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Originally published in Science Express on 2 July 2009
Science 14 August 2009:
Vol. 325. no. 5942, pp. 840 - 844
DOI: 10.1126/science.1175558
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Research Articles

Detection of 16 Gamma-Ray Pulsars Through Blind Frequency Searches Using the Fermi LAT

A. A. Abdo,1,* M. Ackermann,2 M. Ajello,2 B. Anderson,3 W. B. Atwood,3 M. Axelsson,4,5 L. Baldini,6 J. Ballet,7 G. Barbiellini,8,9 M. G. Baring,10 D. Bastieri,11,12 B. M. Baughman,13 K. Bechtol,2 R. Bellazzini,6 B. Berenji,2 G. F. Bignami,14 R. D. Blandford,2 E. D. Bloom,2 E. Bonamente,15,16 A. W. Borgland,2 J. Bregeon,6 A. Brez,6 M. Brigida,17,18 P. Bruel,19 T. H. Burnett,20 G. A. Caliandro,17,18 R. A. Cameron,2 P. A. Caraveo,21 J. M. Casandjian,7 C. Cecchi,15,16 Ö. Çelik,22 A. Chekhtman,1,23 C. C. Cheung,22 J. Chiang,2 S. Ciprini,15,16 R. Claus,2 J. Cohen-Tanugi,24 J. Conrad,4,25,26,{dagger} S. Cutini,27 C. D. Dermer,1 A. de Angelis,28 A. de Luca,14 F. de Palma,17,18 S. W. Digel,2 M. Dormody,3,{ddagger} E. do Couto e Silva,2 P. S. Drell,2 R. Dubois,2 D. Dumora,29,30 C. Farnier,24 C. Favuzzi,17,18 S. J. Fegan,19 Y. Fukazawa,31 S. Funk,2 P. Fusco,17,18 F. Gargano,18 D. Gasparrini,27 N. Gehrels,22,32 S. Germani,15,16 B. Giebels,19 N. Giglietto,17,18 P. Giommi,27 F. Giordano,17,18 T. Glanzman,2 G. Godfrey,2 I. A. Grenier,7 M.-H. Grondin,29,30 J. E. Grove,1 L. Guillemot,29,30 S. Guiriec,33 C. Gwon,1 Y. Hanabata,31 A. K. Harding,22 M. Hayashida,2 E. Hays,22 R. E. Hughes,13 G. Jóhannesson,2 R. P. Johnson,3 T. J. Johnson,22,32 W. N. Johnson,1 T. Kamae,2 H. Katagiri,31 J. Kataoka,34 N. Kawai,35,36 M. Kerr,20 J. Knödlseder,37 M. L. Kocian,2 M. Kuss,6 J. Lande,2 L. Latronico,6 M. Lemoine-Goumard,29,30 F. Longo,8,9 F. Loparco,17,18 B. Lott,29,30 M. N. Lovellette,1 P. Lubrano,15,16 G. M. Madejski,2 A. Makeev,1,23 M. Marelli,21 M. N. Mazziotta,18 W. McConville,22,32 J. E. McEnery,22 C. Meurer,4,26 P. F. Michelson,2 W. Mitthumsiri,2 T. Mizuno,31 C. Monte,17,18 M. E. Monzani,2 A. Morselli,38 I. V. Moskalenko,2 S. Murgia,2 P. L. Nolan,2 J. P. Norris,39 E. Nuss,24 T. Ohsugi,31 N. Omodei,6 E. Orlando,40 J. F. Ormes,39 D. Paneque,2 D. Parent,29,30 V. Pelassa,24 M. Pepe,15,16 M. Pesce-Rollins,6 M. Pierbattista,7 F. Piron,24 T. A. Porter,3 J. R. Primack,3 S. Rainò,17,18 R. Rando,11,12 P. S. Ray,1,{ddagger} M. Razzano,6 N. Rea,41,42 A. Reimer,2 O. Reimer,2 T. Reposeur,29,30 S. Ritz,22 L. S. Rochester,2 A. Y. Rodriguez,42 R. W. Romani,2 F. Ryde,4,25 H. F.-W. Sadrozinski,3 D. Sanchez,19 A. Sander,13 P. M. Saz Parkinson,3,{ddagger} J. D. Scargle,43 C. Sgrò,6 E. J. Siskind,44 D. A. Smith,29,30 P. D. Smith,13 G. Spandre,6 P. Spinelli,17,18 J.-L. Starck,7 M. S. Strickman,1 D. J. Suson,45 H. Tajima,2 H. Takahashi,31 T. Takahashi,46 T. Tanaka,2 J. G. Thayer,2 D. J. Thompson,22 L. Tibaldo,11,12 O. Tibolla,47 D. F. Torres,42,48 G. Tosti,15,16 A. Tramacere,2,49 Y. Uchiyama,2 T. L. Usher,2 A. Van Etten,2 V. Vasileiou,50,51 N. Vilchez,37 V. Vitale,38,52 A. P. Waite,2 P. Wang,2 K. Watters,2 B. L. Winer,13 M. T. Wolff,1 K. S. Wood,1 T. Ylinen,4,25,53 M. Ziegler3,{ddagger}

Pulsars are rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars emitting radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. Although there are more than 1800 known radio pulsars, until recently only seven were observed to pulse in gamma rays, and these were all discovered at other wavelengths. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) makes it possible to pinpoint neutron stars through their gamma-ray pulsations. We report the detection of 16 gamma-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches using the LAT. Most of these pulsars are coincident with previously unidentified gamma-ray sources, and many are associated with supernova remnants. Direct detection of gamma-ray pulsars enables studies of emission mechanisms, population statistics, and the energetics of pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants.

1 Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
2 W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
3 Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
4 Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmo Particle Physics, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
5 Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
6 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa, Italy.
7 Laboratoire AIM, CEA-IRFU/CNRS/Université Paris Diderot, Service d’Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
8 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy.
9 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy.
10 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251, USA.
11 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy.
12 Dipartimento di Fisica "G. Galilei," Università di Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy.
13 Department of Physics, Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
14 Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
15 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy.
16 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy.
17 Dipartimento di Fisica "M. Merlin" dell’Università e del Politecnico di Bari, I-70126 Bari, Italy.
18 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy.
19 Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École Polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, Palaiseau, France.
20 Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
21 INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, I-20133 Milano, Italy.
22 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
23 George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.
24 Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Astroparticules, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS/IN2P3, Montpellier, France.
25 Department of Physics, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
26 Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
27 Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) Science Data Center, I-00044 Frascati (Roma), Italy.
28 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Udine and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, Gruppo Collegato di Udine, I-33100 Udine, Italy.
29 CNRS/IN2P3, Centre d’Études Nucléaires Bordeaux Gradignan, UMR 5797, 33175 Gradignan, France.
30 Université de Bordeaux, Centre d’Études Nucléaires Bordeaux Gradignan, UMR 5797, 33175 Gradignan, France.
31 Department of Physical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
32 University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
33 University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA.
34 Waseda University, 1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8050, Japan.
35 Cosmic Radiation Laboratory, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
36 Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro City, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan.
37 Centre d’Étude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, F-30128 Toulouse Cedex 4, France.
38 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma "Tor Vergata," I-00133 Roma, Italy.
39 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA.
40 Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, 85748 Garching, Germany.
41 Sterrenkundig Institut "Anton Pannekoek," 1098 SJ Amsterdam, Netherlands.
42 Institut de Ciencies de l’Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
43 Space Sciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
44 NYCB Real-Time Computing Inc., Lattingtown, NY 11560, USA.
45 Department of Chemistry and Physics, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN 46323, USA.
46 Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 229-8510, Japan.
47 Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, D-69029 Heidelberg, Germany.
48 Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain.
49 Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Fisica Spaziale, I-10133 Torino, Italy.
50 Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
51 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA.
52 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata," I-00133 Roma, Italy.
53 School of Pure and Applied Natural Sciences, University of Kalmar, SE-391 82 Kalmar, Sweden.

* National Research Council Research Associate.

{dagger} Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Research Fellow, funded by a grant from the K. A. Wallenberg Foundation.

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dormody{at}scipp.ucsc.edu (M.D.); paul.ray{at}nrl.navy.mil (P.S.R.); pablo{at}scipp.ucsc.edu (P.M.S.P.); ziegler{at}scipp.ucsc.edu (M.Z.)

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Gamma-Ray Pulsars Old and New.
J. P. Halpern (2009)
Science 325, 821-822
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