This dissertation, "Gamma-ray Emissions From Pulsar Binaries" by Chun-kwan, Leung, 梁晉堃, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: The launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope marked a new era in observing gamma-rays from astrophysical sources. Fermi's high sensitivity in the 0.1-300GeV energy range opens an important window in the observation of the gamma-ray emissions from pulsar binaries, which emit most of their radiation energy in the gamma-ray range. We can now observe the gamma-ray emissions from pulsar binaries at an unprecedented accuracy, and investigate their origin in detail. In this thesis, we present the studies on two systems of pulsar binary of two distinct classes. The gamma-ray emissions from the high-mass gamma-ray binary LS 5039 were studied using the latest data from Fermi. The emission is modulated according to the 3.9 hr orbital period of the system. The results can be explained by the contribution of three components: the pulsar magnetospheric emission, the pulsar wind emission and the emissions from the shock formed from the interaction between the pulsar wind and companion's stellar wind. The results were compared with observed data from Fermi and also in X-ray and TeV. In addition, the emissions from the millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 and its low mass binary companion were also studied. This system recently went through a transition from the rotation-powered state to the accretion state, after going the opposite way in 2007. This state transition, discovered through the disappearance of radio pulsation, was accompanied by the brightening in GeV, X-ray and UV fluxes. A detailed Fermi observation was performed, supplemented by multi-wavelength observations. It was found that the emission from this system can also be described by the emissions from the pulsar magnetosphere, the pulsar wind and its shock. These two systems, although of distinct classes of pulsar binaries, provide complementary cases for the study of high-energy radiation processes in pulsar binaries. DOI: 10.5353/th_b5317064 Subjects: Gamma ray astronomy Pulsars

Binaries: close–pulsars: individual (PSR B1957+20, PSR J1723–2837, PSR J1311–3430, PSR J2339−0533) – radiation mechanisms: non-thermal–X-rays:binaries–gamma rays: stars–stars: winds, outflows

The aim of the inaugural meeting of the Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics was to address, in a global context, the current understanding of and challenges in high-energy emissions from isolated and non-isolated neutron stars, and to confront the theoretical picture with observations of both the Fermi satellite and the currently operating ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. Participants have also discussed the prospects for possible observations with planned instruments across the multi-wavelength spectrum (e.g. SKA, LOFAR, E-VLT, IXO, CTA) and how they will impact our theoretical understanding of these systems. In keeping with the goals of the Forum, this book not only represents the proceedings of the meeting, but also a reflection on the state-of-the-art in the topic.

This book reports on the extraordinary observation of TeV gamma rays from the Crab Pulsar, the most energetic light ever detected from this type of object. It presents detailed information on the painstaking analysis of the unprecedentedly large dataset from the MAGIC telescopes, and comprehensively discusses the implications of pulsed TeV gamma rays for state-of-the-art pulsar emission models. Using these results, the book subsequently explores new testing methodologies for Lorentz Invariance Violation, in terms of a wavelength-dependent speed of light. The book also covers an updated search for Very-High-Energy (VHE), >100 GeV, emissions from millisecond pulsars using the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi satellite, as well as a study on the promising Pulsar Wind Nebula candidate PSR J0631. The observation of VHE gamma rays is essential to studying the non-thermal sources of radiation in our Universe. Rotating neutron stars, also known as pulsars, are an extreme source class known to emit VHE gamma rays. However, to date only two pulsars have been detected with emissions above 100 GeV, and our understanding of their emission mechanism is still lacking.

This dissertation, "High-energy Radiation From Millisecond Pulsars" by Man-ho, Wu, 胡文浩, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: As the successor of the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope, the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has measured the pulsations from over a hundred pulsars, a rapidly growing population in the gamma-ray sky. Pulsars spinning as fast as a few to ten milliseconds, the millisecond pulsars (MSPs), constitute over 30% of the population, with most of which found in binary systems. Many MSPs are found to have low-mass companions with masses less than 0:1 of that of the Sun. Observations reveal that in these systems, the companion is irradiated by the radiation and/or the wind from the pulsar. It is believed that isolated MSPs in the Galactic field were once a member of such kind of systems, and have ablated their companion away. The gamma-ray emission from the original Black Widow pulsar was studied using data from the Fermi-LAT. The emission was found to depend on the orbital phase and an extra higher-energy component was observed near the inferior conjunction. The results can be explained by an inverse Compton (IC) process associated with the ultra-relativistic pulsar wind. PSR B1957+20 is the first black widow system from which evidence on interaction of unshocked pulsar wind is observed. In addition, diffuse X-rays were found from the globular cluster (GC) 47 Tucanae. It is believed that the observed gamma-rays and the diffuse X-rays can be produced via inverse Compton process between the background soft photons and the pulsar wind from the MSPs residing in the GC. The observation of diffuse X-rays from 47 Tucanae provides constraints on the energetics and the emission region for the IC scenario. They provide good examples and guides for search strategies of similar emissions in other black widow systems and globular clusters. DOI: 10.5353/th_b5108703 Subjects: Pulsars

This book includes nine chapters written by internationally recognized experts, covering all aspects of millisecond pulsars in one concise and cohesive volume. These aspects include pulsations powered by stellar spin, accretion and thermonuclear burning of accreted matter, their physics and utility, stellar evolution and the extreme physics of super-dense stellar cores. The book includes substantial background material as well as recent theoretical and multi-wavelength observational results. The volume will thus be useful for professional astronomers and graduate students alike. What is the behavior of the strong nuclear interaction, and what are the matter constituents at ultrahigh densities in neutron star cores? How do old neutron stars in binaries evolve? How does their magnetosphere interact with the surrounding plasma to accelerate particles and emit radiation observed at all wavelengths? These are just a few of the questions that millisecond pulsars are helping us answer and will settle in the near future with the next generation of instruments. Such quickly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars are remarkable natural laboratories that allow us to investigate the fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions under extreme conditions that cannot be reproduced in terrestrial laboratories.

Gamma-ray astronomy has undergone an enormous progress in the last 15 years. The success of satellite experiments like NASA's Comp ton Gamma-Ray Observatory and ESA's INTEGRAL mission, as well as of ground-based instruments have open new views into the high-energy Universe. Different classes of cosmic gamma-ray sources have been now detected at different energies, in addition to young radio pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, the classical ones. The new sources include radio quiet pulsars, microquasars, supernova remnants, starburst galaxies, ra dio galaxies, flat-spectrum radio quasars, and BL Lacertae objects. A large number of unidentified sources strongly suggests that this brief enumeration is far from complete. Gamma-ray bursts are now estab lished as extragalactic sources with tremendous energy output. There is accumulating evidence supporting the idea that massive stars and star forming regions can accelerate charged particles up to relativistic ener gies making them gamma-ray sources. Gamma-ray astronomy has also proved to be a powerful tool for cosmology imposing constraints to the background photon fields that can absorb the gamma-ray flux from dis tant sources. All this has profound implications for our current ideas about how particles are accelerated and transported in both the local and distant U niverse. The evolution of our knowledge on the gamma-ray sky has been so fast that is not easy for the non-specialist scientist and the graduate student to be aware of the full potential of this field or to grasp the fundamentals of a given topic in order to attempt some original contribution.