Constraints on the Emission of Gamma-Rays from M31 with HAWC
Abstract
Cosmic rays, along with stellar radiation and magnetic fields, are known to make up a significant fraction of the energy density of galaxies such as the Milky Way. When cosmic rays interact in the interstellar medium, they produce gamma-ray emission which provides an important indication of how the cosmic rays propagate. Gamma rays from the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), located 785 kpc away, provide a unique opportunity to study cosmic-ray acceleration and diffusion in a galaxy with a structure and evolution very similar to the Milky Way. Using 33 months of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory, we search for TeV gamma rays from the galactic plane of M31. We also investigate past and present evidence of galactic activity in M31 by searching for Fermi Bubble-like structures above and below the galactic nucleus. No significant gamma-ray emission is observed, so we use the null result to compute upper limits on the energy density of cosmic rays $>10$ TeV in M31. In conclusion, the computed upper limits are approximately ten times higher than expected from the extrapolation of the Fermi LAT results.
- Authors:
- more »
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
- Contributing Org.:
- HAWC Collaboration
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1670199
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0008475
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal (Online); Journal Volume: 893; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1538-4357
- Publisher:
- Institute of Physics (IOP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Citation Formats
Albert, A., Alfaro, R., Alvarez, C., Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C., Arunbabu, K. P., Avila Rojas, D., Ayala Solares, H. A., Belmont-Moreno, E., BenZvi, S. Y., Brisbois, C., Caballero-Mora, K. S., Capistrán, T., Carramiñana, A., Casanova, S., Cotti, U., Cotzomi, J., Coutiño de León, S., De la Fuente, E., de León, C., Dichiara, S., Dingus, B. L., DuVernois, M. A., Engel, K., Espinoza, C., Fleischhack, H., Fraija, N., Galván-Gámez, A., García-Aguilar, D., García-González, J. A., Garfias, F., González, M. M., Goodman, J. A., Harding, J. P., Hernandez, S., Hona, B., Huang, D., Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F., Hüntemeyer, P., Iriarte, A., Jardin-Blicq, A., Joshi, V., Kieda, D., Lee, W. H., León Vargas, H., Longinotti, A. L., Luis-Raya, G., Malone, K., Marinelli, S. S., Martinez, O., Martinez-Castellanos, I., Martínez-Castro, J., Matthews, J. A., Miranda-Romagnoli, P., Morales-Soto, J. A., Moreno, E., Mostafá, M., Nayerhoda, A., Nellen, L., Newbold, M., Noriega-Papaqui, R., Peisker, A., Pérez-Pérez, E. G., Ren, Z., Rho, C. D., Rosa-González, D., Rosenberg, M., Rubenzahl, R., Salazar, H., Salesa Greus, F., Sandoval, A., Schneider, M., Sinnis, G., Smith, A. J., Springer, R. W., Surajbali, P., Tabachnick, E., Tibolla, O., Tollefson, K., Torres, I., Villaseñor, L., Wood, J., Yapici, T., Zepeda, A., and Zhou, H.. Constraints on the Emission of Gamma-Rays from M31 with HAWC. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab7999.
Albert, A., Alfaro, R., Alvarez, C., Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C., Arunbabu, K. P., Avila Rojas, D., Ayala Solares, H. A., Belmont-Moreno, E., BenZvi, S. Y., Brisbois, C., Caballero-Mora, K. S., Capistrán, T., Carramiñana, A., Casanova, S., Cotti, U., Cotzomi, J., Coutiño de León, S., De la Fuente, E., de León, C., Dichiara, S., Dingus, B. L., DuVernois, M. A., Engel, K., Espinoza, C., Fleischhack, H., Fraija, N., Galván-Gámez, A., García-Aguilar, D., García-González, J. A., Garfias, F., González, M. M., Goodman, J. A., Harding, J. P., Hernandez, S., Hona, B., Huang, D., Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F., Hüntemeyer, P., Iriarte, A., Jardin-Blicq, A., Joshi, V., Kieda, D., Lee, W. H., León Vargas, H., Longinotti, A. L., Luis-Raya, G., Malone, K., Marinelli, S. S., Martinez, O., Martinez-Castellanos, I., Martínez-Castro, J., Matthews, J. A., Miranda-Romagnoli, P., Morales-Soto, J. A., Moreno, E., Mostafá, M., Nayerhoda, A., Nellen, L., Newbold, M., Noriega-Papaqui, R., Peisker, A., Pérez-Pérez, E. G., Ren, Z., Rho, C. D., Rosa-González, D., Rosenberg, M., Rubenzahl, R., Salazar, H., Salesa Greus, F., Sandoval, A., Schneider, M., Sinnis, G., Smith, A. J., Springer, R. W., Surajbali, P., Tabachnick, E., Tibolla, O., Tollefson, K., Torres, I., Villaseñor, L., Wood, J., Yapici, T., Zepeda, A., & Zhou, H.. Constraints on the Emission of Gamma-Rays from M31 with HAWC. United States. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab7999
Albert, A., Alfaro, R., Alvarez, C., Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C., Arunbabu, K. P., Avila Rojas, D., Ayala Solares, H. A., Belmont-Moreno, E., BenZvi, S. Y., Brisbois, C., Caballero-Mora, K. S., Capistrán, T., Carramiñana, A., Casanova, S., Cotti, U., Cotzomi, J., Coutiño de León, S., De la Fuente, E., de León, C., Dichiara, S., Dingus, B. L., DuVernois, M. A., Engel, K., Espinoza, C., Fleischhack, H., Fraija, N., Galván-Gámez, A., García-Aguilar, D., García-González, J. A., Garfias, F., González, M. M., Goodman, J. A., Harding, J. P., Hernandez, S., Hona, B., Huang, D., Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F., Hüntemeyer, P., Iriarte, A., Jardin-Blicq, A., Joshi, V., Kieda, D., Lee, W. H., León Vargas, H., Longinotti, A. L., Luis-Raya, G., Malone, K., Marinelli, S. S., Martinez, O., Martinez-Castellanos, I., Martínez-Castro, J., Matthews, J. A., Miranda-Romagnoli, P., Morales-Soto, J. A., Moreno, E., Mostafá, M., Nayerhoda, A., Nellen, L., Newbold, M., Noriega-Papaqui, R., Peisker, A., Pérez-Pérez, E. G., Ren, Z., Rho, C. D., Rosa-González, D., Rosenberg, M., Rubenzahl, R., Salazar, H., Salesa Greus, F., Sandoval, A., Schneider, M., Sinnis, G., Smith, A. J., Springer, R. W., Surajbali, P., Tabachnick, E., Tibolla, O., Tollefson, K., Torres, I., Villaseñor, L., Wood, J., Yapici, T., Zepeda, A., and Zhou, H.. Wed .
"Constraints on the Emission of Gamma-Rays from M31 with HAWC". United States. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab7999. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1670199.
@article{osti_1670199,
title = {Constraints on the Emission of Gamma-Rays from M31 with HAWC},
author = {Albert, A. and Alfaro, R. and Alvarez, C. and Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C. and Arunbabu, K. P. and Avila Rojas, D. and Ayala Solares, H. A. and Belmont-Moreno, E. and BenZvi, S. Y. and Brisbois, C. and Caballero-Mora, K. S. and Capistrán, T. and Carramiñana, A. and Casanova, S. and Cotti, U. and Cotzomi, J. and Coutiño de León, S. and De la Fuente, E. and de León, C. and Dichiara, S. and Dingus, B. L. and DuVernois, M. A. and Engel, K. and Espinoza, C. and Fleischhack, H. and Fraija, N. and Galván-Gámez, A. and García-Aguilar, D. and García-González, J. A. and Garfias, F. and González, M. M. and Goodman, J. A. and Harding, J. P. and Hernandez, S. and Hona, B. and Huang, D. and Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F. and Hüntemeyer, P. and Iriarte, A. and Jardin-Blicq, A. and Joshi, V. and Kieda, D. and Lee, W. H. and León Vargas, H. and Longinotti, A. L. and Luis-Raya, G. and Malone, K. and Marinelli, S. S. and Martinez, O. and Martinez-Castellanos, I. and Martínez-Castro, J. and Matthews, J. A. and Miranda-Romagnoli, P. and Morales-Soto, J. A. and Moreno, E. and Mostafá, M. and Nayerhoda, A. and Nellen, L. and Newbold, M. and Noriega-Papaqui, R. and Peisker, A. and Pérez-Pérez, E. G. and Ren, Z. and Rho, C. D. and Rosa-González, D. and Rosenberg, M. and Rubenzahl, R. and Salazar, H. and Salesa Greus, F. and Sandoval, A. and Schneider, M. and Sinnis, G. and Smith, A. J. and Springer, R. W. and Surajbali, P. and Tabachnick, E. and Tibolla, O. and Tollefson, K. and Torres, I. and Villaseñor, L. and Wood, J. and Yapici, T. and Zepeda, A. and Zhou, H.},
abstractNote = {Cosmic rays, along with stellar radiation and magnetic fields, are known to make up a significant fraction of the energy density of galaxies such as the Milky Way. When cosmic rays interact in the interstellar medium, they produce gamma-ray emission which provides an important indication of how the cosmic rays propagate. Gamma rays from the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), located 785 kpc away, provide a unique opportunity to study cosmic-ray acceleration and diffusion in a galaxy with a structure and evolution very similar to the Milky Way. Using 33 months of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory, we search for TeV gamma rays from the galactic plane of M31. We also investigate past and present evidence of galactic activity in M31 by searching for Fermi Bubble-like structures above and below the galactic nucleus. No significant gamma-ray emission is observed, so we use the null result to compute upper limits on the energy density of cosmic rays $>10$ TeV in M31. In conclusion, the computed upper limits are approximately ten times higher than expected from the extrapolation of the Fermi LAT results.},
doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ab7999},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal (Online)},
number = 1,
volume = 893,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {4}
}
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