22 research outputs found
The influence of cosmic-rays on the magnetorotational instability
We present a linear perturbation analysis of the magnetorotational
instability in the presence of the cosmic rays. Dynamical effects of the cosmic
rays are considered by a fluid description and the diffusion of cosmic rays is
only along the magnetic field lines. We show an enhancement in the growth rate
of the unstable mode because of the existence of cosmic rays. But as the
diffusion of cosmic rays increases, we see that the growth rate decreases.
Thus, cosmic rays have a destabilizing role in the magnetorotational
instability of the accretion discs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Magnetic Field Amplification in Galaxy Clusters and its Simulation
We review the present theoretical and numerical understanding of magnetic
field amplification in cosmic large-scale structure, on length scales of galaxy
clusters and beyond. Structure formation drives compression and turbulence,
which amplify tiny magnetic seed fields to the microGauss values that are
observed in the intracluster medium. This process is intimately connected to
the properties of turbulence and the microphysics of the intra-cluster medium.
Additional roles are played by merger induced shocks that sweep through the
intra-cluster medium and motions induced by sloshing cool cores. The accurate
simulation of magnetic field amplification in clusters still poses a serious
challenge for simulations of cosmological structure formation. We review the
current literature on cosmological simulations that include magnetic fields and
outline theoretical as well as numerical challenges.Comment: 60 pages, 19 Figure
Constraints on axionlike particles with H.E.S.S. from the irregularity of the PKS 2155-304 energy spectrum
Axionlike particles (ALPs) are hypothetical light (sub-eV) bosons predicted in some extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. In astrophysical environments comprising high-energy gamma rays and turbulent magnetic fields, the existence of ALPs can modify the energy spectrum of the gamma rays for a sufficiently large coupling between ALPs and photons. This modification would take the form of an irregular behavior of the energy spectrum in a limited energy range. Data from the H.E.S.S. observations of the distant BL Lac object PKS 2155-304 (z=0.116) are used to derive upper limits at the 95% C.L. on the strength of the ALP coupling to photons, ggammaa<2.1×10-11GeV-1 for an ALP mass between 15 and 60 neV. The results depend on assumptions on the magnetic field around the source, which are chosen conservatively. The derived constraints apply to both light pseudoscalar and scalar bosons that couple to the electromagnetic fieldFil: Medina, Maria Clementina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (i); ArgentinaFil: H.E.S. S. collaboration
Probing the extent of the non-thermal emission from the Vela X region at TeV energies with H.E.S.S.
Vela X is a region of extended radio emission in the western part of the Vela
constellation: one of the nearest pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), and associated
with the energetic Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45). Extended very-high-energy (VHE)
-ray emission (HESS \mathrm{J0835\mhyphen 455}) was discovered using
the H.E.S.S. experiment in 2004. The VHE -ray emission was found to be
coincident with a region of X-ray emission discovered with above
1.5 keV (the so-called \textit{Vela X cocoon}): a filamentary structure
extending southwest from the pulsar to the centre of Vela X. A deeper
observation of the entire Vela X nebula region, also including larger offsets
from the cocoon, has been performed with H.E.S.S. This re-observation was
carried out in order to probe the extent of the non-thermal emission from the
Vela X region at TeV energies and to investigate its spectral properties. In
order to increase the sensitivity to the faint -ray emission from the
very extended Vela X region, a multivariate analysis method combining three
complementary reconstruction techniques of Cherenkov-shower images is applied
for the selection of -ray events. The analysis is performed with the
On/Off background method, which estimates the background from separate
observations pointing away from Vela X; towards regions free of -ray
sources but with comparable observation conditions. The -ray surface
brightness over the large Vela X region reveals that the detection of
non-thermal VHE -ray emission from the PWN HESS \mathrm{J0835\mhyphen
455} is statistically significant over a region of radius 1.2 around
the position = 08 35 00,
= -45 36
00 (J2000)
H.E.S.S. discovery of VHE γ-rays from the quasar PKS 1510−089
The quasar PKS 1510−089 (z = 0.361) was observed with the H.E.S.S. array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes during high states in the optical and GeV bands, to search for very high energy (VHE, defined as E ≥ 0.1 TeV) emission. VHE γ-rays were detected with a statistical significance of 9.2 standard deviations in 15.8 h of H.E.S.S. data taken during March and April 2009. A VHE integral flux of I(0.15 TeV < E < 1.0 TeV)= (1.0 ± 0.2stat ± 0.2sys) × 10-11 cm-2 s-1 is measured. The best-fit power law to the VHE data has a photon index of Γ = 5.4 ± 0.7stat ± 0.3sys. The GeV and optical light curves show pronounced variability during the period of H.E.S.S. observations. However, there is insufficient evidence to claim statistically significant variability in the VHE data. Because of its relatively high redshift, the VHE flux from PKS 1510−089 should suffer considerable attenuation in the intergalactic space due to the extragalactic background light (EBL). Hence, the measured γ-ray spectrum is used to derive upper limits on the opacity due to EBL, which are found to be comparable with the previously derived limits from relatively-nearby BL Lac objects. Unlike typical VHE-detected blazars where the broadband spectrum is dominated by nonthermal radiation at all wavelengths, the quasar PKS 1510−089 has a bright thermal component in the optical to UV frequency band. Among all VHE detected blazars, PKS 1510−089 has the most luminous broad line region. The detection of VHE emission from this quasar indicates a low level of γ − γ absorption on the internal optical to UV photon field
Discovery of the VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1832-093 in the vicinity of SNR G22.7-0.2
The region around the supernova remnant (SNR) W41 contains several TeV sources and has prompted the HESS Collaboration to perform deep observations of this field of view. This resulted in the discovery of the new very high energy (VHE) source HESS J1832−093, at the position RA=18h32m50s±3sstat±2ssyst,Dec=−9∘22′36′′±32′′stat±20′′syst(J2000), spatially coincident with a part of the radio shell of the neighbouring remnant G22.7−0.2. The photon spectrum is well described by a power law of index Γ = 2.6 ± 0.3stat ± 0.1syst and a normalization at 1 TeV of Φ0=(4.8±0.8stat±1.0syst)×10−13cm−2s−1TeV−1. The location of the gamma-ray emission on the edge of the SNR rim first suggested a signature of escaping cosmic rays illuminating a nearby molecular cloud. Then a dedicated XMM–Newton observation led to the discovery of a new X-ray point source spatially coincident with the TeV excess. Two other scenarios were hence proposed to identify the nature of HESS J1832−093. Gamma-rays from inverse Compton radiation in the framework of a pulsar wind nebula scenario or the possibility of gamma-ray production within a binary system are therefore also considered. Deeper multiwavelength observations will help to shed new light on this intriguing VHE source