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Gamma-Ray Pulsar Light Curves as Probes of Magnetospheric StructureThe large number of gamma-ray pulsars discovered by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope since its launch in 2008 dwarfs the handful that were previously known. The variety of observed light curves makes possible a tomography of both the ensemble-averaged field structure and the high-energy emission regions of a pulsar magnetosphere. Fitting the gamma-ray pulsar light curves with model magnetospheres and emission models has revealed that most of the high-energy emission, and the particles acceleration, takes place near or beyond the light cylinder, near the current sheet. As pulsar magnetosphere models become more sophisticated, it is possible to probe magnetic field structure and emission that are self-consistently determined. Light curve modeling will continue to be a powerful tool for constraining the pulsar magnetosphere physics.
Document ID
20170003737
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Harding, A. K.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Date Acquired
April 20, 2017
Publication Date
May 26, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Plasma Physics
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Volume: 82
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0022-3778
e-ISSN: 1469-7807
Subject Category
Numerical Analysis
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN41804
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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