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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 82: Gamma-Astronomie 1

T 82.8: Vortrag

Montag, 9. März 2009, 18:50–19:05, M218

Very High Gamma-Ray Emission from the Binary Pulsar PSR B1259-63 around the 2007 Periastron as Observed by HESS — •Matthias Kerschhaggl — Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

PSR B1259-63 represents a system where a radio pulsar is orbiting a massive Be star in a highly eccentric orbit (e=0.87). Interactions between the pulsar wind and the stellar matter and radiation fields can provide shock mechanisms that accelerate particles to very high energies (VHE). These interactions are thought to become most efficient around periastron passage where the two objects are separated by the minimal distance of 0.7 AU. The system is known as VHE emitter since its discovery in the TeV regime around the 2004 periastron by HESS. Again in 2007 a gamma ray signal with a total significance of 9 sigma could be detected in HESS observations within a livetime of ~53h from this source. Moreover data from 2005 and 2006 where the source was monitored far away from periastron for the first time will be presented. The talk will focus on the analysis of the data and its interpretation. With the example of PSR B1259-63 at hand, possible mechanisms for the generation of VHE gamma rays in TeV binaries will be discussed.