view Abstract Citations (20) References (12) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The luminosity distribution and total space density of pulsars. Roberts, D. H. Abstract The detailed distribution of dispersion measures and spectral fluxes for a sample of 50 pulsars in part of the galactic plane near longitude 50 deg is analyzed, and the intrinsic luminosity distribution of the pulsars is obtained along with some constraints on their spatial distribution. Expressions for the observed distributions of spectral fluxes, distances, and directions are given in terms of the spatial and luminosity distributions of the sources as well as the sensitivity of the detector. A previous analysis of the same sample is reviewed, and the intrinsic luminosity distribution is determined from the distribution of observed distances as well as from the observed distribution of spectral fluxes. The results indicate that the scale height of pulsars cannot be significantly less than 400 pc, the total space density of active pulsars is about 30 per cu kpc, and the birthrate required to maintain this population is about one in the Galaxy every 980 (450-2600) years. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1976 DOI: 10.1086/182083 Bibcode: 1976ApJ...205L..29R Keywords: Luminous Intensity; Pulsars; Spatial Distribution; Star Distribution; Spectral Energy Distribution; Stellar Luminosity; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |