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A Model of the EGRET Source at the Galactic Center: Inverse Compton Scattering Within Sgr A East and its Halo

Fulvio Melia·Farhad Yusef-Zadeh·Marco Fatuzzo
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Abstract

Continuum low-frequency radio observations of the Galactic Center reveal the presence of two prominent radio sources, Sgr A East and its surrounding Halo, containing non-thermal particle distributions with power-law indices around 2.5-3.3 and 2.4, respectively. The central 1-2 pc region is also a source of intense (stellar) UV and (dust-reprocessed) far-IR radiation that bathes these extended synchrotron-emitting structures. A recent detection of gamma-rays (2EGJ1746-2852) from within around 1 degree of the Galactic Center by EGRET onboard the Compton GRO shows that the emission from this environment extends to very high energies. We suggest that inverse Compton scatterings between the power-law electrons inferred from the radio properties of Sgr A East and its Halo, and the UV and IR photons from the nucleus, may account for the possibly diffuse gamma-ray source as well. We show that both particle distributions may be contributing to the gamma-ray emission, though their relevant strength depends on the actual physical properties (such as the magnetic field intensity) in each source. If this picture is correct, the high-energy source at the Galactic Center is extended over several arcminutes, which can be tested with thenext generation of gamma-ray and hard X-ray missions.

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Fulvio Melia, Farhad Yusef-Zadeh, Marco Fatuzzo. 1998-06-24. A Model of the EGRET Source at the Galactic Center: Inverse Compton Scattering Within Sgr A East and its Halo. https://doi.org/10.1086/306456

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