Issue |
A&A
Volume 537, January 2012
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A114 | |
Number of page(s) | 11 | |
Section | Astrophysical processes | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201117928 | |
Published online | 17 January 2012 |
Discovery of extended VHE γ-ray emission from the vicinity of the young massive stellar cluster Westerlund 1
1 Universität Hamburg, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
e-mail milton.virgilio.fernandes@physik.uni-hamburg.de
2 Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS/IN2P3, CC 72, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
3 Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, PO Box 103980, 69029 Heidelberg, Germany
4 Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 31 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
5 National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan
6 Yerevan Physics Institute, 2 Alikhanian Brothers St., 375036 Yerevan, Armenia
7 Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Physikalisches Institut, Erwin-Rommel-Str. 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
8 Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, ul. Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warsaw, Poland
9 CEA Saclay, DSM/IRFU, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette Cedex, France
10 University of Durham, Department of Physics, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
11 Astroparticule et Cosmologie (APC), CNRS, Université Paris 7 Denis Diderot, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France ⋆⋆⋆
12 Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École Polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, 91128 Palaiseau, France
13 Institut für Theoretische Physik, Lehrstuhl IV: Weltraum und Astrophysik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D 44780 Bochum, Germany
14 Landessternwarte, Universität Heidelberg, Königstuhl, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
15 Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
16 LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
17 LPNHE, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, Université Denis Diderot Paris 7, CNRS/IN2P3, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 5, France
18 Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, Sand 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
19 Astronomical Observatory, The University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warsaw, Poland
20 Unit for Space Physics, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
21 Laboratoire d’Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique des Particules, Université de Savoie, CNRS/IN2P3, 74941 Annecy-le-Vieux, France
22 Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Albanova University Center, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
23 University of Namibia, Department of Physics, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek, Namibia
24 Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Grenoble, INSU/CNRS, Université Joseph Fourier, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
25 Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
e-mail: physoh@leeds.ac.uk
26 Instytut Fizyki Jądrowej PAN, ul. Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Kraków, Poland
27 Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
28 Obserwatorium Astronomiczne, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ul. Orla 171, 30-244 Kraków, Poland
29 Toruń Centre for Astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus University, ul. Gagarina 11, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
30 School of Chemistry & Physics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
31 Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, V Holešovičkách 2, 180 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic
32 School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
33 European Associated Laboratory for Gamma-Ray Astronomy, jointly supported by CNRS and MPG
Received: 22 August 2011
Accepted: 12 October 2011
Aims. Results obtained in very-high-energy (VHE; E ≥ 100 GeV) γ-ray observations performed with the H.E.S.S. telescope array are used to investigate particle acceleration processes in the vicinity of the young massive stellar cluster Westerlund 1 (Wd 1).
Methods. Imaging of Cherenkov light from γ-ray induced particle cascades in the Earth’s atmosphere is used to search for VHE γ rays from the region around Wd 1. Possible catalogued counterparts are searched for and discussed in terms of morphology and energetics of the H.E.S.S. source.
Results. The detection of the degree-scale extended VHE γ-ray source HESS J1646–458 is reported based on 45 h of H.E.S.S. observations performed between 2004 and 2008. The VHE γ-ray source is centred on the nominal position of Wd 1 and detected with a total statistical significance of ~20σ. The emission region clearly extends beyond the H.E.S.S. point-spread function (PSF). The differential energy spectrum follows a power law in energy with an index of Γ = 2.19 ± 0.08stat ± 0.20sys and a flux normalisation at 1 TeV of Φ0 = (9.0 ± 1.4stat ± 1.8sys) × 10-12 TeV-1 cm-2 s-1. The integral flux above 0.2 TeV amounts to (5.2 ± 0.9) × 10-11 cm-2 s-1.
Conclusions. Four objects coincident with HESS J1646–458 are discussed in the search of a counterpart, namely the magnetar CXOU J164710.2 − 455216, the X-ray binary 4U 1642–45, the pulsar PSR J1648–4611 and the massive stellar cluster Wd 1. In a single-source scenario, Wd 1 is favoured as site of VHE particle acceleration. Here, a hadronic parent population would be accelerated within the stellar cluster. Beside this, there is evidence for a multi-source origin, where a scenario involving PSR J1648–4611 could be viable to explain parts of the VHE γ-ray emission of HESS J1646–458.
Key words: open clusters and associations: general / gamma rays: stars / astroparticle physics
© ESO, 2012
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