300 research outputs found
H.E.S.S. observations of PSR B1259-63 during its 2014 periastron passage
An extended observation campaign of the gamma-ray binary system PSR
B125963 has been conducted with the H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic
System) II 5-telescope array during the system's periastron passage in 2014. We
report on the outcome of this campaign, which consists of more than 85 h of
data covering both pre- and post-periastron orbital phases. The lower energy
threshold of the H.E.S.S. II array allows very-high-energy (VHE; GeV) gamma-ray emission from PSR B125963 to be studied for the first
time down to 200 GeV. The new dataset partly overlaps with and extends in phase
previous H.E.S.S. campaigns on this source in 2004, 2007 and 2011, allowing for
a detailed long-term characterisation of the flux level at VHEs. In addition,
the 2014 campaign reported here includes VHE observations during the exact
periastron time, , as well as data taken simultaneously to the
gamma-ray flare detected with the Fermi-LAT. Our results will be discussed in a
multiwavelength context, thanks to the dense broad-band monitoring campaign
conducted on the system during this last periastron passage.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic
Ray Conference (ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherland
Anisotropic inverse Compton scattering of photons from the circumstellar disc in PSR B1259-63
The gamma-ray binary system PSR B1259-63 consists of a 48 ms pulsar orbiting
a Be star. The system is particularly interesting because it is the only
gamma-ray binary system where the nature of the compact object is known. The
non-thermal radiation from the system is powered by the spin-down luminosity of
the pulsar and the unpulsed radiation originates from the stand-off shock front
which forms between the pulsar and stellar wind. The Be star/optical companion
in the system produces an excess infrared flux from the associated
circumstellar disc. This infrared excess provides an additional photon source
for inverse Compton scattering. We discuss the effects of the IR excess near
periastron, for anisotropic inverse Compton scattering and associated gamma-ray
production. We determine the infrared excess from the circumstellar disc using
a modified version of a curve of growth method, which takes into account the
changing optical depth through the circumstellar disc during the orbit. The
model is constrained using archive data and additional mid-IR observations
obtained with the VLT during January 2011. The inverse Compton scattering rate
was calculated for three orientations of the circumstellar disc. The predicted
gamma-ray light curves show that the disc contribution is a maximum around
periastron and not around the disc crossing epoch. This is a result of the disc
being brightest near the stellar surface. Additional spectroscopic and
near-infrared observations were obtained of the system and these are discussed
in relation to the possibility of shock heating during the disc crossing epoch.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures and 4 tables. MNRAS in press. Updated
references, correction of typos in a few of the equations in sec. 5.2 and
appendix, and other minor typo correction
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