Discovery of a Radiation Component from the Vela Pulsar Reaching 20 Teraelectronvolts
GIUNTI, L
AstroParticule et Cosmologie [APC (UMR_7164)]
Institut de Recherches sur les lois Fondamentales de l'Univers [IRFU]
AstroParticule et Cosmologie [APC (UMR_7164)]
Institut de Recherches sur les lois Fondamentales de l'Univers [IRFU]
SMITH, D.A
Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan [CENBG]
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac] [LAB]
< Réduire
Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan [CENBG]
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [Pessac] [LAB]
Langue
en
Article de revue
Ce document a été publié dans
Nature Astron. 2023
Résumé en anglais
Gamma-ray observations have established energetic isolated pulsars as outstanding particle accelerators and antimatter factories in the Galaxy. There is, however, no consensus regarding the acceleration mechanisms and the ...Lire la suite >
Gamma-ray observations have established energetic isolated pulsars as outstanding particle accelerators and antimatter factories in the Galaxy. There is, however, no consensus regarding the acceleration mechanisms and the radiative processes at play, nor the locations where these take place. The spectra of all observed gamma-ray pulsars to date show strong cutoffs or a break above energies of a few gigaelectronvolt (GeV). Using the H.E.S.S. array of Cherenkov telescopes, we discovered a novel radiation component emerging beyond this generic GeV cutoff in the Vela pulsar's broadband spectrum. The extension of gamma-ray pulsation energies up to at least 20 teraelectronvolts (TeV) shows that Vela pulsar can accelerate particles to Lorentz factors higher than $4\times10^7$. This is an order of magnitude larger than in the case of the Crab pulsar, the only other pulsar detected in the TeV energy range. Our results challenge the state-of-the-art models for high-energy emission of pulsars while providing a new probe, i.e. the energetic multi-TeV component, for constraining the acceleration and emission processes in their extreme energy limit.< Réduire
Mots clés en anglais
GeV
TeV
accelerator
Cherenkov counter
Lorentz
galaxy
HESS
pulsar, emission
antimatter, particle source
gamma ray
acceleration
Origine
Importé de halUnités de recherche