1. Academic Validation
  2. The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope discovers the pulsar in the young galactic supernova remnant CTA 1

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope discovers the pulsar in the young galactic supernova remnant CTA 1

  • Science. 2008 Nov 21;322(5905):1218-21. doi: 10.1126/science.1165572.
A A Abdo 1 M Ackermann W B Atwood L Baldini J Ballet G Barbiellini M G Baring D Bastieri B M Baughman K Bechtol R Bellazzini B Berenji R D Blandford E D Bloom G Bogaert E Bonamente A W Borgland J Bregeon A Brez M Brigida P Bruel T H Burnett G A Caliandro R A Cameron P A Caraveo P Carlson J M Casandjian C Cecchi E Charles A Chekhtman C C Cheung J Chiang S Ciprini R Claus J Cohen-Tanugi L R Cominsky J Conrad S Cutini D S Davis C D Dermer A de Angelis F de Palma S W Digel M Dormody E do Couto E Silva P S Drell R Dubois D Dumora Y Edmonds C Farnier W B Focke Y Fukazawa S Funk P Fusco F Gargano D Gasparrini N Gehrels S Germani B Giebels N Giglietto F Giordano T Glanzman G Godfrey I A Grenier M-H Grondin J E Grove L Guillemot S Guiriec A K Harding R C Hartman E Hays R E Hughes G Jóhannesson A S Johnson R P Johnson T J Johnson W N Johnson T Kamae Y Kanai G Kanbach H Katagiri N Kawai M Kerr T Kishishita B Kiziltan J Knödlseder M L Kocian N Komin F Kuehn M Kuss L Latronico M Lemoine-Goumard F Longo V Lonjou F Loparco B Lott M N Lovellette P Lubrano A Makeev M Marelli M N Mazziotta J E McEnery S McGlynn C Meurer P F Michelson T Mineo W Mitthumsiri T Mizuno A A Moiseev C Monte M E Monzani A Morselli I V Moskalenko S Murgia T Nakamori P L Nolan E Nuss M Ohno T Ohsugi A Okumura N Omodei E Orlando J F Ormes M Ozaki D Paneque J H Panetta D Parent V Pelassa M Pepe M Pesce-Rollins G Piano L Pieri F Piron T A Porter S Rainò R Rando P S Ray M Razzano A Reimer O Reimer T Reposeur S Ritz L S Rochester A Y Rodriguez R W Romani M Roth F Ryde H F-W Sadrozinski D Sanchez A Sander P M Saz Parkinson T L Schalk A Sellerholm C Sgrò E J Siskind D A Smith P D Smith G Spandre P Spinelli J-L Starck M S Strickman D J Suson H Tajima H Takahashi T Takahashi T Tanaka J B Thayer J G Thayer D J Thompson S E Thorsett L Tibaldo D F Torres G Tosti A Tramacere T L Usher A Van Etten N Vilchez V Vitale P Wang K Watters B L Winer K S Wood H Yasuda T Ylinen M Ziegler
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 National Research Council Research Associate, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 20001, USA.
Abstract

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 milliseconds and a period derivative of 3.614 x 10(-13) seconds per second. Its characteristic age of 10(4) years is comparable to that estimated for the SNR. We speculate that most unidentified Galactic gamma-ray sources associated with star-forming regions and SNRs are such young pulsars.

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