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High-energy particle acceleration in the shell of a supernova remnant

Aharonian, F.; Akhperjanian, A.G.; Aye, K.-M.; Bazer-Bachi, A.R.; Beilicke, M.; Benbow, W.; Berge, D.; Berghaus, P.; Bernlöhr, K.; Bolz, O.; Boisson, C.; Borgmeier, C.; Breitling, F.; Brown, A.M.; Bussons, Gordo J.; Chadwick, P.M.; Chitnis, V.R.; Chounet, L.-M.; Cornils, R.; Costamante, L.; Degrange, B.; Djannati-Ataï, A.; Drury, L. O'C.; Ergin, T.; Espigat, P.; Feinstein, F.; Fleury, P.; Fontaine, G.; Funk, S.; Gallant, Y.A.; Giebels, B.; Gillessen, S.; Goret, P.; Guy, J.; Hadjichristidis, C.; Hauser, M.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hinton, J.A.; Hofmann, W.; Holleran, M.; Horns, D.; de Jager, O.C.; Jung, I.; Khélifi, B.; Komin, N.; Konopelko, A.; Latham, I.J.; Le, Gallou R.; Lemoine, M.; Lemière, A.; Leroy, N.; Lohse, T.; Marcowith, A.; Masterson, C.; McComb, T.J.L.; de, Naurois M.; Nolan, S.J.; Noutsos, A.; Orford, K.J.; Osborne, J.L.; Ouchrif, M.; Panter, M.; Pelletier, G.; Pita, S.; Pohl, M.; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Raubenheimer, B.C.; Raue, M.; Raux, J.; Rayner, S....

Authors

F. Aharonian

A.G. Akhperjanian

K.-M. Aye

A.R. Bazer-Bachi

M. Beilicke

W. Benbow

D. Berge

P. Berghaus

K. Bernlöhr

O. Bolz

C. Boisson

C. Borgmeier

F. Breitling

A.M. Brown

Gordo J. Bussons

V.R. Chitnis

L.-M. Chounet

R. Cornils

L. Costamante

B. Degrange

A. Djannati-Ataï

L. O'C. Drury

T. Ergin

P. Espigat

F. Feinstein

P. Fleury

G. Fontaine

S. Funk

Y.A. Gallant

B. Giebels

S. Gillessen

P. Goret

J. Guy

C. Hadjichristidis

M. Hauser

G. Heinzelmann

G. Henri

G. Hermann

J.A. Hinton

W. Hofmann

M. Holleran

D. Horns

O.C. de Jager

I. Jung

B. Khélifi

N. Komin

A. Konopelko

I.J. Latham

Gallou R. Le

M. Lemoine

A. Lemière

N. Leroy

T. Lohse

A. Marcowith

C. Masterson

T.J.L. McComb

Naurois M. de

A. Noutsos

K.J. Orford

M. Ouchrif

M. Panter

G. Pelletier

S. Pita

M. Pohl

G. Pühlhofer

M. Punch

B.C. Raubenheimer

M. Raue

J. Raux

S.M. Rayner

I. Redondo

A. Reimer

O. Reimer

J. Ripken

M. Rivoal

L. Rob

L. Rolland

G. Rowell

V. Sahakian

L. Saugé

S. Schlenker

R. Schlickeiser

C. Schuster

U. Schwanke

M. Siewert

H. Sol

R. Steenkamp

C. Stegmann

J.-P. Tavernet

C.G. Théoret

M. Tluczykont

D.J. van der Walt

G. Vasileiadis

P. Vincent

B. Visser

H.J. Völk

S. Wagner



Abstract

A significant fraction of the energy density of the interstellar medium is in the form of high-energy charged particles (cosmic rays)1. The origin of these particles remains uncertain. Although it is generally accepted that the only sources capable of supplying the energy required to accelerate the bulk of Galactic cosmic rays are supernova explosions, and even though the mechanism of particle acceleration in expanding supernova remnant (SNR) shocks is thought to be well understood theoretically2, 3, unequivocal evidence for the production of high-energy particles in supernova shells has proven remarkably hard to find. Here we report on observations of the SNR RX J1713.7 - 3946 (G347.3 - 0.5), which was discovered by ROSAT4 in the X-ray spectrum and later claimed as a source of high-energy -rays5, 6 of TeV energies (1 TeV = 1012 eV). We present a TeV -ray image of the SNR: the spatially resolved remnant has a shell morphology similar to that seen in X-rays, which demonstrates that very-high-energy particles are accelerated there. The energy spectrum indicates efficient acceleration of charged particles to energies beyond 100 TeV, consistent with current ideas of particle acceleration in young SNR shocks.

Citation

Aharonian, F., Akhperjanian, A., Aye, K., Bazer-Bachi, A., Beilicke, M., Benbow, W., …Wagner, S. (2004). High-energy particle acceleration in the shell of a supernova remnant. Nature, 432(7013), 75-77. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02960

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2004-11
Deposit Date May 8, 2008
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Nature
Print ISSN 0028-0836
Electronic ISSN 1476-4687
Publisher Nature Research
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 432
Issue 7013
Pages 75-77
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02960
Keywords Gamma-ray emission, SNR RX-J1713.7-3946, Cassiopeia-A, Cosmic-rays, G347.3-0.5, Discovery, Spectrum, System, Origin.

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