2005/11/03 by O. C. de Jager, C. Venter, de Jager, O. C. +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Planetary Science and Exploration #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0511098
openalex publication_date 2005/11/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The excellent sensitivity and high resolution capability of wide FoV\nground-based imaging atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes allow us for the first\ntime to resolve the morphological structures of pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) which\nare older and more extended than the Crab Nebula. VHE gamma-ray observations of\nsuch extended nebulae (with field strengths below ~ 20 micro Gauss) probe the\nelectron component corresponding to the unseen extreme ultraviolet (EUV)\nsynchrotron component, which measures electron injection from earlier\nevolutionary epochs. VHE observations of PWN therefore introduce a new window\non PWN research. This review paper also identifies conditions for maximal VHE\nvisbility of PWN. Regarding pulsar pulsed emission, it is becoming clear that\nthe threshold energies of current telescopes are not sufficient to probe the\npulsed gamma-ray component from canonical pulsars. Theoretical estimates of\npulsed gamma-ray emission from millisecond pulsars seem to converge and it\nbecomes clear that such detections with current 3rd generation telescopes will\nnot be possible, unless the geometry is favourable.\n