Bibcode
Abeysekara, A. U.; Benbow, W.; Bird, R.; Brill, A.; Brose, R.; Buckley, J. H.; Chromey, A. J.; Daniel, M. K.; Falcone, A.; Finley, J. P.; Fortson, L.; Furniss, A.; Gent, A.; Gillanders, G. H.; Hanna, D.; Hassan, T.; Hervet, O.; Holder, J.; Hughes, G.; Humensky, T. B.; Kaaret, P.; Kar, P.; Kertzman, M.; Kieda, D.; Krause, M.; Krennrich, F.; Kumar, S.; Lang, M. J.; Lin, T. T. Y.; Maier, G.; Moriarty, P.; Mukherjee, R.; O’Brien, S.; Ong, R. A.; Otte, A. N.; Park, N.; Petrashyk, A.; Pohl, M.; Pueschel, E.; Quinn, J.; Ragan, K.; Richards, G. T.; Roache, E.; Sadeh, I.; Santander, M.; Schlenstedt, S.; Sembroski, G. H.; Sushch, I.; Tyler, J.; Vassiliev, V. V.; Wakely, S. P.; Weinstein, A.; Wells, R. M.; Wilcox, P.; Wilhelm, A.; Williams, D. A.; Williamson, T. J.; Zitzer, B.; VERITAS Collaboration; Acciari, V. A.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Arbet Engels, A.; Baack, D.; Babić, A.; Banerjee, B.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Berti, A.; Besenrieder, J.; Bhattacharyya, W.; Bigongiari, C.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnoli, G.; Busetto, G.; Carosi, R.; Ceribella, G.; Cikota, S.; Colak, S. M.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; D’Elia, V.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Lotto, B.; Delfino, M.; Delgado, J.; Di Pierro, F.; Do Souto Espiñera, E.; Domínguez, A.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D. et al.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 867, Issue 1, article id. L19, 8 pp. (2018).
Advertised on:
11
2018
Citations
43
Refereed citations
33
Description
We report on observations of the pulsar/Be star binary system PSR
J2032+4127/MT91 213 in the energy range between 100 {GeV} and 20 {TeV}
with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array and Major
Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescope arrays. The binary orbit
has a period of approximately 50 years, with the most recent periastron
occurring on 2017 November 13. Our observations span from 18 months
prior to periastron to one month after. A new point-like gamma-ray
source is detected, coincident with the location of PSR J2032+4127/MT91
213. The gamma-ray light curve and spectrum are well characterized over
the periastron passage. The flux is variable over at least an order of
magnitude, peaking at periastron, thus providing a firm association of
the TeV source with the pulsar/Be star system. Observations prior to
periastron show a cutoff in the spectrum at an energy around 0.5 {TeV}.
This result adds a new member to the small population of known TeV
binaries, and it identifies only the second source of this class in
which the nature and properties of the compact object are firmly
established. We compare the gamma-ray results with the light curve
measured with the X-ray Telescope on board the Neil Gehrels Swift
Observatory and with the predictions of recent theoretical models of the
system. We conclude that significant revision of the models is required
to explain the details of the emission that we have observed, and we
discuss the relationship between the binary system and the overlapping
steady extended source, TeV J2032+4130.
Related projects
Particle Astrophysics
The MAGIC Collaboration is integrated by 20 research institutes and university departments from Armenia, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and USA. The collaboration comprises two 17m diameter telescopes, located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, designed to measure the Cherenkov radiation associated with
Ramón
García López