Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2008-10-15
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
6 pages, 5 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ on October 14, 2008
Scientific paper
The shell-type supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 86, possibly associated with the historical supernova SN 185, with its relatively large size (about 40' in diameter) and the presence of non-thermal X-rays is a promising target for gamma-ray observations. The high sensitivity, good angular resolution of a few arc minutes and the large field of view of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) make it ideally suited for the study of the gamma-ray morphology of such extended sources. H.E.S.S. observations have indeed led to the discovery of the SNR RCW 86 in very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-rays. With 31 hours of observation time, the source is detected with a statistical significance of 8.5 sigma and is significantly more extended than the H.E.S.S. point spread function. Morphological studies have been performed and show that the gamma-ray flux does not correlate perfectly with the X-ray emission. The flux from the remnant is ~10% of the flux from the Crab nebula, with a similar photon index of about 2.5. Possible origins of the very high energy gamma-ray emission, via either Inverse Compton scattering by electrons or the decay of neutral pions produced by proton interactions, are discussed on the basis of spectral features obtained both in the X-ray and gamma-ray regimes.
Aharonian Felix
H-E-S-S Collaboration
No associations
LandOfFree
Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnant RCW 86 with H.E.S.S does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnant RCW 86 with H.E.S.S, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnant RCW 86 with H.E.S.S will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-303188