Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnant RCW 86 with H.E.S.S.

Details Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnant RCW 86 with H.E.S.S. Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnant RCW 86 with H.E.S.S.

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008aipc.1085..332h&link_type=abstract

HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY: Proceedings of the 4th International Meeting on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy. AIP Conferenc

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

2

Gamma-Ray, Supernova Remnants, Astronomical And Space-Research Instrumentation

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 γ-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 γ-ray morphology of such extended objects. H.E.S.S. observations have indeed led to the discovery of the SNR RCW 86 in very high energy (VHE E>100 GeV) γ-rays. Within 31 hours of observation time, the source is detected with a statistical significance of 8.5 standard deviations and is found significantly more extended than the H.E.S.S. point spread function. Morphological studies have been performed and show that the γ-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 VHE γ-ray emission, either via 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 VHE γ-ray regimes.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

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.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1100224