Gamma Ray Signal from the Pulsar Wind in the Binary Pulsar system PSR B1259-63/LS2883

Abstract

Binary pulsar systems emit potentially detectable components of gamma ray emission due to Comptonization of the optical radiation of the companion star by relativistic electrons of the pulsar wind, both before and after termination of the wind. The recent optical observations of binary pulsar system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 revealed radiation properties of the companion star which differ significantly from previous measurements. In this paper we study the implications of these observations for the interaction rate of the unshocked pulsar wind with the stellar photons and the related consequences for fluxes of high energy (HE) and very high energy (VHE) gamma rays. We show that the signal should be strong enough to be detected with Fermi close to the periastron passage, unless the pulsar wind is strongly anisotropic or the Lorentz factor of the wind is smaller than $10^3$ or larger that $10^5$. The higher luminosity of the optical star also has two important implications: (i) attenuation of gamma rays due to photon-photon pair production, and (ii) Compton drag of the unshocked wind. While the first effect has an impact on the lightcurve of VHE gamma rays, the second effect may significantly decrease the energy available for particle acceleration after termination of the wind.

17 pages, 6 figures

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Cited by in corpus (24)

• Gamma-ray binaries and related systems
• Simple analytical approximations for treatment of inverse Compton scattering of relativistic electrons in the black-body radiation field
• Simulations of stellar/pulsar wind interaction along one full orbit
• Modelling the light curves of PSR B1259-63/LS 2883-II.The effects of anisotropic pulsar wind and Doppler-boosting
• Modeling high-energy light curves of the PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 binary based on 3-D SPH simulations
• The geometric distance and binary orbit of PSR B1259-63
• High-Energy emissions from the Pulsar/Be binary system PSR J2032+4127/MT91 213
• Thermal X-ray Emission from the Shocked Stellar Wind of Pulsar Gamma-ray Binaries
• New insight into the origin of the GeV flare in the binary system PSR B1259-63 from the 2017 periastron passage
• High-energy observations of PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 through the 2014 periastron passage: connecting X-rays to the GeV flare
• High-energy emissions from the gamma-ray binary LS 5039
• Radiative damping and emission signatures of strong superluminal waves in pulsar winds
• H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT observations of PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 during its 2014 and 2017 periastron passages
• Modelling the multi-wavelength emissions from PSR B1259-63/LS 2883: the effects of the stellar disc on shock radiations
• Observation of the gamma-ray binary HESS J0632+057 with the H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS telescopes
• The hour-timescale GeV flares of PSR B1259-63 in 2017
• Non-thermal radiation from a pulsar wind interacting with an inhomogeneous stellar wind
• High energy gamma-ray emission from compact galactic sources in the context of observations with the next generation Cherenkov Telescope Arrays
• Properties of a hypothetical cold pulsar wind in LS~5039
• Investigation of the broadband emission of the gamma-ray binary HESS J0632+057 using an intrabinary shock model
• Modeling the High-energy Emission from the Gamma-ray Binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856
• X-Ray spectral evolution of PSR~J2032+4127 during the 2017 periastron passage
• Anisotropic scattering from the circumstellar disc in PSR B1259-63
• The stability of strong waves and its implications for pulsar wind shocks