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High-Energy Emission from Rotation-Powered PulsarsThirty-five years after the discovery of rotation-powered pulsars, we still do not understand their pulsed emission at any wavelength. In the last few years there have been some fundamental developments in acceleration and emission models. I will review both the basic physics of the models as well as the latest developments in understanding the high-energy emission of rotation-powered pulsars. Special and general relativistic effects play important roles in pulsar emission, from inertial frame-dragging near the stellar surface to aberration, time-of-flight and retardation of the magnetic field near the light cylinder. Understanding how these effects determine what we observe at different wavelengths is critical to unraveling the emission physics. Fortunately two new gamma-ray telescopes, AGILE and GLAST, with launches expected this year will detect many new gamma-ray pulsars and test the predictions of these models with unprecedented sensitivity and energy resolution for gamma-rays in the range of 30 MeV to 300 GeV.
Document ID
20070032095
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Harding, Alice K.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 2007
Subject Category
Astronomy
Meeting Information
Meeting: Astrophysics of Compact Objects
Location: Huangshan
Country: China
Start Date: July 1, 2007
End Date: July 7, 2007
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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