Discovery of very high energy γ-ray emission from the snr g54.1+0.3
Acciari, V. A. Aliu, E. Arlen, T. Aune, T. Bautista, M. Beilicke, M. Benbow, W. Boltuch, D. Bradbury, S. M. Buckley, J. H.
Acciari, V. A.
Aliu, E.
Arlen, T.
Aune, T.
Bautista, M.
Beilicke, M.
Benbow, W.
Boltuch, D.
Bradbury, S. M.
Buckley, J. H.
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Publication Date
2010-07-22
Type
Article
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Acciari, V. A. Aliu, E.; Arlen, T.; Aune, T.; Bautista, M.; Beilicke, M.; Benbow, W.; Boltuch, D.; Bradbury, S. M.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V.; Butt, Y.; Byrum, K.; Cesarini, A.; Ciupik, L.; Cui, W.; Dickherber, R.; Duke, C.; Finley, J. P.; Finnegan, G.; Fortson, L.; Furniss, A.; Galante, N.; Gall, D.; Gillanders, G. H.; Godambe, S.; Gotthelf, E. V.; Grube, J.; Guenette, R.; Gyuk, G.; Hanna, D.; Holder, J.; Hui, C. M.; Humensky, T. B.; Imran, A.; Kaaret, P.; Karlsson, N.; Kertzman, M.; Kieda, D.; Konopelko, A.; Krawczynski, H.; Krennrich, F.; Lang, M. J.; LeBohec, S.; Maier, G.; McArthur, S.; McCann, A.; McCutcheon, M.; Moriarty, P.; Muhkerjee, R.; Ong, R. A.; Otte, A. N.; Pandel, D.; Perkins, J. S.; Pohl, M.; Quinn, J.; Ragan, K.; Reyes, L. C.; Reynolds, P. T.; Roache, E.; Rose, H. J.; Schroedter, M.; Sembroski, G. H.; Senturk, G. Demet; Slane, P.; Smith, A. W.; Steele, D.; Swordy, S. P.; Těsić, G.; Theiling, M.; Thibadeau, S.; Vassiliev, V. V.; Vincent, S.; Wakely, S. P.; Ward, J. E.; Weekes, T. C.; Weinstein, A.; Weisgarber, T.; Williams, D. A.; Wissel, S.; Wood, M.; Zitzer, B. (2010). Discovery of very high energy γ-ray emission from the snr g54.1+0.3. The Astrophysical Journal 719 (1), L69-L73
Abstract
We report the discovery of very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission from the direction of the SNR G54.1+ 0.3 using the VERITAS ground-based gamma-ray observatory. The TeV signal has an overall significance of 6.8s and appears pointlike given the resolution of the instrument. The integral flux above 1 TeV is 2.5% of the Crab Nebula flux and significant emission is measured between 250 GeV and 4 TeV, well described by a power-law energy spectrum dN/dE similar to E(-Gamma) with a photon index Gamma = 2.39 +/- 0.23(stat) +/- 0.30sys. We find no evidence of time variability among observations spanning almost two years. Based on the location, the morphology, the measured spectrum, the lack of variability, and a comparison with similar systems previously detected in the TeV band, the most likely counterpart of this new VHE gamma-ray source is the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) in the SNR G54.1+0.3. The measured X-ray to VHE gamma-ray luminosity ratio is the lowest among all the nebulae supposedly driven by young rotation-powered pulsars, which could indicate a particle-dominated PWN.
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Publisher
IOP Publishing
Publisher DOI
10.1088/2041-8205/719/1/l69
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland