Demystifying an Unidentified EGRET Source by VHE gamma-ray Observations
In a novel approach in observational high-energy gamma-ray astronomy, observations carried out by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes provide necessary templates to pinpoint the nature of intriguing, yet unidentified EGRET gamma-ray sources. Using GeV-photons detected by CGRO EGRET and taking advantage of high spatial resolution images from H.E.S.S. observations, we were able to shed new light on the EGRET observed gamma-ray emission in the Kookaburra complex, whose previous coverage in the literature is some-what contradictory. 3EGJ1420-6038 very likely accounts for two GeV gamma-ray sources (E>1 GeV), both in positional coincidence with the recently reported pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) by HESS in the Kookaburra/Rabbit complex. PWN associations at VHE energies, supported by accumulating evidence from observations in the radio and X-ray band, are indicative for the PSR/plerionic origin of spatially coincident, but still unidentified Galactic gamma-ray sources from EGRET. This not only supports the already suggested connection between variable, but unidentified low-latitude gamma-ray sources with pulsar wind nebulae (3EGJ1420-6038 has been suggested as PWN candidate previously), it also documents the ability of resolving apparently confused EGRET sources by connecting the GeV emission as measured from a large-aperture space-based gamma-ray instrument with narrow field-of-view but superior spatial resolution observations by ground-based atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, a very promising identification technique for achieving convincing individual source identifications in the era of GLAST-LAT.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 902496
- Report Number(s):
- SLAC-PUB-12464; astro-ph/0611653; TRN: US200717%%364
- Journal Information:
- Submitted to Astrophys.Space Sci., Conference: To appear in the proceedings of The Multi-Messenger Approach to Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources: 3rd Workshop on the Nature of Unidentified High-Energy Sources, Barcelona, Spain, 4-7 Jul 2006
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
VHE gamma-ray Emitting Pulsar Wind Nebulae Discovered by H.E.S.S.
Deep view of the Large Magellanic Cloud with six years of Fermi -LAT observations