Discovery of the hard spectrum VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1641-463

H.E.S.S. Collaboration; Abramowski, A.; Aharonian, F. A.; Benkhali, F. Ait; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Angüner, E. O.; Backes, M.; Balenderan, S.; Balzer, A.; Barnacka, A.; Becherini, Y.; Tjus, J. Becker; Berge, D.; Bernhard, S.; Bernloehr, K.; Birsin, E.; Biteau, J.; Böttcher, M.; Boisson, C.; Bolmont, J.; Bordas, P.; Bregeon, J.; Brun, Francois; Brun, P.; Bryan, M.; Bulik, T.; Carrigan, S.; Casanova, S.; Chadwick, P. M.; Chakraborty, Nachiketa; Chalme-Calvet, R.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chrétien, M.; Colafrancesco, S.; Cologna, G.; Conrad, J.; Couturier, C.; Cui, Y.; Dalton, M.; Davids, I. D.; Degrange, B.; Deil, C.; deWilt, P.; Djannati-Ataï, A.; Domainko, W; Donath, A.; Drury, L. O'C.; Dubus, G.; Dutson, K.; Dyks, J.; Dyrda, M.; Edwards, Tanya; Egberts, K.; Eger, Peter; Espigat, P.; Farnier, C.; Fegan, S.; Feinstein, F.; Fernandes, M. V.; Fernandez, D.; Fiasson, A.; Fontaine, G.; Förster, Andreas; Füßling, M.; Gabici, S.; Gajdus, M.; Gallant, Y. A.; Garrigoux, T.; Giavitto, G.; Giebels, B.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Gottschall, D.; Grondin, Marie-Hélène; Grudzińska, M.; Hadasch, D.; Häffner, S.; Hahn, Joachim; Harris, J.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hervet, O.; Hillert, Andreas; Hinton, James Anthony; Hofmann, W.; Hofverberg, P.; Holler, M.; Horns, D.; Ivascenko, A.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jahn, C.; Jamrozy, M.; Janiak, M.; Jankowsky, F.; Jung-Richardt, I.; Kastendieck, M. A.; Katarzyński, K.; Katz, U.; Kaufmann, S.; Khélifi, B.; Kieffer, M.; Klepser, S.; Klochkov, D.; Kluźniak, W.; Kolitzus, D.; Komin, Nu.; Kosack, K.; Krakau, S.; Krayzel, F.; Krueger, Paulus; Laffon, H.; Lamanna, G.; Lau, J.; Lefaucheur, J.; Lefranc, V.; Lemière, A.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Lenain, J. -P.; Lohse, T.; Lopatin, A.; Lu, Chia-Chun; Marandon, Vincent; Marcowith, A.; Marx, Ramin; Maurin, G.; Maxted, N.; Mayer, M.; McComb, T. J. L.; Méhault, J.; Meintjes, P. J.; Menzler, U.; Meyer, M.; Mitchell, A. M. W.; Moderski, R.; Mohamed, M.; Morå, K.; Moulin, E.; Murach, T.; de Naurois, M.; Niemiec, J.; Nolan, S. J.; Oakes, L.; Odaka, H.; Ohm, S.; Opitz, B.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Panter, M.; Parsons, R. D.; Arribas, M. Paz; Pekeur, N. W.; Pelletier, G.; Petrucci, P. -O.; Peyaud, B.; Pita, S.; Poon, Helen; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Raab, S.; Reichardt, I.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renaud, M.; de los Reyes, R.; Rieger, F.; Romoli, C.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Rulten, C. B.; Sahakian, V.; Salek, D.; Sanchez, David; Santangelo, A.; Schlickeiser, R.; Schüssler, F.; Schulz, A.; Schwanke, U.; Schwarzburg, S.; Schwemmer, S.; Sol, H.; Spanier, F.; Spengler, G.; Spies, F.; Stawarz, Ł.; Steenkamp, R.; Stegmann, C.; Stinzing, F.; Stycz, K.; Sushch, I.; Tavernet, J. -P.; Tavernier, T.; Taylor, A. M.; Terrier, R.; Tluczykont, M.; Trichard, C.; Valerius, K.; van Eldik, C.; van Soelen, B.; Vasileiadis, G.; Veh, J.; Venter, C.; Viana, Aion; Vincent, P.; Vink, J.; Völk, Heinrich J.; Volpe, F.; Vorster, M.; Vuillaume, T.; Wagner, S. J.; Wagner, P.; Wagner, R. M.; Ward, M.; Weidinger, M.; Weitzel, Quirin; White, R.; Wierzcholska, A.; Willmann, P.; Wörnlein, A.; Wouters, D.; Yang, R.; Zabalza, V.; Zaborov, D.; Zacharias, M.; Zdziarski, A. A.; Zech, A.; Zechlin, H. -S.; Fukui, Y.; Sano, H.; Fukuda, T.; Yoshiike, S.

doi:10.1088/2041-8205/794/1/L1

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Discovery of the hard spectrum VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1641-463

MPS-Authors

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Aharonian, F. A.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30300

Bernloehr, K.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons41380

Brun, Francois
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30367

Carrigan, S.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30369

Casanova, S.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons98325

Chakraborty, Nachiketa
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30372

Chaves, R. C. G.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30391

Deil, C.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30416

Domainko, W
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons79106

Edwards, Tanya
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons59534

Eger, Peter
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30481

Förster, Andreas
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons37766

Grondin, Marie-Hélène
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30555

Hahn, Joachim
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Hermann, G.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30596

Hillert, Andreas
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30597

Hinton, James Anthony
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30605

Hofmann, W.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30608

Hofverberg, P.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons45889

Krueger, Paulus
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons37723

Lu, Chia-Chun
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons37725

Marandon, Vincent
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons59477

Marx, Ramin
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30878

Panter, M.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons73254

Parsons, R. D.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Poon, Helen
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30395

de los Reyes, R.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30943

Rieger, F.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons37727

Sanchez, David
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons73258

Viana, Aion
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons31141

Völk, Heinrich J.
Prof. Heinrich J. Völk, Emeriti, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons31147

Volpe, F.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Weitzel, Quirin
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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http://iopscience.iop.org/2041-8205/794/1/L1
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1408.5280.pdf
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Citation

H.E.S.S. Collaboration, Abramowski, A., Aharonian, F. A., Benkhali, F. A., Akhperjanian, A. G., Angüner, E. O., et al. (2014). Discovery of the hard spectrum VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1641-463. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 749(1): 794. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/794/1/L1.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0024-9C7A-7

Abstract

This letter reports the discovery of a remarkably hard spectrum source, HESS J1641-463, by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in the very-high energy (VHE) domain. HESS J1641-463 remained unnoticed by the usual analysis techniques due to confusion with the bright nearby source HESS J1640-465. It emerged at a significance level of 8.5 standard deviations after restricting the analysis to events with energies above 4 TeV. It shows a moderate flux level of F(E > 1 TeV) = (3.64 +/- 0.44_stat +/- 0.73_sys) x 10^-13 cm^-2s-1, corresponding to 1.8% of the Crab Nebula flux above the same energy, and a hard spectrum with a photon index of Gamma = 2.07 +/- 0.11_stat +/- 0.20_sys. It is a point-like source, although an extension up to Gaussian width of sigma = 3 arcmin cannot be discounted due to uncertainties in the H.E.S.S. PSF. The VHE gamma-ray flux of HESS J1641-463 is found to be constant over the observed period when checking time binnings from year-by-year to the 28 min exposures timescales. HESS J1641-463 is positionally coincident with the radio supernova remnant SNR G338.5+0.1. No X-ray candidate stands out as a clear association, however Chandra and XMM-Newton data reveal some potential weak counterparts. Various VHE gamma-ray production scenarios are discussed. If the emission from HESS J1641-463 is produced by cosmic ray protons colliding with the ambient gas, then their spectrum must extend close to 1 PeV. This object may represent a source population contributing significantly to the galactic cosmic ray flux around the knee.