Upper limits on very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from core-collapse supernovae observed with H.E.S.S.

¹ Centre for Space Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
² Universität Hamburg, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
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 High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory, RAU, 123 Hovsep Emin St Yerevan 0051, Armenia
⁶ Yerevan Physics Institute, 2 Alikhanian Brothers St., 375036 Yerevan, Armenia
⁷ Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
⁸ Department of Physics, University of Namibia, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek, 12010, Namibia
⁹ GRAPPA, Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
¹⁰ Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Linnaeus University, 351 95 Växjö, Sweden
¹¹ Institut für Theoretische Physik, Lehrstuhl IV: Weltraum und Astrophysik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
¹² Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
¹³ School of Physical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
¹⁴ LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
¹⁵ Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies, LPNHE, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
¹⁶ Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université Montpellier, CNRS/IN2P3, CC 72, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
¹⁷ IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
¹⁸ Astronomical Observatory, The University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warsaw, Poland
¹⁹ Aix Marseille Université, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
²⁰ Instytut Fizyki Ja̧drowej PAN, ul. Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Kraków, Poland
²¹ School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
²² Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAPP, 74000 Annecy, France
²³ Landessternwarte, Universität Heidelberg, Königstuhl, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
²⁴ Université Bordeaux, CNRS/IN2P3, Centre d’Études Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, 33175 Gradignan, France
²⁵ Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, Sand 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
²⁶ Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École Polytechnique, UMR 7638, CNRS/IN2P3, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France
²⁷ APC, AstroParticule et Cosmologie, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS/IN2P3, CEA/Irfu, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 10, rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France
²⁸ Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
²⁹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Leicester University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
³⁰ Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warsaw, Poland
³¹ Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
³² Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Erwin-Rommel-Str. 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
³³ DESY, 15738 Zeuthen, Germany
³⁴ Obserwatorium Astronomiczne, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ul. Orla 171, 30-244 Kraków, Poland
³⁵ Centre for Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Grudziadzka 5, 87-100 Torun, Poland
³⁶ Department of Physics, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
³⁷ Department of Physics, Rikkyo University, 3-34-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8501, Japan
³⁸ Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwa-no-Ha, Kashiwa City, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
³⁹ Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
⁴⁰ RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
⁴¹ Now at Physik Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
⁴² Now at Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICC UB), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
⁴³ School of Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Received: 10 February 2019
Accepted: 15 April 2019

Abstract

Young core-collapse supernovae with dense-wind progenitors may be able to accelerate cosmic-ray hadrons beyond the knee of the cosmic-ray spectrum, and this may result in measurable gamma-ray emission. We searched for gamma-ray emission from ten supernovae observed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) within a year of the supernova event. Nine supernovae were observed serendipitously in the H.E.S.S. data collected between December 2003 and December 2014, with exposure times ranging from 1.4 to 53 h. In addition we observed SN 2016adj as a target of opportunity in February 2016 for 13 h. No significant gamma-ray emission has been detected for any of the objects, and upper limits on the >1 TeV gamma-ray flux of the order of ~10⁻¹³ cm⁻²s⁻¹ are established, corresponding to upper limits on the luminosities in the range ~2 × 10³⁹ to ~1 × 10⁴² erg s⁻¹. These values are used to place model-dependent constraints on the mass-loss rates of the progenitor stars, implying upper limits between ~2 × 10⁻⁵ and ~2 × 10⁻³ M_⊙ yr⁻¹ under reasonable assumptions on the particle acceleration parameters.