Observational Relationship between Spectral Properties of Gamma-ray and X-ray Emissions from Pulsars

TL;DR

This study investigates the correlation between gamma-ray and X-ray spectral properties of pulsars, revealing relationships that suggest different pulsar populations and underlying emission mechanisms, with implications for neutron star cooling processes.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence of correlations between gamma-ray and X-ray emissions in pulsars, highlighting potential differences between pulsar populations based on thermal emission detection.

Findings

Gamma-ray luminosity correlates with non-thermal X-ray luminosity.

An anti-correlation exists between gamma-ray luminosity and X-ray photon index.

Different dependencies observed for pulsars with and without thermal emissions.

Abstract

Correlations between gamma-ray and X-ray spectral properties of pulsars are investigated in order to provide observational hints on physics involved in pulsars' high-energy emissions. Using a sample of 43 pulsars detected in both X-ray and gamma-ray bands, we find that pulsars' gamma-ray luminosity, $L_\gamma$, clearly correlates with the luminosity of non-thermal X-ray emission, $L_{\rm p}$, and anti-correlates with non-thermal X-ray photon index. Other gamma-ray spectral parameters show weaker or negligible correlations. The found relation that $L_\gamma \propto L_{\rm p}^{0.49\pm 0.05}$ implies a certain connection between radiation mechanisms and energy distributions of radiating particles for these high-energy emissions. Pulsars with and without detected thermal emissions seem to show different dependencies in those correlations, suggesting the possible existence of two different kinds of pulsars. The ones without detected thermal emissions may represent a population of pulsars with low surface temperature. The origin and energetics of high-energy emitting electron-positron pairs for this group of pulsars probably do not depend on their surface thermal emissions, while that of the other group do. The low surface temperatures might be evidence for the working of some exotic processes of neutron-star cooling. Similar to $L_{\rm p}$, some tempting relationships are found among each gamma-ray spectral parameter, surface temperature and thermally radiating area radius. It again strengthens the connection between gamma-ray and X-ray emissions from pulsars.