Abstract Very faint X-ray transients (VFXTs) are a group of X-ray binaries with low luminosities, displaying peak X-ray luminosities during their outbursts of only 1034 –1036 erg s−1. Using γ-ray data obtained with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (Fermi), we investigate their possible nature of containing rotation-powered pulsars, or more specifically being transitional millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Among more than 40 known VFXTs, we select 12 neutron star systems. We analyze the LAT data for the fields of 12 VFXTs in the energy range 0.2–300 GeV, but do not find any counterparts likely detected by Fermi. We obtain luminosity upper limits for the 12 sources. While the distances to the sources are largely uncertain, the upper limits are comparable to the luminosities of two transitional systems, PSR J1023−0038 and XSS J12270−4859. From our study, we conclude that no evidence is found at γ-rays for the suggestion that some VFXTs could contain rotation-powered MSPs (or be transitional MSP systems).
Keywords stars: pulsars — stars: binaries — gamma rays: stars
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