Observing and modeling the gamma-ray emission from pulsar/pulsar wind nebula complex PSR J0205+6449/3C 58

TL;DR

This study analyzes 8 years of Fermi-LAT data to observe gamma-ray emissions from the pulsar PSR J0205+6449 and its nebula 3C 58, revealing nebula-dominated high-energy spectra and modeling their emission mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides detailed phase-resolved analysis and theoretical modeling of gamma-ray emission from PSR J0205+6449 and 3C 58, highlighting nebula dominance in high-energy spectra.

Findings

3C 58 is significantly detected during off-peak phases.

Spectral energy distribution is consistent across phases, indicating nebula dominance.

No unambiguous high-energy flares were observed.

Abstract

We present the results of the analysis of 8 years of Fermi-LAT data of the pulsar/pulsar wind nebula complex PSR J0205+6449/3C 58. Using a contemporaneous ephemeris, we carried out a detailed analysis of PSR J0205+6449 both during its off-peak and on-peak phase intervals. 3C 58 is significantly detected during the off-peak phase interval. We show that the spectral energy distribution at high energies is the same disregarding the phases considered, and thus that this part of the spectrum is most likely dominated by the nebula radiation. We present results of theoretical models of the nebula and the magnetospheric emission that confirm this interpretation. Possible high-energy flares from 3C 58 were searched for, but none was unambiguously identified.