Discovery of the two wings of the Kookaburra complex in VHE gamma -rays with H.E.S.S

Details Discovery of the two wings of the Kookaburra complex in VHE gamma -rays with H.E.S.S Discovery of the two wings of the Kookaburra complex in VHE gamma -rays with H.E.S.S

2006-06-13

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0606311v2

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Replaced version: Fig 3 RA axis labels corrected (13h -> 14h)

Scientific paper

10.1051/0004-6361:20065511

Aims. Search for Very High Energy gamma-ray emission in the Kookaburra complex through observations with the H.E.S.S. array. Methods. Stereoscopic imaging of Cherenkov light emission of the gamma-ray showers in the atmosphere is used for the reconstruction and selection of the events to search for gamma-ray signals. Their spectrum is derived by a forward-folding maximum likelihood fit. Results. Two extended gamma-ray sources with an angular (68%) radius of 3.3-3.4' are discovered at high (>13sigma) statistical significance: HESS J1420-607 and HESS J1418-609. They exhibit a flux above 1 TeV of (2.97+/-0.18stat +/-0.60sys)x10-12 and (2.17+/-0.17stat +/-0.43sys)x10-12 cm-2 s-1, respectively, and similar hard photon indices ~2.2. Multi-wavelength comparisons show spatial coincidence with the wings of the Kookaburra. Two pulsar wind nebulae candidates, K3/PSR J1420-6048 and the Rabbit, lie on the edge of the H.E.S.S. sources. Conclusions. The two new sources confirm the non-thermal nature of at least parts of the two radio wings which overlap with the gamma-ray emission and establish their connection with the two X-ray pulsar wind nebulae candidates. Given the large point spread function of EGRET, the unidentified source(s) 3EG J1420-6038/GeV J1417-6100 could possibly be related to either or both H.E.S.S. sources. The most likely explanation for the Very High Energy gamma-rays discovered by H.E.S.S. is inverse Compton emission of accelerated electrons on the Cosmic Microwave Background near the two candidate pulsar wind nebulae, K3/PSR J1420-6048 and the Rabbit. Two scenarios which could lead to the observed large (~10 pc) offset-nebula type morphologies are briefly discussed.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Discovery of the two wings of the Kookaburra complex in VHE gamma -rays 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 the two wings of the Kookaburra complex in VHE gamma -rays 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 the two wings of the Kookaburra complex in VHE gamma -rays with H.E.S.S will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-45572