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Published Online October 16, 2008
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1165572

Reports

Submitted on September 5, 2008
Accepted on October 8, 2008

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Discovers the Pulsar in the Young Galactic Supernova Remnant CTA 1

G. Kanbach 1*, A. A. Abdo 2, M. Ackermann 3, W. B. Atwood 4, L. Baldini 5, J. Ballet 6, G. Barbiellini 7, M. G. Baring 8, D. Bastieri 9, B. M. Baughman 10, K. Bechtol 3, R. Bellazzini 5, B. Berenji 3, R. D. Blandford 3, E. D. Bloom 3, G. Bogaert 11, E. Bonamente 12, A. W. Borgland 3, J. Bregeon 5, A. Brez 5, M. Brigida 13, P. Bruel 11, T. H. Burnett 14, G. A. Caliandro 13, R. A. Cameron 3, P. A. Caraveo 15, P. Carlson 16, J. M. Casandjian 6, C. Cecchi 12, E. Charles 3, A. Chekhtman 17, C. C. Cheung 18, J. Chiang 3, S. Ciprini 12, R. Claus 3, J. Cohen-Tanugi 19, L. R. Cominsky 20, J. Conrad 21, S. Cutini 22, D. S. Davis 23, C. D. Dermer 24, A. de Angelis 25, F. de Palma 13, S. W. Digel 3, M. Dormody 4, E. do Couto e Silva 3, P. S. Drell 3, R. Dubois 3, D. Dumora 26, Y. Edmonds 3, C. Farnier 19, W. B. Focke 3, Y. Fukazawa 27, S. Funk 3, P. Fusco 13, F. Gargano 28, D. Gasparrini 22, N. Gehrels 29, S. Germani 12, B. Giebels 11, N. Giglietto 13, F. Giordano 13, T. Glanzman 3, G. Godfrey 3, I. A. Grenier 6, M.-H. Grondin 26, J. E. Grove 24, L. Guillemot 26, S. Guiriec 19, A. K. Harding 18, R. C. Hartman 18, E. Hays 18, R. E. Hughes 10, G. Jóhannesson 3, A. S. Johnson 3, R. P. Johnson 4, T. J. Johnson 29, W. N. Johnson 24, T. Kamae 3, Y. Kanai 30, H. Katagiri 27, N. Kawai 31, M. Kerr 14, T. Kishishita 32, B. Kiziltan 33, J. Knödlseder 34, M. L. Kocian 3, N. Komin 35, F. Kuehn 10, M. Kuss 5, L. Latronico 5, M. Lemoine-Goumard 26, F. Longo 7, V. Lonjou 26, F. Loparco 13, B. Lott 26, M. N. Lovellette 24, P. Lubrano 12, M. Marelli 15, M. N. Mazziotta 28, J. E. McEnery 18, S. McGlynn 16, C. Meurer 36, P. F. Michelson 3, T. Mineo 37, W. Mitthumsiri 3, T. Mizuno 27, A. A. Moiseev 38, C. Monte 13, M. E. Monzani 3, A. Morselli 39, I. V. Moskalenko 3, S. Murgia 3, T. Nakamori 30, P. L. Nolan 3, E. Nuss 19, M. Ohno 32, T. Ohsugi 27, A. Okumura 40, N. Omodei 5, E. Orlando 1, J. F. Ormes 41, M. Ozaki 32, D. Paneque 3, J. H. Panetta 3, D. Parent 26, V. Pelassa 19, M. Pepe 12, M. Pesce-Rollins 5, G. Piano 39, L. Pieri 42, F. Piron 19, T. A. Porter 4, S. Rainò 13, R. Rando 9, P. S. Ray 24, M. Razzano 5, A. Reimer 3, O. Reimer 3, T. Reposeur 26, S. Ritz 29, L. S. Rochester 3, A. Y. Rodriguez 43, R. W. Romani 3, M. Roth 14, F. Ryde 16, H. F.-W. Sadrozinski 4, D. Sanchez 11, A. Sander 10, P. M. Saz Parkinson 4, T. L. Schalk 4, A. Sellerholm 36, C. Sgrò 5, E. J. Siskind 44, D. A. Smith 26, P. D. Smith 10, G. Spandre 5, P. Spinelli 13, J.-L. Starck 6, M. S. Strickman 24, D. J. Suson 45, H. Tajima 3, H. Takahashi 27, T. Takahashi 32, T. Tanaka 3, J. B. Thayer 3, J. G. Thayer 3, D. J. Thompson 18, S. E. Thorsett 4, L. Tibaldo 9, D. F. Torres 46, G. Tosti 12, A. Tramacere 47, T. L. Usher 3, A. Van Etten 3, N. Vilchez 34, V. Vitale 39, P. Wang 3, K. Watters 3, B. L. Winer 10, K. S. Wood 24*, H. Yasuda 27, T. Ylinen 48, M. Ziegler 4*

1 Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstraße, 85748 Garching, Germany.
2 National Research Council Research Associate.; Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
3 W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
4 Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
5 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa, Italy.
6 Laboratoire AIM, CEA-CNRS-Université Paris Diderot, Service d'Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette, France.
7 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy.; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy.
8 Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, MS-108, P. O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251, USA.
9 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy.; Dipartimento di Fisica "G. Galilei", Università di Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy.
10 Department of Physics, Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
11 Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, Palaiseau, France.
12 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy.; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy.
13 Dipartimento di Fisica "M. Merlin" dell'Università e del Politecnico di Bari, I-70126 Bari, Italy.; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy.
14 Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195–1560, USA.
15 INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, I-20133 Milano, Italy.
16 Department of Physics, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
17 George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.; Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
18 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
19 Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Astroparticules, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS/IN2P3, Montpellier, France.
20 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA 94928–3609, USA.
21 Department of Physics, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.; Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
22 ASI Science Data Center, I-00044 Frascati (Roma), Italy.
23 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.; Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA.
24 Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
25 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Udine and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, Gruppo Collegato di Udine, I-33100 Udine, Italy.
26 CNRS/IN2P3, Centre d'Études Nucléaires Bordeaux Gradignan, UMR 5797, Gradignan, 33175, France.; Université de Bordeaux, Centre d'Études Nucléaires Bordeaux Gradignan, UMR 5797, Gradignan, 33175, France.
27 Department of Physical Science and Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
28 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy.
29 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.; University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
30 Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan.
31 Cosmic Radiation Laboratory, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.; Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan.
32 Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 229-8510, Japan.
33 UCO/Lick Observatories, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
34 Centre d'Étude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, F-30128 Toulouse Cedex 4, France.
35 Laboratoire AIM, CEA-CNRS-Université Paris Diderot, Service d'Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette, France.; Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Astroparticules, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS/IN2P3, Montpellier, France.; Present address
36 Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
37 IASF Palermo, 90146 Palermo, Italy.
38 Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
39 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma "Tor Vergata" and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata", I-00133 Roma, Italy.
40 Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
41 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA.
42 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova, Italy.
43 Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
44 NYCB Real-Time Computing Inc., 18 Meudon Drive, Lattingtown, NY 11560–1025, USA.
45 Department of Chemistry and Physics, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN 46323–2094, USA.
46 Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.; Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
47 Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Fisica Spaziale (CIFS), I-10133 Torino, Italy.; W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
48 School of Pure and Applied Natural Sciences, University of Kalmar, SE-391 82 Kalmar, Sweden.; Department of Physics, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
G. Kanbach , E-mail: gok{at}mpe.mpg.de
K. S. Wood , E-mail: gok{at}mpe.mpg.de
M. Ziegler , E-mail: gok{at}mpe.mpg.de

Energetic young pulsars and expanding blast waves (supernova remnants, SNRs) are the most visible remains after massive stars, ending their lives, explode in core-collapse supernovae. The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has unveiled a radio quiet pulsar located near the center of the compact synchrotron nebula inside the supernova remnant CTA 1. The pulsar, discovered through its gamma-ray pulsations, has a period of 316.86 ms, a period derivative of 3.614 x 10-13 s s-1. Its characteristic age of 104 years is comparable to that estimated for the SNR. It is conjectured that most unidentified Galactic gamma ray sources associated with star-forming regions and SNRs are such young pulsars.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Detection of 16 Gamma-Ray Pulsars Through Blind Frequency Searches Using the Fermi LAT.
A. A. Abdo, M. Ackermann, M. Ajello, B. Anderson, W. B. Atwood, M. Axelsson, L. Baldini, J. Ballet, G. Barbiellini, M. G. Baring, et al. (2009)
Science 325, 840-844
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