We report on the first deep optical observations of two γ-ray pulsars, both among the very first discovered by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The two pulsars are the radio-loud PSR J1907+0602 in the TeV pulsar wind nebula (PWN) MGRO J1908+06 and the radio-quiet PSR J1809-2332 in the `Taz' radio/X-ray PWN. These pulsars are relatively young and energetic and have been both detected in the X-rays by XMM-Newton, which makes them viable targets for optical observations. We observed the pulsar fields in the B and V bands with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 2015 June/July to search for their optical counterparts. Neither of the two pulsars has been detected down to 3σ limiting magnitudes of mv ˜ 26.9 and ˜27.6 for PSR J1907+0602 and PSR J1809-2332, respectively. We discuss these results in the framework of the multiwavelength emission properties of pulsars.
Searching for the optical counterparts of two young γ-ray pulsars
RAZZANO, MASSIMILIANO;
2016-01-01
Abstract
We report on the first deep optical observations of two γ-ray pulsars, both among the very first discovered by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The two pulsars are the radio-loud PSR J1907+0602 in the TeV pulsar wind nebula (PWN) MGRO J1908+06 and the radio-quiet PSR J1809-2332 in the `Taz' radio/X-ray PWN. These pulsars are relatively young and energetic and have been both detected in the X-rays by XMM-Newton, which makes them viable targets for optical observations. We observed the pulsar fields in the B and V bands with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 2015 June/July to search for their optical counterparts. Neither of the two pulsars has been detected down to 3σ limiting magnitudes of mv ˜ 26.9 and ˜27.6 for PSR J1907+0602 and PSR J1809-2332, respectively. We discuss these results in the framework of the multiwavelength emission properties of pulsars.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
