On the nature of the unidentified EGRET sources: Are they Geminga-like pulsars?

view Abstract Citations (39) References (20) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS On the Nature of the Unidentified EGRET Sources: Are They Geminga-like Pulsars? Mukherjee, R. ; Bertsch, D. L. ; Dingus, B. L. ; Kanbach, G. ; Kniffen, D. A. ; Sreekumar, P. ; Thompson, D. J. Abstract Observations with the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) show more than 30 unidentified gamma-ray sources concentrated along the Galactic plane. Based on their spatial distribution, the typical distances of the sources are found to be between 1.2 and 6 kpc. Luminosity estimates made using the estimated distances of the sources and their observed gamma-ray fluxes lie in the range (0.7-16.7) x 1035 ergs/s. These values, on the average, appear to be higher than the luminosities of the gamma-ray pulsars observed by EGRET. The luminosity estimates indicate that the low-latitude unidentified EGRET sources cannot be explained as a group of older, low-luminosity pulsars like Geminga, although the high-latitude sources may be candidates. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: March 1995 DOI: 10.1086/187790 Bibcode: 1995ApJ...441L..61M Keywords: Gamma Ray Astronomy; Gamma Rays; Milky Way Galaxy; Point Sources; Pulsars; Spatial Distribution; Astrometry; Distance; Gamma Ray Observatory; Stellar Luminosity; Astronomy; STARS: PULSARS: GENERAL; STARS: PULSARS: INDIVIDUAL NAME: GEMINGA; GAMMA RAYS: OBSERVATIONS full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (7)