We present the first catalog of TeV gamma-ray sources realized with data from the newly completed High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC). It is the most sensitive wide field-of-view TeV ...telescope currently in operation, with a one-year survey sensitivity of ∼5%-10% of the flux of the Crab Nebula. With an instantaneous field of view >1.5 sr and >90% duty cycle, it continuously surveys and monitors the sky for gamma-ray energies between hundreds of GeV and tens of TeV. HAWC is located in Mexico, at a latitude of 19° N, and was completed in 2015 March. Here, we present the 2HWC catalog, which is the result of the first source search performed with the complete HAWC detector. Realized with 507 days of data, it represents the most sensitive TeV survey to date for such a large fraction of the sky. A total of 39 sources were detected, with an expected number of false detections of 0.5 due to background fluctuation. Out of these sources, 19 are new sources that are not associated with previously known TeV sources (association criteria: <0 5 away). The source list, including the position measurement, spectrum measurement, and uncertainties, is reported, then each source is briefly discussed. Of the 2HWC associated sources, 10 are reported in TeVCat as PWN or SNR: 2 as blazars and the remaining eight as unidentified.
The unexpectedly high flux of cosmic-ray positrons detected at Earth may originate from nearby astrophysical sources, dark matter, or unknown processes of cosmic-ray secondary production. We report ...the detection, using the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC), of extended tera–electron volt gamma-ray emission coincident with the locations of two nearby middle-aged pulsars (Geminga and PSR B0656+14). The HAWC observations demonstrate that these pulsars are indeed local sources of accelerated leptons, but the measured tera–electron volt emission profile constrains the diffusion of particles away from these sources to be much slower than previously assumed. We demonstrate that the leptons emitted by these objects are therefore unlikely to be the origin of the excess positrons, which may have a more exotic origin.
SS 433 is a binary system containing a supergiant star that is overflowing its Roche lobe with matter accreting onto a compact object (either a black hole or neutron star)
. Two jets of ionized ...matter with a bulk velocity of approximately 0.26c (where c is the speed of light in vacuum) extend from the binary, perpendicular to the line of sight, and terminate inside W50, a supernova remnant that is being distorted by the jets
. SS 433 differs from other microquasars (small-scale versions of quasars that are present within our own Galaxy) in that the accretion is believed to be super-Eddington
, and the luminosity of the system is about 10
ergs per second
. The lobes of W50 in which the jets terminate, about 40 parsecs from the central source, are expected to accelerate charged particles, and indeed radio and X-ray emission consistent with electron synchrotron emission in a magnetic field have been observed
. At higher energies (greater than 100 gigaelectronvolts), the particle fluxes of γ-rays from X-ray hotspots around SS 433 have been reported as flux upper limits
. In this energy regime, it has been unclear whether the emission is dominated by electrons that are interacting with photons from the cosmic microwave background through inverse-Compton scattering or by protons that are interacting with the ambient gas. Here we report teraelectronvolt γ-ray observations of the SS 433/W50 system that spatially resolve the lobes. The teraelectronvolt emission is localized to structures in the lobes, far from the centre of the system where the jets are formed. We have measured photon energies of at least 25 teraelectronvolts, and these are certainly not Doppler-boosted, because of the viewing geometry. We conclude that the emission-from radio to teraelectronvolt energies-is consistent with a single population of electrons with energies extending to at least hundreds of teraelectronvolts in a magnetic field of about 16 microgauss.
Abstract
The Earth is bombarded by ultrarelativistic particles, known as cosmic rays (CRs). CRs with energies up to a few PeV (=10
15
eV), the knee in the particle spectrum, are believed to have a ...Galactic origin. One or more factories of PeV CRs, or PeVatrons, must thus be active within our Galaxy. The direct detection of PeV protons from their sources is not possible since they are deflected in the Galactic magnetic fields. Hundred TeV
γ
-rays from decaying
π
0
, produced when PeV CRs collide with the ambient gas, can provide the decisive evidence of proton acceleration up to the knee. Here we report the discovery by the High Altitude Water Cerenkov (HAWC) observatory of the
γ
-ray source, HAWC J1825-134, whose energy spectrum extends well beyond 200 TeV without a break or cutoff. The source is found to be coincident with a giant molecular cloud. The ambient gas density is as high as 700 protons cm
−3
. While the nature of this extreme accelerator remains unclear, CRs accelerated to energies of several PeV colliding with the ambient gas likely produce the observed radiation.
Abstract
The MGRO J2019+37 region is one of the brightest sources in the sky at TeV energies. It was detected in the second HAWC catalog as 2HWC J2019+367 and here we present a detailed study of this ...region using data from HAWC. This analysis resolves the region into two sources: HAWC J2019+368 and HAWC J2016+371. We associate HAWC J2016+371 with the evolved supernova remnant CTB 87, although its low significance in this analysis prevents a detailed study at this time. An investigation of the morphology (including possible energy-dependent morphology) and spectrum for HAWC J2019+368 is the focus of this work. We associate HAWC J2019+368 with PSR J2021+3651 and its X-ray pulsar wind nebula, the Dragonfly nebula. Modeling the spectrum measured by HAWC and Suzaku reveals a ∼7 kyr pulsar and nebula system producing the observed emission at X-ray and
γ
-ray energies.
Abstract
The latest High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) point-like source catalog up to 56 TeV reported the detection of two sources in the region of the Galactic plane at galactic longitude 52° <
ℓ
...< 55°, 3HWC J1930+188 and 3HWC J1928+178. The first one is associated with a known TeV source, the supernova remnant SNR G054.1+00.3. It was discovered by one of the currently operating Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT), the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS), detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S), and identified as a composite SNR. However, the source 3HWC J1928+178, discovered by HAWC and coincident with the pulsar PSR J1928+1746, was not detected by any IACT despite their long exposure on the region, until a recent new analysis of H.E.S.S. data was able to confirm it. Moreover, no X-ray counterpart has been detected from this pulsar. We present a multicomponent fit of this region using the latest HAWC data. This reveals an additional new source, HAWC J1932+192, which is potentially associated with the pulsar PSR J1932+1916, whose
γ
-ray emission could come from the acceleration of particles in its pulsar wind nebula. In the case of 3HWC J1928+178, several possible explanations are explored, in an attempt to unveil the origins of the very-high-energy
γ
-ray emission.
Abstract
Extended very-high-energy (VHE; 0.1–100 TeV)
γ
-ray emission has been observed around several middle-aged pulsars and referred to as “TeV halos.” Their formation mechanism remains under ...debate. It is also unknown whether they are ubiquitous or related to a certain subgroup of pulsars. With 2321 days of observation, the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory detected VHE
γ
-ray emission at the location of the radio-quiet pulsar PSR J0359+5414 with >6
σ
significance. By performing likelihood tests with different spectral and spatial models and comparing the TeV spectrum with multiwavelength observations of nearby sources, we show that this excess is consistent with a TeV halo associated with PSR J0359+5414, though future observation of HAWC and multiwavelength follow-ups are needed to confirm this nature. This new halo candidate is located in a noncrowded region in the outer galaxy. It shares similar properties to the other halos but its pulsar is younger and radio-quiet. Our observation implies that TeV halos could commonly exist around pulsars and their formation does not depend on the configuration of the pulsar magnetosphere.
Abstract
In the quest for high-energy neutrino sources, the Astrophysical Multimessenger Observatory Network has implemented a new search by combining data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov ...(HAWC) Observatory and the Astronomy with a Neutrino Telescope and Abyss environmental RESearch (ANTARES) neutrino telescope. Using the same analysis strategy as in a previous detector combination of HAWC and IceCube data, we perform a search for coincidences in HAWC and ANTARES events that are below the threshold for sending public alerts in each individual detector. Data were collected between 2015 July and 2020 February with a live time of 4.39 yr. Over this time period, three coincident events with an estimated false-alarm rate of <1 coincidence per year were found. This number is consistent with background expectations.
A supermassive black hole, obscured by cosmic dust, powers the nearby active galaxy NGC 1068. Neutrinos, which rarely interact with matter, could provide information on the galaxy’s active core. We ...searched for neutrino emission from astrophysical objects using data recorded with the IceCube neutrino detector between 2011 and 2020. The positions of 110 known gamma-ray sources were individually searched for neutrino detections above atmospheric and cosmic backgrounds. We found that NGC 1068 has an excess of
79
−
20
+
22
neutrinos at tera–electron volt energies, with a global significance of 4.2σ, which we interpret as associated with the active galaxy. The flux of high-energy neutrinos that we measured from NGC 1068 is more than an order of magnitude higher than the upper limit on emissions of tera–electron volt gamma rays from this source.
Nearby active galaxy emits neutrinos
Observations have shown a diffuse background of high-energy neutrinos, which is known to be of extragalactic origin. However, it has been difficult to identify individual sources that contribute to this background. The IceCube Collaboration reanalyzed the arrival directions of astrophysical neutrinos and then searched for point sources (see the Perspective by Murase). They identified evidence for neutrino emission from NGC 1068 (also known as Messier 77), a nearby active galaxy. Its properties are quite different from TXS 0506+056, which was found to be a neutrino source in 2018, leading the investigators to suggest that there might be more than one population contributing to the neutrino background. —KTS
The arrival directions of astrophysical neutrinos indicate point source neutrino emission from NGC 1068.
We present the first catalog of gamma-ray sources emitting above 56 and 100 TeV with data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory, a wide field-of-view observatory capable of detecting ...gamma rays up to a few hundred TeV. Nine sources are observed above 56 TeV, all of which are likely galactic in origin. Three sources continue emitting past 100 TeV, making this the highest-energy gamma-ray source catalog to date. We report the integral flux of each of these objects. We also report spectra for three highest-energy sources and discuss the possibility that they are PeVatrons.
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