Hard fast X-ray transients as possible counterparts of unidentified MeV/TeV sources
V. Sguera
备注:
Contributed talk to appear in the proceedings of the "7th INTEGRAL Workshop - An INTEGRAL View of Compact Objects", held in Copenhagen on 8-11 September 2008
The two still unidentified MeV sources EGR J1122-5946 and AGL J2022+3622 are here tentatively associated with soft gamma-ray candidate counterparts detected through INTEGRAL/IBIS observations. On the basis of spatial proximity and/or similar transient behaviour, we propose the supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) IGR J11215-5952 and the candidate SFXT IGR J20188+3647 as possible candidate counterparts of EGR J1122-5946 and AGL J2022+3622, respectively. Our findings possibly suggest that hard fast X-ray transients could represent a new class of galactic transient MeV/TeV emitters. Additional evidence for the existence of such new class is also provided by very recent AGILE and GLAST discoveries on the galactic plane of several unidentified transient MeV sources lasting only a few days.
Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes have revealed more than 100 TeV sources along the Galactic Plane, around 45% of them remain unidentified. However, radio observations revealed that dense molecular clumps are associated with 67% of 18 unidentified TeV sources. In this paper, we propose that an electron-positron magnetospheric accelerator emits detectable TeV gamma-rays when a rapidly rotating black hole enters a gaseous cloud. Since the general-relativistic effect plays an essential role in this magnetospheric lepton accelerator scenario, the emissions take place in the direct vicinity …
We review properties of Galactic VHE sources detected at TeV energies. The number of associations between the VHE sources and pulsars has grown in recent years, making pulsar-wind nebulae the dominant population, although there is still a substantial number of VHE sources which remain to be identified. Among the latter there are several "dark" sources which do not have plausible counterparts at any other wavelengths. In this review we compile and compare the TeV and X-ray properties of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), PWN candidates, and unidentified TeV sources.
We investigate hypernova (hyper-energetic supernova) and gamma-ray burst (GRB) remnants in our Galaxy as TeV gamma-ray sources, particularly in the role of potential TeV unidentified sources, which have no clear counterpart at other wavelengths. We show that the observed bright sources in the TeV sky could be dominated by GRB/hypernova remnants, even though they are fewer than supernova remnants (SNRs). If this is the case, TeV SNRs are more extended (and more numerous) than deduced from current observations. In keeping with their role as cosmic ray accelerators, we discuss hadronic gamma-ray …
We observed the first unidentified TeV gamma-ray source TeV J2032+4130 with Suzaku. Owing to Suzaku's high sensitivity for detection of diffuse X-ray emission, we found two small structures in the TeV emitting region. One of them is coincident with a gamma-ray pulsar PSR J2032+4127, which was discovered by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. By subtracting contribution of point sources estimated by Chandra data, we obtained diffuse X-ray spectrum. The X-ray spectrum can be reproduced by a power-law model with a photon index of about 2, and an X-ray flux of 2x10^{-13} erg s^-1 cm^-2. The ratio…
The COMPTEL experiment on CGRO observed the gamma-ray sky at energies from 0.75 MeV to 30 MeV between April 1991 and June 2000. COMPTEL detected many gamma-ray sources, among them an unidentified one labeled GRO J1823-12, which is positionally consistent with the prominent high-mass X-ray binary LS 5039. Because LS 5039 was established as gamma-ray emitter during recent years, whose gamma-radiation radiation is modulated along its binary orbit, we reanalysed the COMPTEL data of GRO J1823-12 including an orbital resolved analysis. We find a significant MeV source, showing evidence for a modulat…
In the last few years Fermi and AGILE observations have indicated the existence of a possible population of transient MeV-GeV sources located on the Galactic plane and characterized by fast flares lasting only a very few days. Notably, no blazar-like counterparts are known within their error boxes so they could represent a completely new class of Galactic transient high energy emitters. The task of identifying their counterparts at lower energies remains very challenging. Despite this difficulty, INTEGRAL observations have provided intriguing hints that reliable candidate counterparts for thes…
The H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey (HGPS) revealed 78 TeV sources among which 47 are not clearly associated with a known object. We present a multiwavelength approach to constrain the origin of the emission from unidentified HGPS sources. We present a generic pipeline that explores a large database of multiwavelength archival data toward any region in the Galactic plane. Along with a visual inspection of the retrieved multiwavelength observations to search for faint and uncataloged counterparts, we derive a radio spectral index that helps disentangle thermal from nonthermal emission and a mean…
New generation TeV gamma-ray telescopes have discovered many new sources, including several enigmatic unidentified TeV objects. HESS J0632+057 is a particularly interesting unidentified TeV source since: it is a point source, it has a possible hard-spectrum X-ray counterpart and a positionally consistent Be star, it has evidence of long-term VHE flux variability, and it is postulated to be a newly detected TeV/X-ray binary. We have obtained Swift X-ray telescope observations of this source from MJD 54857 to 54965, in an attempt to ascertain its nature and to investigate the hypothesis that it'…
Detection of a gamma-ray source above 300 GeV is reported, confirming the unidentified source MGRO J1908+06, discovered by the Milagro collaboration at a median energy of 20 TeV. The source was observed during 27 h as part of the extension of the H.E.S.S. Galactic plane survey to longitudes >30degr. HESS J1908+063 is detected at a significance level of 10.9 s with an integral flux above 1 TeV of (3.76+-0.29stat+-0.75sys)x10^-12 ph cm^-2 s^-1, and a spectral photon index Gamma = 2.10+-0.07stat+-0.2sys. The positions and fluxes of HESS 1908+063 and MGRO J1908+06 are in good agreement. Possible c…
The Galactic TeV $γ$-ray source HESS$\,$J1804$-$216 is currently an unidentified source. In an attempt to unveil its origin, we present here the most detailed study of interstellar gas using data from the Mopra Southern Galactic Plane CO Survey, 7 and 12$\,$mm wavelength Mopra surveys and Southern Galactic Plane Survey of HI. Several components of atomic and molecular gas are found to overlap HESS$\,$J1804$-$216 at various velocities along the line of sight. The CS(1-0) emission clumps confirm the presence of dense gas. Both correlation and anti-correlation between the gas and TeV $γ$-ray emis…
HESS J1614$-$518 and HESS J1616$-$508 are two tera-electron volt (TeV) $γ$-ray sources that are not firmly associated with any known counterparts at other wavelengths. We investigate the distribution of interstellar medium towards the TeV $γ$-ray sources using results from a 7 mm-wavelength Mopra study, the Mopra Southern Galactic Plane CO Survey, the Millimetre Astronomer's Legacy Team - 45 GHz survey and [CI] data from the HEAT telescope. Data in the CO(1$-$0) transition lines reveal diffuse gas overlapping the two TeV sources at several velocities along the line of sight, while observations…
Resolving the origin of the unidentified TeV source HESS J1626-490 as a relic of the ancient cosmic-ray factory SNR G335.2+0.1
Ritsumeikan University(立命馆大学);Research Organization of Science and Technology, Ritsumeikan University(立命馆大学科学技术研究院);Kyoto University(京都大学);Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University(京都大学汤川理论物理研究所);Tohoku University(东北大学);Gifu University(岐阜大学);University of Miyazaki(宫崎大学);Konan University(神户女学院大学)
The evolution of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe) plays a crucial role in interpreting the very high energy (VHE; > 10^11 eV) gamma-ray unidentified sources; and moreover it represents the only viable option to explain the discovery of several "dark sources" in the TeV gamma-ray (i.e. VHE gamma-ray sources without lower energies, radio or X-ray counterparts). The newest time-dependent modeling of PWNe presented in [1] and [2] has to be tested on a broader sample of young well-known PWNe and applied to the full-sample of "dark sources". The consequences of this interpretation go far beyond the interp…
We report on new Suzaku and XMM-Newton results concerning HESS J1614-518, which is one of the brightest extended TeV gamma-ray sources and has two regions with intense gamma-ray emission. We newly observed the south and center regions of HESS J1614-518 with Suzaku, since the north region, including the position of the 1st brightest peak of the TeV gamma-ray emission, has already been observed. No X-ray counterpart was found at the position of the 2nd brightest peak of the TeV gamma-ray emission; we estimated the upper limit of the X-ray flux to be 1.6 \times 10^{-13} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} in the …
We report the detection, with the CANGAROO-III imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope array, of a very high energy gamma-ray signal from the unidentified gamma-ray source HESS J1614-518, which was discovered in the H.E.S.S. Galactic plane survey. Diffuse gamma-ray emission was detected above 760 GeV at the 8.9 sigma level during an effective exposure of 54 hr from 2008 May to August. The spectrum can be represented by a power-law: 8.2+-2.2_{stat}+-2.5_{sys}x10^{-12}x (E/1TeV)^{-Gamma} cm^{-2} s^{-1} TeV^{-1} with a photon index Gamma of 2.4+-0.3_{stat}+-0.2_{sys}, which is compatible with tha…
In a Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN), the lifetime of inverse Compton (IC) emitting electrons exceeds the lifetime of its progenitor pulsar (as well as its shell-type remnant), but it also exceeds the age of those that emit via synchrotron radiation. Therefore, during its evolution, the PWN can remain bright in IC so that its GeV-TeV gamma-ray flux remains high for timescales much larger (for 10^5 - 10^6 yrs) than the pulsar lifetime and the X-ray PWN lifetime. In this scenario, the magnetic field in the cavity induced by the wind of the progenitor star plays a crucial role. This scenario is in line …
A large fraction of Galactic very-high energy (VHE; E$\gtrsim$100 GeV) $γ$-ray sources is cataloged as unidentified. In this work we explore the possibility that these unidentified sources are located in ambients particularly rich in material content unaccounted by traditional tracers. In a scenario where the VHE emission is due to the interaction of the accelerated particles with a target mass, a large mass of untraced material could be substantially contributing to the VHE emission from these regions. Here, we use three tracers for the commonly explored components: intensity of the $^\textrm…
TeV J2032+4130 was the first unidentified source discovered at very high energies (VHE; E $>$ 100 GeV), with no obvious counterpart in any other wavelength. It is also the first extended source to be observed in VHE gamma rays. Following its discovery, intensive observational campaigns have been carried out in all wavelengths in order to understand the nature of the object, which have met with limited success. We report here on a deep observation of TeV J2032+4130, based on 48.2 hours of data taken from 2009 to 2012 by the VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) exper…
The IceCube collaboration discovery of 28 high-energy neutrinos over the energy range 30 TeV <~ E_nu <~ 1 PeV, a 4.3-sigma excess over expected backgrounds, represents the first high-confidence detection of cosmic neutrinos at these energies. In light of this discovery, we explore the possibility that some of the Sub-PeV cosmic neutrinos might originate in our Galaxy's TeV unidentified (TeV UnID) sources. While typically resolved at TeV energies, these sources lack prominent radio or X-ray counterparts, and so have been considered promising sites for hadron acceleration within our Galaxy. Mode…
HESS J0632+057 is one of only two unidentified very-high-energy gamma-ray sources which appear to be point-like within experimental resolution. It is possibly associated with the massive Be star MWC 148 and has been suggested to resemble known TeV binary systems like LS I +61 303 or LS 5039. HESS J0632+057 was observed by VERITAS for 31 hours in 2006, 2008 and 2009. During these observations, no significant signal in gamma rays with energies above 1 TeV was detected from the direction of HESS J0632+057. A flux upper limit corresponding to 1.1% of the flux of the Crab Nebula has been derived fr…
Lower limits on the energy cutoff for unidentified gamma-ray sources detected in the HESS galactic plane survey are derived. Additional public data from the VERITAS, HESS and Milagro experiments are used for MGRO J1908+06 to confirm the limit derived from the HESS galactic plane survey data and to enable further conclusions on the presence of spectral breaks. Five Pevatron candidates are identified in the HESS galactic plane survey. The cutoff of the gamma-ray spectrum for these sources is larger than 20 TeV at 90% confidence level. The gamma-ray sources MGRO J1908+06 and HESS J1641-463, found…
Studying unidentified γ-ray sources is important as they may hide new discoveries. We conducted a multiwavelength analysis of 13 unidentified Fermi-LAT sources in the 3FGL catalog that have no known counterparts (Unidentified Gamma-ray Sources, UnIDs). The sample was selected for sources that have a single radio and X-ray candidate counterpart in their uncertainty ellipses. The purpose of this study is to find a possible blazar signature and to model the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of the selected sources using an empirical log parabolic model. The results show that the synchrotron emis…
The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) has revealed many TeV (10 12 eV) gamma-ray sources along the Galactic Plane and around 30 percent of these sources remain unidentified. The morphology and dynamics of dense gas coincident and surrounding the gamma-ray emission can provide clues about the nature of the TeV emission. The H2O Southern Galactic Plane Survey (HOPS) undertaken with the Mopra radio telescope, includes several dense gas tracers, such as NH3 (n,n) transitions and HC3N (3-2), star formation tracers including H2O masers, and radio recombination lines which trace ionised gas.…
We report the observation of a very high energy γ-ray source, whose position is coincident with HESS J1841-055. This source has been observed for 4.5 years by the ARGO-YBJ experiment from November 2007 to July 2012. Its emission is detected with a statistical significance of 5.3 standard deviations. Parameterizing the source shape with a two-dimensional Gaussian function we estimate an extension σ=(0.40(+0.32,-0.22}) degree, consistent with the HESS measurement. The observed energy spectrum is dN/dE =(9.0-+1.6) x 10^{-13}(E/5 TeV)^{-2.32-+0.23} photons cm^{-2} s^{-1} TeV^{-1}, in the energy ra…
A large part of the Galactic sources emitting very high energy (VHE; > 10^{11} eV) gamma-rays are currently still unidentified. The evolution of Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe) plays a crucial role in interpreting these sources. The time-dependent modeling of PWNe has been tested on a sample of well-known young and intermediate age PWNe; and it is currently applied to the full-sample of unidentified VHE Galactic sources. The consequences of this interpretation go far beyond the interpretation of "dark sources" (i.e. VHE gamma-ray sources without lower energies, radio or X-ray, counterparts): e.g. t…
The unidentified PeV source LHAASO J2108+5157: A microquasar remnant?
Universidad de Jaén(哈恩大学);Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía (CCT La Plata, CONICET(阿根廷射电天文研究所);CICPBA(拉普拉塔国立大学天文与地球科学学院);UNLP)(巴塞罗那大学);Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata;Universitat de Barcelona
The riddle of the origin of Cosmic Rays is open since one century. Recently we got the experimental proof of hadronic acceleration in Supernovae Remnants, however new questions rised and no final answer has been provided so far. Gamma ray observations above 100 MeV reveal the sites of cosmic ray acceleration to energies where they are unaffected by solar modulation. In the last years the knowledge in this field of research widely increased, however almost 50% of the TeV (> 10^12 eV) Galactic sources are still unidentified, at GeV (> 10^9 eV) energies, 67% of EGRET sources were unidentified and…
HESS J1626-490, so far only detected with the H.E.S.S. array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, could not be unambiguously identified with any source seen at lower energies. Therefore, we analyzed data from an archival XMM-Newton observation, pointed towards HESS J1626-490, to classify detected point-like and extended X-ray sources according to their spectral properties. None of the detected X-ray point sources fulfills the energetic requirements to be considered as the synchrotron radiation (SR) counterpart to the VHE source assuming an Inverse Compton (IC) emission scenario. Furthe…
HESS J1626-490, so far only detected with the H.E.S.S. array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, could not be unambiguously identified with any source seen at lower energies. Therefore, we analyzed data from an archival XMM-Newton observation, pointed towards HESS J1626-490, to classify detected X-ray point-sources according to their spectral properties and their near-infrared counterparts from the 2MASS catalog. Furthermore, we characterized in detail the diffuse X-ray emission from a region compatible with the extended VHE signal. To characterize the Interstellar Medium surrounding …
We report on recent XMM-Newton observations, archival radio continuum and CO data, and SED modeling of the unidentified Galactic plane source HESS J1708-410. No significant extended X-ray emission is observed, and we place an upper limit of 3.2 x 10{-13} erg cm{-2} s{-1} in the 2-4 keV range for the region of TeV emission. Molonglo Galactic Plane Survey data is used to place an upper limit of 0.27 Jy at 843 MHz for the source, with a 2.4 GHz limit of 0.4 Jy from the Parkes survey of the southern Galactic plane. 12CO (J 1->0) data of this region indicates a plausible distance of 3 kpc for HESS …
A deep X-ray observation of the unidentified very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray source HESS J1702-420, for the first time, was carried out by Suzaku. No bright sources were detected in the XIS field of view (FOV) except for two faint point-like sources. The two sources, however, are considered not to be related to HESS J1702-420, because their fluxes in the 2-10 keV band (~ 10^-14 erg s^-1 cm^-2) are ~ 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the VHE gamma-ray flux in the 1-10 TeV band (F_{TeV} = 3.1 x 10^-11 erg s^-1 cm^-2). We compared the energy spectrum of diffuse emission, extracted from the enti…
A spatially-independent model that can be used to calculate the temporal evolution of the electron/ positron spectrum in a spherically expanding pulsar wind nebula is presented. The model is applied to the young nebula G21.5-0.9, as well as to the unidentified TeV sources HESS J1427-608 and HESS J1507-622. The parameters derived from the model strengthens the idea that the unidentified sources can be identified as evolved pulsar wind nebulae.
Recent discovery of the X-ray neutral iron line (Fe I Kαat 6.40 keV) around several supernova remnants (SNRs) show that MeV cosmic-ray (CR) protons are distributed around the SNRs and are interacting with neutral gas there. We propose that these MeV CRs are the ones that have been accelerated at the SNRs together with GeV-TeV CRs. In our analytical model, the MeV CRs are still confined in the SNR when the SNR collides with molecular clouds. After the collision, the MeV CRs leak into the clouds and produce the neutral iron line emissions. On the other hand, GeV-TeV CRs had already escaped from …
AGILE (Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero) is an Italian Space Agency (ASI) mission launched on April 23rd, 2007. The AGILE-GRID instrument onboard of the AGILE satellite is devoted to gamma-ray astrophysics in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV energy range. This paper presents the results of a systematic study performed on the first three years of AGILE-GRID data to search for GeV and sub-GeV counterparts (or derive flux upper limits) of sources detected at very high-energy by TeV experiments. Many of the TeV sources are still unidentified and deep observations at lower energies are needed to identif…
In this paper we explore the evolution of a PWN while the pulsar is spinning down. An MHD approach is used to simulate the evolution of a composite remnant. Particular attention is given to the adiabatic loss rate and evolution of the nebular field strength with time. By normalising a two component particle injection spectrum (which can reproduce the radio and X-ray components) at the pulsar wind termination shock to the time dependent spindown power, and keeping track with losses since pulsar/PWN/SNR birth, we show that the average field strength decreases with time as $t^{-1.3}$, so that the…
During its first 2 years of mission the Fermi-LAT instrument discovered more than 1,800 gamma-ray sources in the 100 MeV to 100 GeV range. Despite the application of advanced techniques to identify and associate the Fermi-LAT sources with counterparts at other wavelengths, about 40% of the LAT sources have no a clear identification remaining "unassociated". The purpose of my Ph.D. work has been to pursue a statistical approach to identify the nature of each Fermi-LAT unassociated source. To this aim, we implemented advanced machine learning techniques, such as logistic regression and artificia…
We explore the concept of liquid Argon time projection chamber (TPC) for gamma-ray astronomy in the 100 MeV --- 1 TeV energy range. We propose a basic layout for such a telescope called MAST. Using a last-generation rocket such as Falcon Heavy, it is possible to launch a detector with the effective area and the differential sensitivity about one order of magnitude better than the Fermi-LAT ones. At the same time, the MAST concept allows for an excellent angular resolution, 3-10 times better than the Fermi-LAT one depending on the energy, and good energy resolution ($\approx$ 20 % at 100 MeV an…
A hard TeV $γ$-ray component excess over the single-zone leptonic model prediction (TeV excess) is observed in the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of some BL Lacs. Its origin is uncertain. We revisit this issue with four BL Lacs (1ES 0229+200, 1ES 0347--121, 1ES 1101--232, and H2356--309), in which the TeV excess is detected in their intrinsic SEDs. We represent their SEDs with a single-zone leptohadronic model, where radiations of the electrons and protons as well as the cascade electrons produced by the $γγ$ and p$γ$ interactions within their jets are considered. We show that the observ…
Thanks to the Fermi gamma-ray satellite and the current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes, radio galaxies have arisen as a new class of high- and very-high energy emitters. The favourable orientation of their jets makes radio galaxies extremely relevant in addressing important issues such as: (i) revealing the jet structure complexity; (ii) localising the emitting region(s) of high- and very-high energy radiation; (iii) understanding the physical processes producing these photons. In this review the main results on the gamma-ray emission studies of radio galaxies from the MeV to TeV reg…
HESS J1841$-$055 is a diffuse unidentified gamma-ray source with the size of $\sim\,1.3^{\circ}\times\,1^{\circ}$. No conclusive counterpart in other wavelengths has so far detected. To search for X-rays responsible for the TeV emission, the Suzaku observations were conducted, which covered a half region of the HESS source. In the soft band (0.5-2.0 keV), we discovered a diffuse emission, Suzaku J1840.2$-$0552, with the size of $\sim10'$. Since its spectrum was fitted by an optically thin thermal plasma model, Suzaku J1840.2$-$0552 is likely to be a supernova remnant. We also discovered an ext…
The identification of low-energy counterparts for gamma-ray sources is one of the biggest challenge in modern gamma-ray astronomy. Recently, we developed and successfully applied a new association method to recognize gamma-ray blazar candidates that could be possible counterparts for the unidentified gamma-ray sources above 100 MeV in the second Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) catalog (2FGL). This method is based on the Infrared (IR) colors of the recent Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) all-sky survey. In this letter we applied our new association method to the case of unidentified …
BL Lac objects are the most numerous class of extragalactic TeV-detected sources. One of the biggest difficulties in investigating their TeV emission resides in their limited number, since only 47 BL Lacs are known as TeV emitters. In this paper, we propose new criteria to select TeV BL Lac candidates based on the infrared (IR) and X-ray observations. We apply our selection criteria to the BL Lac objects listed in the ROMA-BZCAT catalog so identifying 41 potential TeV emitters. We then consider a search over a more extended sample combining the ROSAT bright source catalog and the WISE all-sky …
The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) observatory has carried a deep survey of the Galactic plane, in the course of which the existence of a significant number of ($\sim$ 78) TeV $γ$-ray sources was confirmed, many of which remain unidentified. HESS J1828-099 is a point-like (Gaussian stand. dev. $<$ 0.07$^{\circ}$) unidentified source among the 17 confirmed point-like sources in the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey (HGPS) catalog. This source is also unique because it does not seem to have any apparent association with any object detected at other wavelengths. We investigate the nature…
Context. Known TeV sources detected by major Cerenkov telescopes are investigated to identify possible MeV-GeV gamma-ray counterparts. Aims. A systematic study of the known sources in the web-based TeVCat Catalog has been performed to search for possible gamma-ray counterpart on the AGILE data collected during the first period of operations in observing pointing mode. Methods. For each TeV source, a search for a possible gamma-ray counterpart based on a multi-source Maximum Likelihood algorithm is performed on the AGILE data taken with the GRID instrument from July 2007 to October 2009. Result…
The discovery of the TeV point source 2HWC J2006+341 was reported in the second HAWC gamma-ray catalog. We present a follow-up study of this source here. The TeV emission is best described by an extended source with a soft spectrum. At GeV energies, an extended source is significantly detected in Fermi-LAT data. The matching locations, sizes and spectra suggest that both gamma-ray detections correspond to the same source. Different scenarios for the origin of the emission are considered and we rule out an association to the pulsar PSR J2004+3429 due to extreme energetics required, if located a…
We investigate the physical nature and origin of the gamma-ray emission from the extended source HESS J1841-055 observed at TeV and GeV energies. We observed HESS J1841-055 at TeV energies for a total effective time of 43 hours with the MAGIC telescopes, in 2012 and 2013. Additionally, we analysed the GeV counterpart making use of about 10 years of Fermi-LAT data. Using both Fermi-LAT and MAGIC, we study both the spectral and energy-dependent morphology of the source for almost four decades of energy. The origin of the gamma-ray emission from this region is investigated using multi-waveband in…
The optical spectroscopic followup of 27 sources belonging to a sample of 30 high-energy objects selected by positionally cross correlating the first Fermi/LAT Catalog and the ROSAT All-Sky Survey Bright Source Catalog is presented here. It has been found or confirmed that 25 of them are BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs), while the remaining two are Galactic cataclysmic variables (CVs). This strongly suggests that the sources in the first group are responsible for the GeV emission detected with Fermi, while the two CVs most likely represent spurious associations. We thus find an 80% a posteriori p…
GRIPS is planned to be the next great satellite-born survey mission lead by Europe; it will look into the cosmos with unprecedented accuracy in several bands of the EM spectrum (infrared, X-rays, MeV gamma-rays); in particular in gamma-rays, GRIPS will be able to bridge the so-called MeV gap and to answer several questions brought forth by GeV-TeV gamma-ray observations. We will discuss here several connections to GeV-TeV gamma-ray astrophysics, focussing in particular to show how GRIPS will be crucial in revealing the origin of cosmic rays.
Analysis of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) in the region of the supernova remnant G78.2+2.1 reveals an excess at the position of the TeV source VER J2019+407. The GeV source is extended with a hard spectrum and it is likely the counterpart of the TeV source. The spectrum of the LAT emission connects smoothly with that of VER J2019+407, and the overall GeV--TeV spectrum is best described by a broken power-law with indices 1.8 and 2.5 below and above a break energy of 71 GeV. Several scenarios are considered to explain the nature of this unidentified gamma ray source.
In a Pulsar Wind Nebula (PWN), the lifetime of inverse Compton emitting electrons exceeds the lifetime of its progenitor pulsar, but it exceeds also the age of the electrons that emit via synchrotron radiation; i.e. during the evolution of the PWN, it can remain bright in IC, whereas its GeV-TeV gamma-ray (for 10$^5-10^6$ years) flux remains high for timescales much larger than the Pulsar lifetime and the PWN visible in X-rays. The shell-type remnant of the supernova explosion in which the pulsar was formed also has a much shorter lifetime. In this scenario, the magnetic field in the cavity in…
There are a total of 1451 gamma-ray emitting objects in the Fermi Large Area Telescope First Source Catalogue. The point source location accuracy of typically a few arcminutes has allowed the counterparts for many of these sources to be found at other wavelengths, but even so there are 630 which are described as having no plausible counterpart at 80% confidence. In order to help identify the unknown objects, we have cross-correlated the positions of these sources with the Rosat All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalogue. In this way, for Fermi sources which have a possible counterpart in soft X-ra…