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  4. Detection of the Geminga pulsar at energies down to 20 GeV with the LST-1 of CTAO
 
research article

Detection of the Geminga pulsar at energies down to 20 GeV with the LST-1 of CTAO

Abe, K.
•
Abe, S.
•
Abhishek, A.
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June 1, 2025
Astronomy and Astrophysics

Context. Geminga is the third gamma-ray pulsar firmly detected by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) after the Crab and the Vela pulsars. Most of its emission is expected at tens of giga-electronvolts, and, out of the planned telescopes of the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), the Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) are the only ones with optimised sensitivity at these energies. Aims. We aim to characterise the gamma-ray pulse shape and spectrum of Geminga as observed by the first LST (hereafter LST-1) of the Northern Array of CTAO. Furthermore, this study confirms the great performance and the improved energy threshold of the telescope, as low as 10 GeV for pulsar analysis, with respect to current-generation Cherenkov telescopes. Methods. We analysed 60 hours of good-quality data taken by the LST-1 between December 2022 and March 2024 at zenith angles below 50◦. Additionally, a new Fermi-LAT analysis of 16.6 years of data was carried out to extend the spectral analysis down to 100 MeV. Lastly, a detailed study of the systematic effects was performed. Results. We report the detection of Geminga in the energy range between 20 and 65 GeV. Of the two peaks of the phaseogram, the second one, P2, is detected with a significance of 12.2σ, while the first (P1) reaches a significance level of 2.6σ. The best-fit model for the spectrum of P2 was found to be a power law with a spectral index of Γ = (4.5±0.4stat)−+0062syssys, compatible with the previous results obtained by the MAGIC Collaboration. No evidence of curvature is found in the LST-1 energy range. The joint fit with Fermi-LAT data confirms a preference for a sub-exponential cut-off over a pure exponential, even though both models fail to reproduce the data above several tens of giga-electronvolts. The overall results presented in this paper prove that the LST-1 is an excellent telescope for the observation of pulsars, and improved sensitivity is expected to be achieved with the full CTAO Northern Array.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/202554350
Scopus ID

2-s2.0-105010565431

Author(s)
Abe, K.

Tokai University

Abe, S.

The University of Tokyo

Abhishek, A.

Università degli Studi di Siena

Acero, F.

Université Paris-Saclay

Aguasca-Cabot, A.

Universitat de Barcelona

Agudo, I.

CSIC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA)

Alispach, C.

Faculty of Science

Ambrosino, D.

Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli

Ambrosino, F.

Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma

Antonelli, L. A.

Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma

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Date Issued

2025-06-01

Published in
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume

698

Article Number

A283

Subjects

astroparticle physics

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gamma rays: stars

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pulsars: general

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pulsars: individual: Geminga pulsar

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stars: neutron

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LASTRO  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

University of Split

MCTIC

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Available on Infoscience
July 25, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/252508
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