Search for New Cosmic-Ray Acceleration Sites within the 4FGL Catalog Galactic Plane SourcesShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: Astrophysical Journal, ISSN 0004-637X, E-ISSN 1538-4357, Vol. 933, no 2, article id 204Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Cosmic rays are mostly composed of protons accelerated to relativistic speeds. When those protons encounter interstellar material, they produce neutral pions, which in turn decay into gamma-rays. This offers a compelling way to identify the acceleration sites of protons. A characteristic hadronic spectrum, with a low-energy break around 200 MeV, was detected in the gamma-ray spectra of four supernova remnants (SNRs), IC 443, W44, W49B, and W51C, with the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This detection provided direct evidence that cosmic-ray protons are (re-)accelerated in SNRs. Here, we present a comprehensive search for low-energy spectral breaks among 311 4FGL catalog sources located within 5 degrees from the Galactic plane. Using 8 yr of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope between 50 MeV and 1 GeV, we find and present the spectral characteristics of 56 sources with a spectral break confirmed by a thorough study of systematic uncertainty. Our population of sources includes 13 SNRs for which the proton-proton interaction is enhanced by the dense target material; the high-mass gamma-ray binary LS I+61 303; the colliding wind binary eta Carinae; and the Cygnus star-forming region. This analysis better constrains the origin of the gamma-ray emission and enlarges our view to potential new cosmic-ray acceleration sites.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Astronomical Society , 2022. Vol. 933, no 2, article id 204
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-315937DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac704fISI: 000825100200001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85135274646OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-315937DiVA, id: diva2:1684719
Note
QC 20220728
2022-07-282022-07-282023-05-02Bibliographically approved