22 October 2009

Speaker: Roger Romani (Stanford)

Title:Fermi LAT Pulsars: The New Gamma-ray View of the Pulsar Machine

Abstract:With some 50 pulsars already detected, including eight millisecond pulsars and over a dozen objects discovered directly in the gamma-rays, the Fermi LAT is providing a novel view into the magnetospheres of energetic neutron stars. Spectra and pulse profiles of the brightest pulsars are also starting to constrain the physics of the accelerators in the magnetosphere, which can convert a large fraction of the rotational spin-down power into GeV gamma-rays. The early LAT results also give a new census of the nearby neutron star population, and its connection with supernovae, TeV sources and e+/e--generating wind nebulae. The LAT has no expendables and so we can look forward to new pulsar discoveries and improved spectral diagnostics for years to come.