Searching for the optical counterparts of two young gamma-ray pulsars

TL;DR

This study conducted deep optical observations of two young gamma-ray pulsars using the VLT but did not detect their optical counterparts, providing upper limits on their optical brightness.

Contribution

First deep optical imaging of two young gamma-ray pulsars, setting constraints on their optical emission and aiding multi-wavelength understanding.

Findings

No optical counterparts detected down to magnitude limits

Established upper limits for optical brightness of both pulsars

Results contribute to multi-wavelength emission models

Abstract

We report on the first deep optical observations of two $\gamma$-ray pulsars, both among the very first discovered by the {\em Fermi} Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The two pulsars are the radio-loud PSR\, J1907+0602 in the TeV pulsar wind nebula (PWN) MGRO\, J1908+06 and the radio-quiet PSR\, J1809$-$2332 in the "Taz" radio/X-ray PWN. These pulsars are relatively young and energetic and have been both detected in the X-rays by \xmm, which makes them viable targets for optical observations. We observed the pulsar fields in the B and V bands with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in June/July 2015 to search for their optical counterparts. Neither of the two pulsars has been detected down to $3\sigma$ limiting magnitudes of $m_{\rm v} \sim 26.9$ and $m_{\rm v} \sim 27.6$ for PSR\, J1907+0602 and PSR\, J1809$-$2332, respectively. We discuss these results in the framework of the multi-wavelength emission properties of pulsars.