Fermi LAT 2PC: Second Catalog of Gamma-Ray Pulsars

Fermi LAT's Second Catalog of Gamma-Ray Pulsars (2PC) summarizes 0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections from the Fermi satellite's Large Area Telescope. The catalog divides pulsars into three groups: millisecond, young radio-loud, and young radio-quiet pulsars, and provides analysis of pulse profiles, energy spectra, and off-peak phase intervals. This database was constructed by NASA's HEASARC from tabulated data published in 2013.

Use Cases

• Classifying gamma-ray pulsar types based on the three defined groups: millisecond, young radio-loud, and young radio-quiet.
• Analyzing pulsar emission profiles and energy spectra based on the catalog's summarized analysis results.
• Comparing gamma-ray properties with radio, optical, and X-ray bands as described in the catalog's comparative analysis.
• Assessing flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission using the provided data.

Strengths

• Catalog is based on data from the Fermi satellite's Large Area Telescope, a major space observatory.
• Provides multi-wavelength comparison by analyzing gamma-ray properties against radio, optical, and X-ray bands.
• Includes flux limits for non-detections, which can be useful for population studies and sensitivity analyses.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The underlying data publication date is 2013, though the catalog metadata was last updated in 2026; data freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, constructed from tabulated data published via the Astrophysics Data System (ADS).

Collection Method

Combined tabulated data from psrcat.dat, spec.dat, offpk.dat, and refs.dat files obtained from a 2013 catalog.

Time Range

Data acquired by the Fermi satellite; specific observation period not stated.

Freshness

Metadata last updated 2026-03-13; core data publication date is 2013.

Geography

Space-based observations; not geographically bound.