On the high energy pulsar population detected by Fermi

TL;DR

This paper discusses the detection and analysis of high-energy pulsars by Fermi's LAT, revealing their properties, emission regions, and population characteristics, advancing understanding of gamma-ray pulsars.

Contribution

It presents new observational data on gamma-ray pulsars, highlighting their population features and emission mechanisms, especially in the outer magnetosphere.

Findings

Gamma-ray luminosity correlates with rotational energy loss.

Most bright pulsars emit gamma rays from the outer magnetosphere.

Fermi LAT identifies a large population of high-energy pulsars.

Abstract

The Large Area Telescope (LAT), Fermi's main instrument, is providing a new view of the local energetic pulsar population. In addition to identifying a pulsar origin of a large fraction of the bright unidentified Galactic EGRET sources, the LAT results provide a great opportunity to study a sizable population of high-energy pulsars. Correlations of their physical properties, such as the trend of the luminosity versus the rotational energy loss rate, help identify global features of the gamma-ray pulsar population. Several lines of evidence, including the light curve and spectral features, suggest that gamma-ray emission from the brightest pulsars arises largely in the outer magnetosphere.