Searching for Very High Energy Emission from Pulsars Using the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential for detecting very-high-energy pulsations from known gamma-ray pulsars using the HAWC observatory, building on recent ground-based detections at TeV energies.

Contribution

It proposes a search strategy for VHE pulsations from pulsars with HAWC, leveraging recent detections at TeV energies by other observatories.

Findings

Potential to detect VHE pulsations from known gamma-ray pulsars.

Enhanced understanding of pulsar emission at very high energies.

Framework for future VHE pulsar observations with HAWC.

Abstract

There are currently over 160 known gamma-ray pulsars. While most of them are detected only from space, at least two are now seen also from the ground. MAGIC and VERITAS have measured the gamma ray pulsed emission of the Crab pulsar up to hundreds of GeV and more recently MAGIC has reported emission at $\sim2$ TeV. Furthermore, in the Southern Hemisphere, H.E.S.S. has detected the Vela pulsar above 30 GeV. In addition, non-pulsed TeV emission coincident with pulsars has been detected by many groups, including the Milagro Collaboration. These GeV-TeV observations open the possibility of searching for very-high-energy (VHE, > 100GeV) pulsations from gamma-rays pulsars in the HAWC field of view.