HESS J1818-154, a new composite supernova remnant discovered in TeV gamma rays and X-raysShow others and affiliations
2014 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 562, p. 562-Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Composite supernova remnants (SNRs) constitute a small subclass of the remnants of massive stellar explosions where non-thermal radiation is observed from both the expanding shell-like shock front and from a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) located inside of the SNR. These systems represent a unique evolutionary phase of SNRs where observations in the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray regimes allow the study of the co-evolution of both these energetic phenomena. In this article, we report results from observations of the shell-type SNR G15.4+0.1 performed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H. E. S. S.) and XMM-Newton. A compact TeV gamma-ray source, HESS J1818-154, located in the center and contained within the shell of G15.4+0.1 is detected by H. E. S. S. and featurs a spectrum best represented by a power-law model with a spectral index of -2.3 +/- 0.3(stat) +/- 0.2(sys) and an integral flux of F(>0.42 TeV) = (0.9 +/- 0.3(stat) +/- 0.2(sys)) x 10(-12) cm(-2) s(-1). Furthermore, a recent observation with XMM-Newton reveals extended X-ray emission strongly peaked in the center of G15.4+0.1. The X-ray source shows indications of an energy-dependent morphology featuring a compact core at energies above 4 keV and more extended emission that fills the entire region within the SNR at lower energies. Together, the X-ray and VHE gamma-ray emission provide strong evidence of a PWN located inside the shell of G15.4+0.1 and this SNR can therefore be classified as a composite based on these observations. The radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray emission from the PWN is compatible with a one-zone leptonic model that requires a low average magnetic field inside the emission region. An unambiguous counterpart to the putative pulsar, which is thought to power the PWN, has been detected neither in radio nor in X-ray observations of G15.4+0.1.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2014. Vol. 562, p. 562-
Keywords [en]
X-rays: individuals: G15.4+0.1, gamma rays: general, methods: observational, supernovae: individual: HESS J1818-154, X-rays: general
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-102980DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201322914ISI: 000332161800133OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-102980DiVA, id: diva2:714437
Note
AuthorCount:219;
2014-04-282014-04-252017-12-05Bibliographically approved