PULSED HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RADIATION FROM GEMINGA (1E0630+178)

被引:212
作者
BERTSCH, DL
BRAZIER, KTS
FICHTEL, CE
HARTMAN, RC
HUNTER, SD
KANBACH, G
KNIFFEN, DA
KWOK, PW
LIN, YC
MATTOX, JR
MAYERHASSELWANDER, HA
VONMONTIGNY, C
MICHELSON, PF
NOLAN, PL
PINKAU, K
ROTHERMEL, H
SCHNEID, EJ
SOMMER, M
SREEKUMAR, P
THOMPSON, DJ
机构
[1] MAX PLANCK INST PHYS & ASTROPHYS,INST EXTRATERR PHYS,W-8046 GARCHING,GERMANY
[2] HAMPDEN SYDNEY COLL,HAMPDEN SYDNEY,VA 23943
[3] STANFORD UNIV,DEPT PHYS,STANFORD,CA 94305
[4] STANFORD UNIV,WW HANSEN EXPTL PHYS LAB,STANFORD,CA 94305
[5] GRUMMAN AEROSP CORP,BETHPAGE,NY 11714
关键词
D O I
10.1038/357306a0
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
HALPERN and Holt 1 have recently reported the detection of coherent pulsations with a period of 237 ms from the soft X-ray source 1E0630 + 178, which lies in the error box of the gamma-ray source known as Geminga (2GC195 + 04). This observation provides compelling evidence that Geminga, an object whose nature has hitherto been mysterious, is an X-ray pulsar. Prompted by this discovery, we have searched the data from EGRET, the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, for a comparable signal in the gamma-radiation from this part of the sky. We now report the detection of pulsed gamma-rays, with energy > 50 MeV, from 1E0630 + 178, confirming the identification of Geminga with this X-ray source. The period derivative, (11.4 +/- 1.7) x 10(15) ss-1, suggests that Geminga is a nearby, isolated, rotating neutron star with a magnetic field of 1.6 x 10(12) gauss, a characteristic age of 3 x 10(5) yr and a spin-down energy loss rate of 3.5 x 10(34) erg s-1.
引用
收藏
页码:306 / 307
页数:2
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