TEV GAMMA-RAYS FROM MILLISECOND PULSARS AND THE DETECTABILITY OF GLOBULAR-CLUSTERS

I investigate the detectability of TeV gamma rays from millisecond pul sars, assuming the energy source that powers this emission is the loss of rotational energy of the spinning neutron star. I show that althou gh individual sources may be too weak to detect, the contribution of m any (approximately 10(3)) active millisecond pulsars may lead to curre ntly detectable TeV gamma-ray emissions from globular clusters, provid ed the average pulsar converts greater than or similar to 0.1% of its spin-down energy into TeV gamma rays. Future detections of TeV gamma r ays from globular clusters (or more restrictive upper limits on the fl uxes) will lead to better estimates of the number of active millisecon d pulsars the clusters contain, and to a better understanding of the p ulsar emission mechanism. I also derive flux estimates for the followi ng sources: (1) the Crab Nebula, (2) PSR 1937 + 21, PSR 1953 + 29, and PSR 1855 + 09, and (3) nearby millisecond pulsars in the galactic dis k.