P. H. T. Tam

MULTI-WAVELENGTH EMISSIONS FROM THE MILLISECOND PULSAR BINARY PSR J1023+0038 DURING AN ACCRETION ACTIVE STATE

Recent observations strongly suggest that the millisecond pulsar binary PSR J1023+0038 has developed an accretion disk since 2013 June. We present a multi-wavelength analysis of PSR J1023+0038, which reveals that (1) its gamma-rays suddenly brightened within a few days in 2013 June/July and has remained at a high gamma-ray state for several months; (2) both UV and X-ray fluxes have increased by roughly an order of magnitude; and (3) the spectral energy distribution has changed significantly after the gamma-ray sudden flux change. Time variabilities associated with UV and X-rays are on the order of 100-500 s and 50-100 s, respectively. Our model suggests that a newly formed accretion disk, due to the sudden increase of the stellar wind, could explain the changes of all these observed features. The increase of UV is emitted from the disk, and a new component in gamma-rays is produced by inverse Compton scattering between the new UV component and pulsar wind. The increase of X-rays results from the enhancement of injection pulsar wind energy into the intra-binary shock due to the increase of the stellar wind. We also predict that the radio pulses may be blocked by the evaporated winds from the disk, and the pulsar is still powered by rotation.

Discovery of GeV γ-ray emission from PSR B1259-63/LS 2883

The binary system PSR B1259–63/LS 2883 consists of a 47.8 ms radio pulsar that orbits the companion Be star with a period of 3.4 years in a highly eccentric orbit. The system has been well sampled in radio, X-ray, and TeV γ-ray bands, and shows orbital phase-dependent variability in all observed frequencies. Here we report on the discovery of >100 MeV γ-rays from PSR B1259–63/LS 2883 through the 2010 periastron passage. Using data collected with the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi from 33 days before periastron to 75 days after periastron, PSR B1259–63/LS 2883 was detected at a significance of 13.6 standard deviations. The γ-ray light curve was highly variable over this period, with a changing photon index that correlates with the γ-ray flux. In particular, two major flares that occur after the periastron passage were observed. The onset of γ-ray emission occurs close to, but not at the same orbital phases as, the two disk passages that occur ~1 month before and ~1 month after the periastron passage. The fact that the GeV orbital light curve is different from that of the X-ray and TeV light curves strongly suggests that GeV γ-ray emission originates from a different component. We speculate that the observed GeV flares may be resulting from Doppler boosting effects.

Gamma-ray emission from the globular clusters Liller 1, M80, NGC 6139, NGC 6541, NGC 6624, and NGC 6752

Globular clusters (GCs) are emerging as a new class of ?-ray emitters, thanks to the data obtained from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. By now, eight GCs are known to emit ?-rays at energies >100 MeV. Based on the stellar encounter rate of the GCs, we identify potential ?-ray emitting GCs out of all known GCs that have not been studied in detail before. In this paper, we report the discovery of a number of new ?-ray GCs: Liller 1, NGC?6624, and NGC?6752, and evidence of ?-ray emission from M80, NGC?6139, and NGC?6541, in which ?-rays were found within the GC tidal radius. With one of the highest metallicities among all GCs in the Milky Way, the ?-ray luminosity of Liller 1 is found to be the highest of all known ?-ray GCs. In addition, we confirm a previous report of a significant ?-ray emitting region next to NGC?6441. We briefly discuss the observed offset of ?-rays from some GC cores. The increasing number of known ?-ray GCs at distances out to ~10 kpc is important for us to understand the ?-ray emitting mechanism and provides an alternative probe to the underlying millisecond pulsar populations of the GCs.

Discovery of an unidentified Fermi object as a black widow-like millisecond pulsar

The Fermi γ-ray Space Telescope has revolutionized our knowledge of the γ-ray pulsar population, leading to the discovery of almost 100 γ-ray pulsars and dozens of γ-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Although the outer-gap model predicts different sites of emission for the radio and γ-ray pulsars, until now all of the known γ-ray MSPs have been visible in the radio. Here we report the discovery of a radio-quiet γ-ray-emitting MSP candidate by using Fermi, Chandra, Swift, and optical observations. The X-ray and γ-ray properties of the source are consistent with known γ-ray pulsars. We also found a 4.63 hr orbital period in optical and X-ray data. We suggest that the source is a black widow-like MSP with a ~0.1 M ☉ late-type companion star. Based on the profile of the optical and X-ray light curves, the companion star is believed to be heated by the pulsar while the X-ray emissions originate from pulsar magnetosphere and/or from intrabinary shock. No radio detection of the source has been reported yet, and although no γ-ray/radio pulsation has been found we estimate that the spin period of the MSP is ~3-5 ms based on the inferred γ-ray luminosity.

HIGH-ENERGY EMISSION OF GRB 130427A: EVIDENCE FOR INVERSE COMPTON RADIATION

A nearby superluminous burst GRB 130427A was simultaneously detected by six gamma-ray space telescopes (Swift, the Fermi GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM)/Large Area Telescope, Konus-Wind, SPI-ACS/INTEGRAL, AGILE, and RHESSI) and by three RAPTOR full-sky persistent monitors. The isotropic gamma-ray energy release is similar to 10(54) erg, rendering it the most powerful explosion among gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with a redshift z 1 TeV neutrinos from GRB 130427A by IceCube are discussed.

DISCOVERY OF AN EXTRA HARD SPECTRAL COMPONENT IN THE HIGH-ENERGY AFTERGLOW EMISSION OF GRB 130427A

The extended high-energy gamma-ray (> 100 MeV) emission which occurs after prompt gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is usually characterized by a single power-law spectrum, which has been explained as the afterglow synchrotron radiation. The afterglow inverse Compton emission has long been predicted to be able to produce a high-energy component as well, but previous observations have not clearly revealed such a signature, probably due to the small number of > 10 GeV photons even for the brightest GRBs known so far. In this Letter, we report on the Fermi Large Area Telescope observations of the > 100 MeV emission from the very bright and nearby GRB130427A. We characterize the time-resolved spectra of the GeV emission from the GRB onset to the afterglow phase. By performing time-resolved spectral fits of GRB130427A, we found strong evidence of an extra hard spectral component that exists in the extended high-energy emission of this GRB. We argue that this hard component may arise from the afterglow inverse Compton emission.

NuSTAR OBSERVATIONS AND BROADBAND SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION MODELING OF THE MILLISECOND PULSAR BINARY PSR J1023+0038

We report the first hard X-ray (3-79 keV) observations of the millisecond pulsar (MSP) binary PSR J1023+0038 using NuSTAR. This system has been shown transiting between a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) state and a rotation-powered MSP state. The NuSTAR observations were taken in both LMXB state and rotation-powered state. The source is clearly seen in both states up to similar to 79 keV. During the LMXB state, the 3-79 keV flux is about a factor of 10 higher than in the rotation-powered state. The hard X-rays show clear orbital modulation during the X-ray faint rotation-powered state but the X-ray orbital period is not detected in the X-ray bright LMXB state. In addition, the X-ray spectrum changes from a flat power-law spectrum during the rotation-powered state to a steeper power-law spectrum in the LMXB state. We suggest that the hard X-rays are due to the intrabinary shock from the interaction between the pulsar wind and the injected material from the low-mass companion star. During the rotation-powered MSP state, the X-ray orbital modulation is due to Doppler boosting of the shocked pulsar wind. At the LMXB state, the evaporating matter of the accretion disk due to the gamma-ray irradiation from the pulsar stops almost all the pulsar wind, resulting in the disappearance of the X-ray orbital modulation.

FERMI-LAT DETECTION OF PULSED GAMMA-RAYS ABOVE 50 GeV FROM THE VELA PULSAR

The First \fermi-LAT Catalog of Sources Above 10 GeV reported evidence of pulsed emission above 25 GeV from 12 pulsars, including the Vela pulsar, which showed evidence of pulsation at

THE FUNDAMENTAL PLANE OF GAMMA-RAY GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

>37

DISCOVERY OF {gamma}-RAY PULSATION AND X-RAY EMISSION FROM THE BLACK WIDOW PULSAR PSR J2051-0827

GeV energy bands. Using 62 months of \fermi-LAT data, we analyzed the gamma-ray emission from the Vela pulsar and searched for pulsed emission above 50 GeV. Having confirmed the significance of the pulsation in 30-50 GeV with the H-test (p-value