[ITAL]RXTE[/ITAL] Observation of PSR B1951+32

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We report results of Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations of PSR B1951+32 using the proportional counter array (PCA) instrument for 19 ks during 1996 March 24. We applied the contemporaneous radio ephemeris and various statistical tests to search for evidence of pulsation. These analyses yield intriguing yet inconclusive evidence for the presence of the pulsation in the time series: the confidence level for the presence of pulsation is 94.5% in the 2.0-4.8 keV band and 97.6% in the 4.8-6.3 keV band based on the H-test. Under the premise of nondetection of pulsation, we derive estimated 2 σ upper limits for the pulsed flux to be 3.3 × 10-6 cm-2 s-1 keV-1 in the 2.0-4.8 keV band, 2.7 × 10-6 cm-2 s-1 keV-1 in the 4.8-8.5 keV band, and 2.0 × 10-6 cm-2 s-1 keV-1 in the 8.5-13.0 keV band. These upper limits are consistent with the trend of spectral turnover from high-energy γ-ray emission as suggested by the OSSE upper limit. Such turnover strongly suggests the outer magnetosphere as the emission site for pulsed γ-rays. These RXTE upper limits for X-ray pulsation are, on the other hand, not consistent with the extrapolation of reported power-law spectra from the point source observed by ROSAT in the 0.1-2.4 keV band, assuming a constant pulse fraction: the pulsed soft X-ray emission detected by ROSAT must follow a much softer spectrum than that of the overall point source.
All Related Versions