TESTING THE MILLISECOND PULSAR SCENARIO OF THE GALACTIC CENTER GAMMA-RAY EXCESS WITH VERY HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAYS
- Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002 (United States)
- Theory Center, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, KEK, Tsukuba 305-0801 (Japan)
Recent analyses of Fermi Large Area Telescope data show an extended GeV γ-ray excess on top of the expected diffuse background in the Galactic center region, which can be explained by annihilating dark matter (DM) or a population of millisecond pulsars (MSPs). We propose observations of very high energy (VHE) γ-rays to distinguish the MSP scenario from the DM scenario. GeV γ-ray MSPs should release most of their energy to the relativistic e{sup ±} wind, which will diffuse into the Galaxy and radiate TeV γ-rays through inverse Compton scattering and bremsstrahlung processes. By calculating the spectrum and spatial distribution, we show that such emission is detectable with the next generation VHE γ-ray observatory, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), under reasonable model parameters. It is essential to search for multi-wavelength counterparts to the GeV γ-ray excess in order to solve this mystery in the high-energy universe.
- OSTI ID:
- 22522014
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 802, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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