Every nearby energetic pulsar is surrounded by a region of inhibited diffusion

John I, Linden T (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article, Review article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Physical Review D American Physical Society

Book Volume: 113

Article Number: 123040

Journal Issue: 12

DOI: 10.1103/CR87-NDW5

Abstract

The High-Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) telescope has recently detected the total electron-plus-positron (e^þe⁻) flux up to 40 TeV, finding it to be a featureless and steeply falling power law above 1 TeV. This result is in stark tension with standard one-zone models of pulsar e^þe⁻ injection and diffusion, which predict a hard-spectrum signal above ∼10 TeV. We model the local pulsar population, and find 21 sources that would each individually overproduce the H.E.S.S. e^þe⁻ flux in a one-zone diffusion model. We conclude that every energetic pulsar younger than ∼500 kyr must be surrounded by a region of inhibited diffusion (e.g., a supernova remnant, pulsar wind nebula, or TeV halo) that prevents the transport of these e^þe⁻ to Earth. Because the high-electron density in these regions produces bright synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission, we conclude that all nearby pulsars are detectable as (potentially unassociated) radio, x-ray or γ-ray sources.

Involved external institutions

University of Turin / Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO)

Italy (IT) Stockholm University / Stockholms universitet

Sweden (SE)

How to cite

APA:

John, I., & Linden, T. (2026). Every nearby energetic pulsar is surrounded by a region of inhibited diffusion. Physical Review D, 113(12). https://doi.org/10.1103/CR87-NDW5

MLA:

John, Isabelle, and Tim Linden. "Every nearby energetic pulsar is surrounded by a region of inhibited diffusion." Physical Review D 113.12 (2026).

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