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Thompson, D. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Thompson, D. J..

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

Gamma Radiation from PSR B1055-52

The telescopes on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) have observed PSR B1055-52 a number of times between 1991 and 1998. From these data, a more detailed picture of the gamma radiation from this source has been developed, showing several characteristics which distinguish this pulsar: the light curve is complex; there is no detectable unpulsed emission; the energy spectrum is flat, with no evidence of a sharp high-energy cutoff up to greater than 4 GeV. Comparisons of the gamma-ray data with observations at longer wavelengths show that no two of the known gamma-ray pulsars have quite the same characteristics; this diversity makes interpretation in terms of theoretical models difficult.

Thompson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

GeV Outbursts in Mrk 501

Mrk 501 is the third TeV blazar with a known GeV component. Previous multiwavelength campaigns on Mrk 501 showed well correlated outbursts at x-ray and TeV energies with no significant activity at GeV energies. We present here new evidence suggesting GeV outbursts in Mrk 501 when the spectrum appears to be extremely hard. However, this outburst appears uncorrelated with emission at x-ray energies. The resulting spectral energy distribution suggests a sharp cut off in the high-energy emission beyond a few hundred GeV.

Sreekumar, P.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Spectral Modeling of the EGRET 3EG Gamma Ray Sources Near the Galactic Plane

The third EGRET catalog lists 84 sources within 10 deg of the Galactic Plane. Five of these are well-known spin-powered pulsars, 2 and possibly 3 others are blazars, and the remaining 74 are classified as unidentified, although 6 of these are likely to be artifacts of nearby strong sources. Several of the remaining 68 unidentified sources have been noted as having positional agreement with supernovae remnants and OB associations. Others may be radio-quiet pulsars like Geminga, and still others may belong to a totally new class of sources. The question of the energy spectral distributions of these sources is an important clue to their identification. In this paper, the spectra of the sources within 10 deg of Galactic Plane are fit with three different functional forms; a single power law, two power laws, and a power law with an exponential cutoff. Where possible, the best fit is selected with statistical tests. Twelve, and possibly an additional 5 sources, are found to have spectra that are fit by a breaking power law or by the power law with exponential cutoff function.

Bertsch, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Multiwavelength Studies of the Peculiar Gamma-ray Source 3EG J1835+5918

The source 3EG J1835+5918 was discovered early in the CGRO (Compton Gamma Ray Observatory) mission by EGRET as a bright unidentified gamma-ray source outside the galactic plane. Especially remarkable, it has not been possible to identify this object with any known counterpart in any other wavelengths band since then. Analyzing our recent ROSAT HRI observation, for the first time we are able to suggest X-ray counterparts of 3EG J1835+5918. The discovered X-ray sources were subject of deep optical investigations in order to reveal their nature and conclude on the possibility of being counterparts for this peculiar gamma-ray source.

Reimer, O.↗
NASA NTRS1999

EGRET/COMPTEL Observations of an Unusual, Steep-Spectrum Gamma-Ray Source

During analysis of sources below the threshold of the third EGRET catalog, we have discovered a source, named GRO J1400-3956 based on the best position, with a remarkably steep spectrum. Archival analysis of COMPTEL data shows that the spectrum must have a strong turn-over in the energy range between COMPTEL and EGRET. The EGRET data show some evidence of time variability, suggesting an AGN, but the spectral change of slope is larger than that seen for most gamma-ray blazars. The sharp cutoff resembles the high-energy spectral breaks seen in some gamma-ray pulsars. There have as yet been no OSSE observations of this source.

Thompson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Preliminary Results from a New Analysis Method for EGRET Data

In order to extend the life of EGRET, the gas in the spark chamber was allowed to deteriorate more than was originally planned for the nominal two year Compton Observatory mission. Gamma ray events are lost because the pattern recognition analysis rules are not optimized for the poorer quality data. By changing the rules used by the data analysts, we can recover a significant fraction of the lost events, allowing improved statistics for detection and study of sources. Preliminary results from the Crab, Geminga, and BL Lacertae indicate the feasibility of this analysis.

Thompson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Systematic Search for Short-term Variability of EGRET Sources

The 3rd EGRET Catalog contains 170 unidentified high-energy (E>100 MeV) gamma-ray sources, and there is great interest in the nature of these sources. One means of determining sources class is the study of flux variability on time scales of days; pulsars are believed to be stable on these scales while blazars are known to be highly variable. In addition, previous work has led to the discovery of 2CG 135+01 and GRO J1838-04, candidates for a new high-energy gamma-ray source class. These sources display transient behavior but cannot be associated with any known blazars. These considerations have led us to conduct a systematic search for short-term variability in EGRET data, covering all viewing periods through cycle 4. Three unidentified sources show some evidence of variability on short time scales; the source displaying the most convincing variability, 3EG J2006-2321, is not easily identified as a blazar.

Wallace, P. M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Third EGRET Catalog of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources

The third catalog of high-energy gamma-ray sources detected by the EGRET telescope on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory includes data from 1991 April 22 to 1995 October 3 (Cycles 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the mission). In addition to including more data than the second EGRET catalog (Thompson et al. 1995) and its supplement (Thompson et al. 1996), this catalog uses completely reprocessed data (to correct a number of mostly minimal errors and problems). The 271 sources (E greater than 100 MeV) in the catalog include the single 1991 solar flare bright enough to be detected as a source, the Large Magellanic Cloud, five pulsars, one probable radio galaxy detection (Cen A), and 66 high-confidence identifications of blazars (BL Lac objects, flat-spectrum radio quasars, or unidentified flat-spectrum radio sources). In addition, 27 lower-confidence potential blazar identifications are noted. Finally, the catalog contains 170 sources not yet identified firmly with known objects, although potential identifications have been suggested for a number of those. A figure is presented that gives approximate upper limits for gamma-ray sources at any point in the sky, as well as information about sources listed in the second catalog and its supplement which do not appear in this catalog.

Hartman, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Gamma Radiation from PSR B1055-52

The telescopes on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CCRO) have observed PSR B1055-52 a number of times between 1991 and 1998. From these data, a more detailed picture of the gamma radiation from this source has been developed, showing several characteristics which distinguish this pulsar: the light curve is complex; there is no detectable unpulsed emission; the energy spectrum is flat, with no evidence of a sharp high-energy cutoff up to greater than 4 GeV. Comparisons of the gamma-ray data with observations at longer wavelengths show that no two of the known gamma-ray pulsars have quite the same characteristics; this diversity makes interpretation in terms of theoretical models difficult.

Thompson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Studying the High Energy Gamma Ray Sky with Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

Building on the success of the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will make a major step in the study of such subjects as blazars, gamma Ray bursts, the search for dark matter, supernova remnants, pulsars, diffuse radiation, and unidentified high energy sources. The instrument will be built on new and mature detector technologies such as silicon strip detectors, low-power low-noise LSI, and a multilevel data acquisition system. GLAST is in the research and development phase, and one full tower (of 25 total) is now being built in collaborating institutes. The prototype tower will be tested thoroughly at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in the fall of 1999.

Kamae, T.↗
NASA NTRS1998

In-Flight Calibration of the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory

The Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory has been operating for over seven years since its launch in 1991 April. This span of time far exceeds the design lifetime of two years. As the instrument has aged, several changes have occurred due to spark chamber gas exchanges as well as some hardware degradation and failures, all of which have an influence on the instrument sensitivity. This paper describes post-launch measurements and analysis that are done to calibrate the instrument response functions. The updated instrument characteristics are incorporated into the analysis software.

Esposito, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Third EGRET Catalog of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources

The third catalog of high-energy gamma-ray sources detected by the EGRET telescope on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory includes data from 1991 April 22 to 1995 October 3 (Cycles 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the mission). In addition to including more data than the second EGRET catalog and its supplement, this catalog uses completely reprocessed data (to correct a number of mostly minimal errors and problems). The 271 sources (E greater than 100 MeV) in the catalog include the single 1991 solar flare bright enough to be detected as a source, the Large Magellanic Cloud, five pulsars, one probable radio galaxy detection (Cen A), and 66 high-confidence identifications of blazars (BL Lac objects, flat-spectrum radio quasars, or unidentified flat-spectrum radio sources). In addition, 27 lower-confidence potential blazar identifications are noted. Finally, the catalog contains 170 sources not yet identified firmly with known objects, although potential identifications have been suggested for a number of those. A figure is presented that gives approximate upper limits for gamma-ray sources at any point in the sky, as well as information about sources listed in the second catalog and its supplement which do not appear in this catalog.

Hartman, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1995

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

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 10(exp 35) 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.

Mukherjee, R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

EGRET high-energy gamma-ray pulsar studies. 1: Young spin-powered pulsars

As part of its ongoing survey of the high-energy gamma-ray sky, the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory has searched for emission from spin-powered pulsars, five of which have now been detected in the energy range 30 MeV less than or = E less than or = 20 GeV. A systematic study of the all-sky survey has found no additional pulsed gamma-ray sources. The pulsar detections, coupled with the upper limits on pulsed gamma radiation from other radio pulsars, indicate that the simplest models of gamma-ray pulsars are incomplete.

Thompson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

EGRET observations of active galactic nuclei - 0836 + 710, 0454 - 234, 0804 + 499, 0906 + 430, 1510-089, and 2356 + 196

The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory observed high-energy gamma rays (50 - 2000 MeV) from quasar 0836 + 710 (z = 2.16) during observations in 1992 January, near the time of an optical fare (von Linde et al., 1993). The gamma-ray spectrum can be fitted with a power law with photon number index 2.4 +/- 0.2. EGRET identifies quasars 0454 - 234, 0804 + 499, 0906 + 430, 1510 - 089, and 2356 + 196 at a statistical significance of between 4 and 5 standard deviations.

Thompson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Gamma radiation from blazar PKS 0537-441

The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) observed high-energy gamma rays from PKS 0537-441 during observations in 1991 July-August. Upper limits from later EGRET observations suggest time variability.

Thompson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

SAS 2 observation of pulsed high-energy gamma radiation from Geminga

Following the detection of pulsed X-rays and gamma rays from Geminga, the 1972-1973 SAS 2 data which first revealed this source have been reanalyzed. The 237 ms periodicity is visible in those observations. The phase of the SAS 2 periodicity is consistent with that of COS B suggesting that the gamma-ray data allow an accounting for every revolution of the Geminga pulsar between 1972 and 1982.

Mattox, J. R.↗