Observations of the Pulsar PSR B1951+32 with the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports on 12.5 hours of gamma-ray observations of pulsar PSR B1951+32 using the STACEE detector, aiming to detect high-energy pulsed emission around 100 GeV.

Contribution

First application of STACEE to observe PSR B1951+32, providing insights into pulsar gamma-ray emission at energies near 100 GeV.

Findings

No significant pulsed gamma-ray emission detected.

Set upper limits on gamma-ray flux from PSR B1951+32.

Demonstrated STACEE's capability for pulsar observations.

Abstract

We present the analysis and results of 12.5 hours of high-energy gamma-ray observations of the EGRET-detected pulsar PSR B1951+32 using the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE). STACEE is an atmospheric Cherenkov detector, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that detects cosmic gamma rays using the shower-front-sampling technique. STACEE's sensitivity to astrophysical sources at energies around 100 GeV allows it to investigate emission from gamma-ray pulsars with expected pulsed emission cutoffs below 100 GeV. We discuss the observations and analysis of STACEE's PSR 1951+32 data, accumulated during the 2005 and 2006 observing seasons.