HESS J1741-302: a hidden accelerator in the Galactic plane
The H.E.S.S. Collaboration has discovered a new very high energy (VHE, <i>E<i/> > 0.1 TeV) <i>γ<i/>-ray source, HESS J1741−302, located in the Galactic plane. Despite several attempts to constrain its nature, no plausible counterpart has been found so far at X-ray and MeV/...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Corporate Author: | |
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
09 April 2018
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| In: |
Astronomy and astrophysics
Year: 2018, Volume: 612 |
| ISSN: | 1432-0746 |
| DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361/201730581 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201730581 Verlag, Volltext: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2018/04/aa30581-17/aa30581-17.html 
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| Author Notes: | H.E.S.S. Collaboration: H. Abdalla, D. Glawion, W. Hofmann, F. Jankowsky, M. Mohamed, A. Quirrenbach, F. Rieger, S. Schwemmer, S.J. Wagner [und weitere] |
| Summary: | The H.E.S.S. Collaboration has discovered a new very high energy (VHE, <i>E<i/> > 0.1 TeV) <i>γ<i/>-ray source, HESS J1741−302, located in the Galactic plane. Despite several attempts to constrain its nature, no plausible counterpart has been found so far at X-ray and MeV/GeV <i>γ<i/>-ray energies, and the source remains unidentified. An analysis of 145-h of observations of HESS J1741−302 at VHEs has revealed a steady and relatively weak TeV source (~1% of the Crab Nebula flux), with a spectral index of <i>Γ<i/> = 2.3 ± 0.2<sub>stat<sub/> ± 0.2<sub>sys<sub/>, extending to energies up to 10 TeV without any clear signature of a cut-off. In a hadronic scenario, such a spectrum implies an object with particle acceleration up to energies of several hundred TeV. Contrary to most H.E.S.S. unidentified sources, the angular size of HESS J1741−302 is compatible with the H.E.S.S. point spread function at VHEs, with an extension constrained to be below 0.068° at a 99% confidence level. The <i>γ<i/>-ray emission detected by H.E.S.S. can be explained both within a hadronic scenario, due to collisions of protons with energies of hundreds of TeV with dense molecular clouds, and in a leptonic scenario, as a relic pulsar wind nebula, possibly powered by the middle-aged (20 kyr) pulsar PSR B1737−30. A binary scenario, related to the compact radio source 1LC 358.266+0.038 found to be spatially coincident with the best fit position of HESS J1741−302, is also envisaged. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 18.06.2019 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1432-0746 |
| DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361/201730581 |