Gamma-rays from pulsar wind nebulae in starburst galaxies
arXiv:1010.2185 · doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2012.02.009
Abstract
Recently, gamma-ray emission at TeV energies has been detected from the starburst galaxies NGC253 (Acero et al., 2009) and M82 (Acciari et al., 2009. It has been claimed that pion production due to cosmic rays accelerated in supernova remnants interacting with the interstellar gas is responsible for the observed gamma rays. Here, we show that the gamma-ray pulsar wind nebulae left behind by the supernovae contribute to the TeV luminosity in a major way. A single pulsar wind nebula produces about ten times the total luminosity of the Sun at energies above 1 TeV during a lifetime of 10^5 years. A large number of 3x10^4 pulsar wind nebulae expected in a typical starburst galaxy at a distance of 4 Mpc can readily produce the observed TeV gamma rays.
5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astropart. Phys
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Cited by in corpus (11)
- Nonthermal particles and photons in starburst regions and superbubbles
- High-energy particles and radiation in star-forming regions
- Spectral analysis and interpretation of the γ-ray emission from the Starburst galaxy NGC 253
- Diffuse Hard X-ray Emission in Starburst Galaxies as Synchrotron from Very High Energy Electrons
- Starburst galaxies as seen by gamma-ray telescopes
- Propagation and stability of superluminal waves in pulsar winds
- Non-thermal emission from Pulsar-Wind Nebulae in Starburst Galaxies
- Could the TeV emission of starburst galaxies originate from pulsar wind nebulae?
- Non-thermal emission in the central starburst region of M82
- Ancient Pulsar Wind Nebulae as a natural explanation for unidentified gamma-ray sources
- Hunting Star-Forming Galaxies in the Gamma-Ray Domain