DISCOVERY OF TeV GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM CTA 1 BY VERITAS

Journal Article · Sun Feb 10 04:00:00 EST 2013 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/764/1/38· OSTI ID:22167835

Aliu, E.; Errando, M. ^[1]; Archambault, S. ^[2]; Arlen, T. ^[3]; Aune, T.; Bouvier, A. ^[4]; Beilicke, M.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V.; Dickherber, R. ^[5]; Benbow, W. ^[6]; Cesarini, A.; Connolly, M. P. ^[7]; Ciupik, L. ^[8]; Collins-Hughes, E. ^[9]; Cui, W. ^[10]; Duke, C. ^[11]; Dumm, J. ^[12]; Dwarkadas, V. V. ^[13]; others, and

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Barnard College, Columbia University, NY 10027 (United States)
2. Physics Department, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8 (Canada)
3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)
4. Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
5. Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 (United States)
6. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Amado, AZ 85645 (United States)
7. School of Physics, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway (Ireland)
8. Astronomy Department, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago, IL 60605 (United States)
9. School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 (Ireland)
10. Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States)
11. Department of Physics, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA 50112-1690 (United States)
12. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)
13. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)

We report the discovery of TeV gamma-ray emission coincident with the shell-type radio supernova remnant (SNR) CTA 1 using the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory. The source, VER J0006+729, was detected as a 6.5 standard deviation excess over background and shows an extended morphology, approximated by a two-dimensional Gaussian of semimajor (semiminor) axis 0. Degree-Sign 30 (0. Degree-Sign 24) and a centroid 5' from the Fermi gamma-ray pulsar PSR J0007+7303 and its X-ray pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The photon spectrum is well described by a power-law dN/dE = N {sub 0}(E/3 TeV){sup -{Gamma}}, with a differential spectral index of {Gamma} = 2.2 {+-} 0.2{sub stat} {+-} 0.3{sub sys}, and normalization N {sub 0} = (9.1 {+-} 1.3{sub stat} {+-} 1.7{sub sys}) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -14} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} TeV{sup -1}. The integral flux, F {sub {gamma}} = 4.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -12} erg cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} above 1 TeV, corresponds to 0.2% of the pulsar spin-down power at 1.4 kpc. The energetics, colocation with the SNR, and the relatively small extent of the TeV emission strongly argue for the PWN origin of the TeV photons. We consider the origin of the TeV emission in CTA 1.

• OSTI ID: 22167835
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 764; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
APPROXIMATIONS
EMISSION
GAMMA RADIATION
MORPHOLOGY
NEBULAE
PHOTONS
PULSARS
SPIN
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS
SUPERNOVAE
TEV RANGE
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
X RADIATION