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Discovery of extended VHE gamma-ray emission from the asymmetric pulsar wind nebula in MSH 15-52 with H.E.S.S

H. E. S. S. Collaboration·:·F. Aharonian
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Abstract

The Supernova Remnant MSH 15-52 has been observed in very high energy (VHE) gamma-rays using the H.E.S.S. 4-telescope array located in Namibia. A gamma-ray signal is detected at the 25 sigma level during an exposure of 22.1 hours live time. The image reveals an elliptically shaped emission region around the pulsar PSR B1509-58, with semi-major axis 6' in the NW-SE direction and semi-minor axis 2' approximately. This morphology coincides with the diffuse pulsar wind nebula as observed at X-ray energies by ROSAT. The overall energy spectrum from 280 GeV up to 40 TeV can be fitted by a power law with photon index Gamma = 2.27 +/- 0.03(stat.) +/- 0.20(syst.). The detected emission can be plausibly explained by inverse Compton scattering of accelerated relativistic electrons with soft photons.

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H. E. S. S. Collaboration, :, F. Aharonian. 2005-04-05. Discovery of extended VHE gamma-ray emission from the asymmetric pulsar wind nebula in MSH 15-52 with H.E.S.S. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%3A200500105

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