Abstract
We present the results of a search for pulsed TeV emission from the Crab pulsar using the Whipple Observatorys 10-m gamma-ray telescope. The direction of the Crab pulsar was observed for a total of 73.4 hr between 1994 November and 1997 March. During this period the Whipple 10 m telescope was operated at its lowest energy threshold to date. Spectral analysis techniques were applied to search for the presence of a gamma-ray signal from the Crab pulsar over the energy band 250 GeV to 4 TeV. We do not see any evidence of the 33 ms pulsations present in other energy bands from the Crab pulsar. The 99.9% confidence level upper limit for pulsed emission above 250 GeV is derived to be 4.8 x 10(-12) cm(-2) s(-1) or less than 3% of the steady flux from the Crab Nebula. These results imply a sharp cutoff of the power-law spectrum seen by the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. If the cutoff is exponential, it must begin at 60 GeV or lower to accommodate these upper limits.
| Original language | English (Ireland) |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
| Volume | 531 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2000 |
Authors (Note for portal: view the doc link for the full list of authors)
- Authors
- Lessard, RW,Bond, IH,Bradbury, SM,Buckley, JH,Burdett, GM,Carter-Lewis, DA,Catanese, M,Cawley, MF,D'Vali, M,Fegan, DJ,Finley, JP,Gaidos, JA,Gillanders, GH,Hall, T,Hillas, AM,Krennrich, F,Lang, MJ,Masterson, C,Moriarty, P,Quinn, J,Rose, HJ,Samuelson, FW,Sembroski, GH,Srinivasan, R,Vassiliev, VV,Weekes, TC