Analysis of GeV-band γ-ray emission from supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946
Abstract
Context. RX J1713.7-3946 is the brightest shell-type supernova remnant (SNR) of the TeV γ-ray sky. Earlier Fermi-LAT results on low energy γ-ray emission suggested that, despite large uncertainties in the background determination, the spectrum is inconsistent with a hadronic origin.
Aims: We update the GeV-band spectra using improved estimates for the diffuse Galactic γ-ray emission and more than double the volume of data. We further investigate the viability of hadronic emission models for RX J1713.7-3946.
Methods: We produced a high-resolution map of the diffuse Galactic γ-ray background corrected for the HI self-absorption and used it in the analysis of more than five years worth of Fermi-LAT data. We used hydrodynamic scaling relations and a kinetic transport equation to calculate the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays in SNR. We then determined spectra of hadronic γ-ray emission from RX J1713.7-3946, separately for the SNR interior and the cosmic-ray precursor region of the forward shock, and computed flux variations that would allow us to test the model with observations.
Results: We find that RX J1713.7-3946 is now detected by Fermi-LAT with very high statistical significance, and the source morphology is best described by that seen in the TeV band. The measured spectrum of RX J1713.7-3946 is hard with index γ = 1.53 ± 0.07, and the integral flux above 500 MeV is F = (5.5 ± 1.1) × 10-9 photons cm-2 s-1. We demonstrate that scenarios based on hadronic emission from the cosmic-ray precursor region are acceptable for RX J1713.7-3946, and we predict a secular flux increase at a few hundred GeV at the level of around 15% over ten years, which may be detectable with the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- May 2015
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1502.06355
- Bibcode:
- 2015A&A...577A..12F
- Keywords:
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- astroparticle physics;
- cosmic rays;
- ISM: supernova remnants;
- gamma rays: ISM;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 9 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy &