VERITAS Observations of Pulsars

Abstract

The EGRET detector on board the Compton Gamma‐Ray Observatory detected pulsed emission from seven pulsars up to energies around 10 GeV. Despite numerous attempts, no pulsed emission has been observed by ground‐based gamma‐ray telescopes operating above ∼100 GeV. A pulsed emission cut‐off necessarily lies between. Any detection of this cut‐off has important implications for the models that attempt to explain pulsar emission. With the current generation of ground‐based gamma‐ray telescopes extending in energy below 100 GeV and with GLAST promising observations above 10 GeV, pulsars are promising targets for future gamma‐ray observation. We discuss here the VERITAS program for pulsar observations, its progress to date, and methods to improve the sensitivity of VERITAS for gamma rays below 100 GeV.

Publication
In AIP Conference Proceedings
John Kildea
John Kildea
Associate Professor (tenured) of Medical Physics