TeV Flux modulation in PSR B1259-63/LS 2883

Abstract

PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 is a binary system where a 48 ms pulsar orbits a massive Be star with a highly eccentric orbit (e=0.87) with a period of 3.4 years. The system exhibits variable, non-thermal radiation visible from radio to very high energies (VHE) around periastron passage. This radiation is thought to originate from particles accelerated in the shock region between the pulsar wind (PW) and stellar outflows. The consistency of the H.E.S.S. data with the inverse Compton (IC) scenario is studied in the context of dominant orbital phase dependent adiabatic losses. The dependence of the observed TeV flux with the separation distance is analyzed. Model calculations based on IC scattering of shock accelerated PW electrons and UV photons are performed. Different non-radiative cooling profiles are suggested for the primary particle population to account for the variable TeV flux. The TeV fluxes obtained with H.E.S.S. in the years 2004 and 2007 seem to be only dependent on the binary separation. The presented results hint at a peculiar non-radiative cooling profile around periastron dominating the VHE emission in PSR B1259-63. The location of the stellar disc derived from this non-radiative cooling profile is in good agreement with that inferred from radio observations.

6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A on 03/09/2010

References in corpus (6)

• Understanding the Very High-Energy Emission from Microquasars
• Modeling interaction of relativistic and nonrelativistic winds in binary system PSR 1259-63/SS2883. I.Hydrodynamical limit
• TeV lightcurve of PSR B1259-63/SS2883
• Periodic very high energy gamma-ray emission from LS I +61 303 observed with the MAGIC telescope
• Probing the Pulsar Wind in the gamma-ray Binary System PSR B1259-63/SS 2883
• Modeling the Wind of the Be Star SS 2883

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Astrophysical parameters of LS2883 and implications for the PSR B1259-63 gamma-ray binary
• Discovery of GeV gamma-ray emission from PSR B1259-63/LS 2883
• Modelling the light curves of PSR B1259-63/LS 2883-II.The effects of anisotropic pulsar wind and Doppler-boosting
• Modelling interaction of relativistic and non-relativistic winds in binary system PSR B1259-63/SS2883 - II. Impact of magnetization and anisotropy of the pulsar wind
• H.E.S.S. Observations of the Binary System PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 around the 2010/2011 Periastron Passage
• Modeling the multi-wavelength light curves of PSR B1259-63/SS 2883
• On the origin of correlated X-ray/VHE emission from LS I +61 303
• Overview of non-transient gamma-ray binaries and prospects for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
• Gamma Ray Signal from the Pulsar Wind in the Binary Pulsar system PSR B1259-63/LS2883
• H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT observations of PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 during its 2014 and 2017 periastron passages
• Modelling the multi-wavelength emissions from PSR B1259-63/LS 2883: the effects of the stellar disc on shock radiations
• Gamma-gamma absorption in the $\gamma$-ray binary system PSR B1259-63/LS 2883