Limits on gamma‐ray and infrared emission from the planetary pulsar system PSR B1257+12 and other millisecond pulsars Available to Purchase

Millisecond pulsars are intrinsically weak radio sources and are not clearly identified with strong emission in any other waveband. Two nearby millisecond pulsars have been looked at with the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory for the presence of pulsed gamma‐ray emission. Observable gamma‐ray flux might be expected from nearby millisecond pulsars. EGRET observations showed no significant continuum or pulsed emission toward either pulsar from data collected during Phase 1 and Phase 2 observations. One of the pulsars, PSR B1257+12, is thought to have two planetary bodies in orbit around it. In a search for emission from any remnant dust associated with planetary formation, we carried out deep 10 μm bolometer observations on the IRTF 3‐meter telescope of PSR B1257+12 and other nearby millisecond pulsars. We present upper limits on the 10 μm emission from several of these pulsars that will help place constraints on heated dust around them.