Aims. Following the detection of the fast radio burst FRB150418 by the SUPERB project at the Parkes radio telescope, we aim to search for very-high energy gamma-ray afterglow emission. Methods. ...Follow-up observations in the very-high energy gamma-ray domain were obtained with the H.E.S.S. imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope system within 14.5 h of the radio burst. Results. The obtained 1.4 h of gamma-ray observations are presented and discussed. At the 99% C.L. we obtained an integral upper limit on the gamma-ray flux of Phi sub( gamma )(E> 350 GeV) < 1.33 x 10 super(-8) m super(-2) s super(-1). Differential flux upper limits as function of the photon energy were derived and used to constrain the intrinsic high-energy afterglow emission of FRB 150418. Conclusions. No hints for high-energy afterglow emission of FRB 150418 were found. Taking absorption on the extragalactic background light into account and assuming a distance of z= 0.492 based on radio and optical counterpart studies and consistent with the FRB dispersion, we constrain the gamma-ray luminosity at 1 TeV to L< 5.1 x 10 super(47) erg/s at 99% C.L.
Using the High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) telescopes we have discovered a steady and extended very high-energy (VHE) γ-ray source towards the luminous blue variable candidate LBV 1806−20, ...massive stellar cluster Cl* 1806−20, and magnetar SGR 1806−20. The new VHE source, HESS J1808−204, was detected at a statistical significance of >6σ (post-trial) with a photon flux normalisation (2.9 ± 0.4stat ± 0.5sys) × 10−13 ph cm−2 s−1 TeV−1 at 1 TeV and a power-law photon index of 2.3 ± 0.2stat ± 0.3sys. The luminosity of this source (0.2 to 10 TeV; scaled to distance d = 8.7 kpc) is LVHE ~ 1.6 × 1034(d/8.7 kpc)2 erg s−1. The VHE γ-ray emission is extended and is well fit by a single Gaussian with statistical standard deviation of 0.095° ± 0.015°. This extension is similar to that of the synchrotron radio nebula G10.0−0.3, which is thought to be powered by LBV 1806−20. The VHE γ-ray luminosity could be provided by the stellar wind luminosity of LBV 1806−20 by itself and/or the massive star members of Cl* 1806−20. Alternatively, magnetic dissipation (e.g. via reconnection) from SGR 1806−20 can potentially account for the VHE luminosity. The origin and hadronic and/or leptonic nature of the accelerated particles responsible for HESS J1808−204 is not yet clear. If associated with SGR 1806−20, the potentially young age of the magnetar (650 yr) can be used to infer the transport limits of these particles to match the VHE source size. This discovery provides new interest in the potential for high-energy particle acceleration from magnetars, massive stars, and/or stellar clusters.
Here we report the results of the first ever contemporaneous multi-wavelength observation campaign on the BL Lac object PKS 2155−304 involving Swift, NuSTAR, Fermi-LAT, and H.E.S.S. The use of these ...instruments allows us to cover a broad energy range, which is important for disentangling the different radiative mechanisms. The source, observed from June 2013 to October 2013, was found in a low flux state with respect to previous observations but exhibited highly significant flux variability in the X-rays. The high-energy end of the synchrotron spectrum can be traced up to 40 keV without significant contamination by high-energy emission. A one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model was used to reproduce the broadband flux of the source for all the observations presented here but failed for previous observations made in April 2013. A lepto-hadronic solution was then explored to explain these earlier observational results.
Using the High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) telescopes we have discovered a steady and extended very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray source towards the luminous blue variable candidate LBV ...1806-20, massive stellar cluster Cl* 1806-20, and magnetar SGR 1806-20. The new VHE source, HESS J1808-204, was detected at a statistical significance of >6 sigma (post-trial) with a photon flux normalisation (2.9 +/- 0.4(stat) +/- 0.5(sys)) x 10(-13) ph cm(-2) s(-1) TeV-1 at 1 TeV and a power-law photon index of 2.3 +/- 0.2(stat) +/- 0.3(sys). The luminosity of this source (0.2 to 10 TeV; scaled to distance d = 8 : 7 kpc) is L-VHE similar to 1.6 x 10(34)(d = 8.7 kpc)(2) erg s(-1). The VHE gamma-ray emission is extended and is well fit by a single Gaussian with statistical standard deviation of 0.095 degrees +/- 0.015 degrees. This extension is similar to that of the synchrotron radio nebula G10.0-0.3, which is thought to be powered by LBV 1806-20. The VHE gamma-ray luminosity could be provided by the stellar wind luminosity of LBV 1806-20 by itself and/or the massive star members of Cl* 1806-20. Alternatively, magnetic dissipation (e.g. via reconnection) from SGR 1806-20 can potentially account for the VHE luminosity. The origin and hadronic and/or leptonic nature of the accelerated particles responsible for HESS J1808-204 is not yet clear. If associated with SGR 1806 20, the potentially young age of the magnetar (650 yr) can be used to infer the transport limits of these particles to match the VHE source size. This discovery provides new interest in the potential for high-energy particle acceleration from magnetars, massive stars, and/or stellar clusters.
Context. Runaway stars form bow shocks by ploughing through the interstellar medium at supersonic speeds and are promising sources of non-thermal emission of photons. One of these objects has been ...found to emit non-thermal radiation in the radio band. This triggered the development of theoretical models predicting non-thermal photons from radio up to very-high-energy (VHE, E ≥ 0.1 TeV) gamma rays. Subsequently, one bow shock was also detected in X-ray observations. However, the data did not allow discrimination between a hot thermal and a non-thermal origin. Further observations of different candidates at X-ray energies showed no evidence for emission at the position of the bow shocks either. A systematic search in the Fermi-LAT energy regime resulted in flux upper limits for 27 candidates listed in the E-BOSS catalogue. Aim. Here we perform the first systematic search for VHE gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars. Methods. Using all available archival H.E.S.S. data we search for very-high-energy gamma-ray emission at the positions of bow shock candidates listed in the second E-BOSS catalogue release. Out of the 73 bow shock candidates in this catalogue, 32 have been observed with H.E.S.S. Results. None of the observed 32 bow shock candidates in this population study show significant emission in the H.E.S.S. energy range. Therefore, flux upper limits are calculated in five energy bins and the fraction of the kinetic wind power that is converted into VHE gamma rays is constrained. Conclusions. Emission from stellar bow shocks is not detected in the energy range between 0.14 and 18 TeV.The resulting upper limits constrain the level of VHE gamma-ray emission from these objects down to 0.1–1% of the kinetic wind energy.
The Picard code for the numerical solution of the Galactic cosmic ray propagation problem allows for high-resolution models that acknowledge the 3D structure of our Galaxy. Picard was used to ...determine diffuse gamma-ray emission of the Galaxy over the energy range from 100 MeV to 100 TeV. We discuss the impact of a cosmic-ray source distribution aligned with the Galactic spiral arms for a range of such spiral-arm models. As expected, the impact on the gamma-ray emission is most distinct in the inverse-Compton channel, where imprints of the spiral arms are visible and yield predictions that are no longer symmetric to the rotational axis of the Milkyway. We will illustrate these differences by a direct comparison to results from previous axially symmetric Galactic propagation models: we find differences in the gamma-ray flux both on global scales and on local scales related to the spiral arm tangents. We compare gamma-ray flux and spectra at on-arm vs. off-arm projections and characterize the differences to axially symmetric models.
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