Gamma-ray follow-up studies on η Carinae
Abstract
Observations of high-energy γ-rays recently revealed a persistent source in spatial coincidence with the binary system η Carinae. Since modulation of the observed γ-ray flux on orbital time scales has not been reported so far, an unambiguous identification was hitherto not possible. In particular, the observations made by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) posed additional questions regarding the actual emission scenario. Analyses show two energetically distinct components in the γ-ray spectrum, which are best described by an exponentially cutoff power-law function (CPL) at energies below 10 GeV and a power-law (PL) component dominant at higher energies. The increased exposure in conjunction with the improved instrumental response functions of the LAT now allow us to perform a more detailed investigation of location, spectral shape, and flux time history of the observed γ-ray emission. Furthermore, we detect a weak but regular flux decrease over time. This can be understood and interpreted in a colliding-wind binary scenario for orbital modulation of the γ-ray emission. We find that the spectral shape of the γ-ray signal agrees with a single emitting particle population in combination with significant absorption by γ-γ pair production. We are able to report on the first unambiguous detection of GeVmore »
- Authors:
-
- Leopold Franzens Univ. Innsbruck (Austria). Inst. of Astrophysics and Particle Physics and Inst. for Theoretical Physics
- Leopold Franzens Univ. Innsbruck (Austria). Inst. of Astrophysics and Particle Physics and Inst. for Theoretical Physics; Stanford Univ. and SLAC National Accelerator Lab., CA (United States). Kavli Inst. for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
- Hiroshima Univ. (Japan). Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- Contributing Org.:
- Fermi LAT Collaboration
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1356685
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 544; Journal ID: ISSN 0004-6361
- Publisher:
- EDP Sciences
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; gamma rays: stars; stars: massive; binaries: general
Citation Formats
Reitberger, K., Reimer, O., Reimer, A., Werner, M., Egberts, K., and Takahashi, H. Gamma-ray follow-up studies on η Carinae. United States: N. p., 2012.
Web. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219249.
Reitberger, K., Reimer, O., Reimer, A., Werner, M., Egberts, K., & Takahashi, H. Gamma-ray follow-up studies on η Carinae. United States. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201219249
Reitberger, K., Reimer, O., Reimer, A., Werner, M., Egberts, K., and Takahashi, H. Wed .
"Gamma-ray follow-up studies on η Carinae". United States. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201219249. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1356685.
@article{osti_1356685,
title = {Gamma-ray follow-up studies on η Carinae},
author = {Reitberger, K. and Reimer, O. and Reimer, A. and Werner, M. and Egberts, K. and Takahashi, H.},
abstractNote = {Observations of high-energy γ-rays recently revealed a persistent source in spatial coincidence with the binary system η Carinae. Since modulation of the observed γ-ray flux on orbital time scales has not been reported so far, an unambiguous identification was hitherto not possible. In particular, the observations made by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) posed additional questions regarding the actual emission scenario. Analyses show two energetically distinct components in the γ-ray spectrum, which are best described by an exponentially cutoff power-law function (CPL) at energies below 10 GeV and a power-law (PL) component dominant at higher energies. The increased exposure in conjunction with the improved instrumental response functions of the LAT now allow us to perform a more detailed investigation of location, spectral shape, and flux time history of the observed γ-ray emission. Furthermore, we detect a weak but regular flux decrease over time. This can be understood and interpreted in a colliding-wind binary scenario for orbital modulation of the γ-ray emission. We find that the spectral shape of the γ-ray signal agrees with a single emitting particle population in combination with significant absorption by γ-γ pair production. We are able to report on the first unambiguous detection of GeV γ-ray emission from a colliding-wind massive star binary. By studying the correlation of the flux decrease with the orbital separation of the binary components allows us to predict the behaviour up to the next periastron passage in 2014.},
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/201219249},
journal = {Astronomy and Astrophysics},
number = ,
volume = 544,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012},
month = {Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012}
}
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