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The 2010 very high energy gamma-ray flare and 10 years ofmulti-wavelength oservations of M 87
(2012)
The giant radio galaxy M 87 with its proximity (16 Mpc), famous jet, and very massive black hole ((3-6) x 10(9) M-circle dot) provides a unique opportunity to investigate the origin of very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission generated in relativistic outflows and the surroundings of supermassive black holes. M 87 has been established as a VHE gamma-ray emitter since 2006. The VHE gamma-ray emission displays strong variability on timescales as short as a day. In this paper, results from a joint VHE monitoring campaign on M 87 by the MAGIC and VERITAS instruments in 2010 are reported. During the campaign, a flare at VHE was detected triggering further observations at VHE (H.E.S.S.), X-rays (Chandra), and radio (43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array, VLBA). The excellent sampling of the VHE gamma-ray light curve enables one to derive a precise temporal characterization of the flare: the single, isolated flare is well described by a two-sided exponential function with significantly different flux rise and decay times of tau(rise)(d) = (1.69 +/- 0.30) days and tau(decay)(d) = (0.611 +/- 0.080) days, respectively. While the overall variability pattern of the 2010 flare appears somewhat different from that of previous VHE flares in 2005 and 2008, they share very similar timescales (similar to day), peak fluxes (Phi(>0.35 TeV) similar or equal to (1-3) x 10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1)), and VHE spectra. VLBA radio observations of 43 GHz of the inner jet regions indicate no enhanced flux in 2010 in contrast to observations in 2008, where an increase of the radio flux of the innermost core regions coincided with a VHE flare. On the other hand, Chandra X-ray observations taken similar to 3 days after the peak of the VHE gamma-ray emission reveal an enhanced flux from the core (flux increased by factor similar to 2; variability timescale <2 days). The long-term (2001-2010) multi-wavelength (MWL) light curve of M 87, spanning from radio to VHE and including data from Hubble Space Telescope, Liverpool Telescope, Very Large Array, and European VLBI Network, is used to further investigate the origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission. No unique, common MWL signature of the three VHE flares has been identified. In the outer kiloparsec jet region, in particular in HST-1, no enhanced MWL activity was detected in 2008 and 2010, disfavoring it as the origin of the VHE flares during these years. Shortly after two of the three flares (2008 and 2010), the X-ray core was observed to be at a higher flux level than its characteristic range (determined from more than 60 monitoring observations: 2002-2009). In 2005, the strong flux dominance of HST-1 could have suppressed the detection of such a feature. Published models for VHE gamma-ray emission from M 87 are reviewed in the light of the new data.
Context. The large jet kinetic power and non-thermal processes occurring in the microquasar SS 433 make this source a good candidate for a very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emitter. Gamma-ray fluxes above the sensitivity limits of current Cherenkov telescopes have been predicted for both the central X-ray binary system and the interaction regions of SS 433 jets with the surrounding W50 nebula. Non-thermal emission at lower energies has been previously reported, indicating that efficient particle acceleration is taking place in the system. Aims. We explore the capability of SS 433 to emit VHE gamma rays during periods in which the expected flux attenuation due to periodic eclipses (P-orb similar to 13.1 days) and precession of the circumstellar disk (P-pre similar to 162 days) periodically covering the central binary system is expected to be at its minimum. The eastern and western SS 433/W50 interaction regions are also examined using the whole data set available. We aim to constrain some theoretical models previously developed for this system with our observations. Methods. We made use of dedicated observations from the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescopes (MAGIC) and High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) of SS 433 taken from 2006 to 2011. These observation were combined for the first time and accounted for a total effective observation time of 16.5 h, which were scheduled considering the expected phases of minimum absorption of the putative VHE emission. Gamma-ray attenuation does not affect the jet/medium interaction regions. In this case, the analysis of a larger data set amounting to similar to 40-80 h, depending on the region, was employed. Results. No evidence of VHE gamma-ray emission either from the central binary system or from the eastern/western interaction regions was found. Upper limits were computed for the combined data set. Differential fluxes from the central system are found to be less than or similar to 10(-12)-10(-13) TeV-1 cm(-2) s(-1) in an energy interval ranging from similar to few x 100 GeV to similar to few TeV. Integral flux limits down to similar to 10(-12)-10(-13) ph cm(-2) s(-1) and similar to 10(-13)-10(-14) ph cm(-2) s(-1) are obtained at 300 and 800 GeV, respectively. Our results are used to place constraints on the particle acceleration fraction at the inner jet regions and on the physics of the jet/medium interactions. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the fraction of the jet kinetic power that is transferred to relativistic protons must be relatively small in SS 433, q(p) <= 2.5 x 10(-5), to explain the lack of TeV and neutrino emission from the central system. At the SS 433/W50 interface, the presence of magnetic fields greater than or similar to 10 mu G is derived assuming a synchrotron origin for the observed X-ray emission. This also implies the presence of high-energy electrons with E-e up to 50 TeV, preventing an efficient production of gamma-ray fluxes in these interaction regions.
Shell-type supernova remnants (SNRs) are considered prime candidates for the acceleration of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) up to the knee of the CR spectrum at E approximate to 3 x 10(15) eV. Our MilkyWay galaxy hosts more than 350 SNRs discovered at radio wavelengths and at high energies, of which 220 fall into the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey (HGPS) region. Of those, only 50 SNRs are coincident with a H.E.S.S source and in 8 cases the very high-energy (VHE) emission is firmly identified as an SNR. The H.E.S.S. GPS provides us with a legacy for SNR population study in VHE gamma-rays and we use this rich data set to extract VHE flux upper limits from all undetected SNRs. Overall, the derived flux upper limits are not in contradiction with the canonical CR paradigm. Assuming this paradigm holds true, we can constrain typical ambient density values around shell-type SNRs to n <= 7 cm(-3) and electron-to-proton energy fractions above 10 TeV to epsilon(ep) <= 5 x 10(-3). Furthermore, comparisons of VHE with radio luminosities in non-interacting SNRs reveal a behaviour that is in agreement with the theory of magnetic field amplification at shell-type SNRs.
Centaurus A (Cen A) is the nearest radio galaxy discovered as a very-high-energy (VHE; 100 GeV-100 TeV) gamma-ray source by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). It is a faint VHE gamma-ray emitter, though its VHE flux exceeds both the extrapolation from early Fermi-LAT observations as well as expectations from a (misaligned) single-zone synchrotron-self Compton (SSC) description. The latter satisfactorily reproduces the emission from Cen A at lower energies up to a few GeV. New observations with H.E.S.S., comparable in exposure time to those previously reported, were performed and eight years of Fermi-LAT data were accumulated to clarify the spectral characteristics of the gamma-ray emission from the core of Cen A. The results allow us for the first time to achieve the goal of constructing a representative, contemporaneous gamma-ray core spectrum of Cen A over almost five orders of magnitude in energy. Advanced analysis methods, including the template fitting method, allow detection in the VHE range of the core with a statistical significance of 12 sigma on the basis of 213 hours of total exposure time. The spectrum in the energy range of 250 GeV-6 TeV is compatible with a power-law function with a photon index Gamma = 2.52 +/- 0.13(stat) +/- 0.20(sys). An updated Fermi-LAT analysis provides evidence for spectral hardening by Delta Gamma similar or equal to 0.4 +/- 0.1 at gamma-ray energies above 2.8(-0.6)(+1.0) GeV at a level of 4.0 sigma. The fact that the spectrum hardens at GeV energies and extends into the VHE regime disfavour a single-zone SSC interpretation for the overall spectral energy distribution (SED) of the core and is suggestive of a new gamma-ray emitting component connecting the high-energy emission above the break energy to the one observed at VHE energies. The absence of significant variability at both GeV and TeV energies does not yet allow disentanglement of the physical nature of this component, though a jet-related origin is possible and a simple two-zone SED model fit is provided to this end.
The unidentified very-high-energy (VHE; E > 0.1 TeV) gamma -ray source, HESS J1826-130, was discovered with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) in the Galactic plane. The analysis of 215 h of HESS data has revealed a steady gamma -ray flux from HESS J1826-130, which appears extended with a half-width of 0.21 degrees +/- 0.02 <br /> (stat)degrees <br /> stat degrees +/- 0.05 <br /> (sys)degrees sys degrees . The source spectrum is best fit with either a power-law function with a spectral index Gamma = 1.78 +/- 0.10(stat) +/- 0.20(sys) and an exponential cut-off at 15.2 <br /> (+5.5)(-3.2) -3.2+5.5 TeV, or a broken power-law with Gamma (1) = 1.96 +/- 0.06(stat) +/- 0.20(sys), Gamma (2) = 3.59 +/- 0.69(stat) +/- 0.20(sys) for energies below and above E-br = 11.2 +/- 2.7 TeV, respectively. The VHE flux from HESS J1826-130 is contaminated by the extended emission of the bright, nearby pulsar wind nebula, HESS J1825-137, particularly at the low end of the energy spectrum. Leptonic scenarios for the origin of HESS J1826-130 VHE emission related to PSR J1826-1256 are confronted by our spectral and morphological analysis. In a hadronic framework, taking into account the properties of dense gas regions surrounding HESS J1826-130, the source spectrum would imply an astrophysical object capable of accelerating the parent particle population up to greater than or similar to 200 TeV. Our results are also discussed in a multiwavelength context, accounting for both the presence of nearby supernova remnants, molecular clouds, and counterparts detected in radio, X-rays, and TeV energies.
The H.E.S.S. Collaboration has discovered a new very high energy (VHE, E > 0.1 TeV) gamma-ray source, HESS J1741-302, located in the Galactic plane. Despite several attempts to constrain its nature, no plausible counterpart has been found so far at X-ray and MeV/GeV gamma-ray energies, and the source remains unidentified. An analysis of 145-h of observations of HESS J1741-302 at VHEs has revealed a steady and relatively weak TeV source (similar to 1% of the Crab Nebula flux), with a spectral index of Gamma = 2.3 +/- 0.2(stat) +/- 0.2(sys), extending to energies up to 10 TeV without any clear signature of a cut-off. In a hadronic scenario, such a spectrum implies an object with particle acceleration up to energies of several hundred TeV. Contrary to most H.E.S.S. unidentified sources, the angular size of HESS J1741-302 is compatible with the H.E.S.S. point spread function at VHEs, with an extension constrained to be below 0.068 degrees at a 99% confidence level. The gamma-ray emission detected by H.E.S.S. can be explained both within a hadronic scenario, due to collisions of protons with energies of hundreds of TeV with dense molecular clouds, and in a leptonic scenario, as a relic pulsar wind nebula, possibly powered by the middle-aged (20 kyr) pulsar PSR B1737-30. A binary scenario, related to the compact radio source 1LC 358.266+0.038 found to be spatially coincident with the best fit position of HESS J1741-302, is also envisaged.
Context. Recently, the high-energy (HE, 0.1-100 GeV) gamma-ray emission from the object LMC P3 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) has been discovered to be modulated with a 10.3-day period, making it the first extra-galactic gamma-ray binary. Aims. This work aims at the detection of very-high-energy (VHE, >100 GeV) gamma-ray emission and the search for modulation of the VHE signal with the orbital period of the binary system. Methods. LMC P3 has been observed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.); the acceptance-corrected exposure time is 100 h. The data set has been folded with the known orbital period of the system in order to test for variability of the emission. Results. VHE gamma-ray emission is detected with a statistical significance of 6.4 sigma. The data clearly show variability which is phase-locked to the orbital period of the system. Periodicity cannot be deduced from the H.E.S.S. data set alone. The orbit-averaged luminosity in the 1-10 TeV energy range is (1.4 +/- 0.2) x 10(35) erg s(-1). A luminosity of (5 +/- 1) x 10(35) erg s(-1) is reached during 20% of the orbit. HE and VHE gamma-ray emissions are anti-correlated. LMC P3 is the most luminous gamma-ray binary known so far.
We present the results of the most comprehensive survey of the Galactic plane in very high-energy (VHE) gamma-rays, including a public release of Galactic sky maps, a catalog of VHE sources, and the discovery of 16 new sources of VHE gamma-rays. The High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) Galactic plane survey (HGPS) was a decade-long observation program carried out by the H.E.S.S. I array of Cherenkov telescopes in Namibia from 2004 to 2013. The observations amount to nearly 2700 h of quality-selected data, covering the Galactic plane at longitudes from l = 250 degrees to 65 degrees and latitudes vertical bar b vertical bar <= 3 degrees. In addition to the unprecedented spatial coverage, the HGPS also features a relatively high angular resolution (0.08 degrees approximate to 5 arcmin mean point spread function 68% containment radius), sensitivity (less than or similar to 1.5% Crab flux for point-like sources), and energy range (0.2-100 TeV). We constructed a catalog of VHE gamma-ray sources from the HGPS data set with a systematic procedure for both source detection and characterization of morphology and spectrum. We present this likelihood-based method in detail, including the introduction of a model component to account for unresolved, large-scale emission along the Galactic plane. In total, the resulting HGPS catalog contains 78 VHE sources, of which 14 are not reanalyzed here, for example, due to their complex morphology, namely shell-like sources and the Galactic center region. Where possible, we provide a firm identification of the VHE source or plausible associations with sources in other astronomical catalogs. We also studied the characteristics of the VHE sources with source parameter distributions. 16 new sources were previously unknown or unpublished, and we individually discuss their identifications or possible associations. We firmly identified 31 sources as pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), supernova remnants (SNRs), composite SNRs, or gamma-ray binaries. Among the 47 sources not yet identified, most of them (36) have possible associations with cataloged objects, notably PWNe and energetic pulsars that could power VHE PWNe.
Spectral lines are among the most powerful signatures for dark matter (DM) annihilation searches in very-high-energy gamma rays. The central region of the Milky Way halo is one of the most promising targets given its large amount of DM and proximity to Earth. We report on a search for a monoenergetic spectral line from self-annihilations of DM particles in the energy range from 300 GeV to 70 TeV using a two-dimensional maximum likelihood method taking advantage of both the spectral and spatial features of the signal versus background. The analysis makes use of Galactic center observations accumulated over ten years (2004-2014) with the H.E.S.S. array of ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. No significant gamma-ray excess above the background is found. We derive upper limits on the annihilation cross section (sigma v) for monoenergetic DM lines at the level of 4 x 10(-28) cm(3) s(-1) at 1 TeV, assuming an Einasto DM profile for the Milky Way halo. For a DM mass of 1 TeV, they improve over the previous ones by a factor of 6. The present constraints are the strongest obtained so far for DM particles in the mass range 300 GeV-70 TeV. Ground-based gamma-ray observations have reached sufficient sensitivity to explore relevant velocity-averaged cross sections for DM annihilation into two gamma-ray photons at the level expected from the thermal relic density for TeV DM particles.
First ground-based measurement of sub-20 GeV to 100 GeV gamma-Rays from the Vela pulsar with HESS II
(2018)
Aims. We report on the measurement and investigation of pulsed high-energy y-ray emission from the Vela pulsar, PSR B0833-45, based on observations with the largest telescope of H.E.S.S., CT5, in monoscopic mode, and on data obtained with the Fermi-LAT. Methods. Data from 40.3 h of observations carried out with the H.E.S.S. II array from 2013 to 2015 have been used. A dedicated very low-threshold event reconstruction and analysis pipeline was developed to achieve the lowest possible energy threshold. Eight years of Fermi-LAT data were analysed and also used as reference to validate the CT5 telescope response model and analysis methods. Results. A pulsed gamma-ray signal at a significance level of more than 15 sigma is detected from the P2 peak of the Vela pulsar light curve. Of a total of 15 835 events, more than 6000 lie at an energy below 20 GeV, implying a significant overlap between H.E.S.S. II-CT5 and the Fermi-LAT. While the investigation of the pulsar light curve with the LAT confirms characteristics previously known up to 20 GeV in the tens of GeV energy range, CT5 data show a change in the pulse morphology of P2, i.e. an extreme sharpening of its trailing edge, together with the possible onset of a new component at 3.4 sigma significance level. Assuming a power-law model for the P2 spectrum, an excellent agreement is found for the photon indices (Gamma similar or equal to 4.1) obtained with the two telescopes above 10 GeV and an upper bound of 8% is derived on the relative offset between their energy scales. Using data from both instruments, it is shown however that the spectrum of P2 in the 10-100 GeV has a pronounced curvature; this is a confirmation of the sub-exponential cut-off form found at lower energies with the LAT. This is further supported by weak evidence of an emission above 100 GeV obtained with CT5. In contrast, converging indications are found from both CT5 and LAT data for the emergence of a hard component above 50 GeV in the leading wing (LW2) of P2, which possibly extends beyond 100 GeV. Conclusions. The detection demonstrates the performance and understanding of CT5 from 100 GeV down to the sub-20 GeV domain, i.e. unprecedented low energy for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. The extreme sharpening of the trailing edge of the P2 peak found in the H.E.S.S. II light curve of the Vela pulsar and the possible extension beyond 100 GeV of at least one of its features, LW2, provide further constraints to models of gamma-Ray emission from pulsars.