Freiburg 2008 – scientific programme
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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik
T 73: Gammaastronomie II
T 73.2: Talk
Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 17:05–17:20, KGII-HS 2006
H.E.S.S. observations of galaxy clusters — •Wilfried Domainko1, Wystan Benbow1, Jim Hinton2, Olivier Martineau-Huynh3, Mathieu de Naurois3, Dalibor Nedbal4, Giovanna Pedaletti5, and Gavin Rowell6 for the H.E.S.S. collaboration — 1Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany — 2University of Leeds, UK — 3Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies, Universités Paris VI & VII, France — 4Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic — 5Landessternwarte, Universität Heidelberg, Germany — 6School of Chemistry & Physics, University of Adelaide, Australia
Clusters of galaxies, the largest gravitationally bound objects in the universe, are expected to contain a significant population of hadronic and leptonic cosmic rays. Potential sources for these particles are merger and accretion shocks, starburst driven galactic winds and radio galaxies. Furthermore, since galaxy clusters confine cosmic ray protons up to energies of at least 1 PeV for a time longer than the Hubble time they act as storehouses and accumulate all the hadronic particles which are accelerated within them. Consequently clusters of galaxies are potential sources of VHE (> 100 GeV) gamma rays. Motivated by these considerations, promising galaxy clusters are observed with the H.E.S.S. experiment as part of an ongoing campaign. Results from this campaign will be reported.