Optical STJ Observations of the Crab Pulsar

M. A. C. Perryman; F. Favata; A. Peacock; N. Rando; B. G. Taylor

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arXiv · astro-ph/9905018

Optical STJ Observations of the Crab Pulsar

M. A. C. Perryman·F. Favata·A. Peacock·N. Rando·B. G. Taylor

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Abstract

We report the first observations of an astronomical object using a superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) device, a pixel detector with intrinsic energy resolution in the optical wavelength range. The Crab pulsar was observed using a 6 times 6 array of Tantalum STJs at the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope on La Palma. Each array element provides photon counting capability recording up to ~ 10^3 photons per pix per s with an arrival time accuracy of about 5 microsecond, and providing a wavelength resolution of about 100 nm. We derive a photometrically resolved light curve which, however, shows no significant colour index variations with pulsar phase.

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M. A. C. Perryman, F. Favata, A. Peacock, N. Rando, B. G. Taylor. 1999-05-04. Optical STJ Observations of the Crab Pulsar. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9905018

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