Speaker
Description
Recent detections of pulsed very-high-energy (VHE) emission from PSR B1706−44, Geminga, the Crab, and Vela by ground-based Cherenkov telescopes have prompted renewed efforts to refine models of high-energy pulsar emission. Of particular interest is the discovery of a distinct TeV spectral component in Vela, separate from its GeV component and unlike the spectral behaviour observed in other sub-TeV pulsars. This raises the question of which pulsars may be detectable at TeV energies with current and next-generation Cherenkov telescopes. We investigate this question within the synchro-curvature radiation/inverse Compton (SCR-IC) framework. In this model, primary particles with Lorentz factors of order 5e7 produce the pulsed GeV emission through SCR near the current sheet beyond the light cylinder. These same particles can inverse-Compton scatter optical-to-near-infrared and X-ray photons produced by synchrotron emission from secondary pairs, generating a distinct TeV spectral component. We adopt a three-step approach. First, we develop a TeV visibility metric within the SCR-IC framework. Second, we test the metric using a simplified spectral model to explore the relevant parameter space and identify the physical drivers of TeV detectability. Third, we calibrate and validate these results with our full three-dimensional radiation code, which incorporates primary and secondary-pair injection, realistic magnetic and electric fields, particle dynamics, radiation processes, and relativistic beaming. This framework provides a physically motivated means of assessing TeV pulsar visibility and identifying promising targets for current and future Cherenkov telescopes.