41: The Current Sheet Model: Modeling Gamma-Ray Emission from a Neutron Star

Presenter(s)

Tomás Salazar

Abstract or Description

Pulsars, a type of rotating neutron stars that emit regularly pulsed radiation, have been a fascinating subject of study for decades since their first discovery in the 1960s. The pulsed signals from pulsars span a wide frequency spectrum, ranging from GHz radio waves to very high energy γ-rays up to several trillion electron volts (TeV). Despite decades of study, many questions regarding the nature of pulsars still remain unsolved, including the emission mechanism of this broad-band radiation. The study of pulsars was revolutionized by the NASA Fermi space telescope, which was launched in 2008 and has discovered and studied hundreds of γ-ray pulsars to date.

In recent years, the advances in computation power has allowed first-principles simulations of the pulsar magnetosphere to become a reality. We can now simulate and visualize the morphology of magnetic field near a pulsar to great detail. An intuitive demonstration of the caustic effect based on state-of-art 3D simulations of the pulsar magnetosphere, visualized using modern interactive tools, can be a great asset for astrophysicists to better understand the gamma-ray emission mechanism of pulsar.

Starting from the numerical simulation results, I will trace the trajectory of the emitted gamma-ray photons as the pulsar rotates in real time. I will then map the arrival time of these photons at the Large Array Telescope (LAT) aboard Fermi. This complete process will be visualized in an interactive 3D environment, powered by the javascript library three.js, and accessible through a web browser. The project will be carried out under the supervision of my faculty advisor and MCSS Fellow, Prof. Alex Chen, who is an expert in both first-principles simulations of neutron star magnetospheres and interactive 3D visualization.