Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2002-05-22
Astron.Astrophys. 399 (2003) 1121-1134
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
14 pages, 5 figures; revised version according to referee's comment
Scientific paper
10.1051/0004-6361:20021854
In the colliding wind region of early-type binaries, electrons can be accelerated up to relativistic energies displaying power-law spectra, as demonstrated by the detection of non-thermal radio emission from several WR+OB systems. The particle acceleration region, located between the stars, is exposed to strong photon fields in such a way that inverse Compton cooling of the electrons could result in a substantial high-energy non-thermal flux. In particular cases, the ratio of the energy densities of magnetic to photon fields in the colliding wind region will determine whether a given source can produce or not significant gamma-ray emission. We present here a study of the binaries WR 140, WR 146, and WR 147 in the light of recent radio and gamma-ray observations. We show that with reasonable assumptions for the magnetic field strength WR 140 can produce the gamma-ray flux from the EGRET source 3EG J2022+4317. WR 146 and WR 147 are below the detection threshold, but forthcoming instruments like INTEGRAL and GLAST could detect non-thermal emission from them.
Benaglia Paula
Romero Gustavo E.
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