calculations or phenomenological considerations, gamma rays are generated and their arrival times at the spacecraft are determined by taking into account effects such as barycentric effects and timing noise. Pulsars in binary systems also can be simulated given orbital parameters. We present how simulations can be used for generating a realistic set of gamma rays as observed by the LAT, focusing on some case studies that show the performance of the LAT for pulsar observations.
22 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics
References in corpus (17)
- The Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Mission
- The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
- TEMPO2, a new pulsar timing package. I: Overview
- Diffuse Galactic continuum gamma rays. A model compatible with EGRET data and cosmic-ray measurements
- High-Altitude Particle Acceleration and Radiation in Pulsar Slot Gaps
- Extended Acceleration in Slot Gaps and Pulsar High-Energy Emission
- Observation of Pulsed Gamma-rays Above 25 GeV from the Crab Pulsar with MAGIC
- Gamma Radiation from PSR B1055-52
- Fermi LAT Observations of the Vela Pulsar
- High-Energy Emission From Millisecond Pulsars
- Phase-Resolved Studies of the High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from the Crab, Geminga, and Vela Pulsars
- Pulsar Timing for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
- Galactic populations of radio and gamma-ray pulsars in the polar cap model
- Gamma-Ray Pulsars: Beaming Evolution, Stats and Unident. EGRET Sources
- Discovery of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Pulsations from PSR J2021+3651 with AGILE
- The Highest-Energy Photons Seen by the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
- Search for Pulsed VHE Gamma-Ray Emission from Young Pulsars with H.E.S.S