GeV observations of the extended pulsar wind nebulae constrain the pulsar interpretations of the cosmic-ray positron excess

Abstract

It has long been suggested that nearby pulsars within $\sim 1\mathrm{kpc}$ are the leading candidate of the 10-500 GeV cosmic-ray positron excess measured by PAMELA and other experiments. The recent measurement of surface brightness profile of TeV nebulae surrounding Geminga and PSR~B0656+14 by the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC) suggests inefficient diffusion of particles from the sources, giving rise to a debate on the pulsar interpretation of the cosmic-ray positron excess. Here we argue that GeV observations provide more direct constraints on the positron density in the TeV nebulae in the energy range of 10-500 GeV and hence on the origin of the observed positron excess. Motivated by this, we search for GeV emission from the TeV nebulae with the \textsl{Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT). No spatially-extended GeV emission is detected from these two TeV nebulae in the framework of two-zone diffusion spatial templates, suggesting a relatively low density of GeV electrons/positrons in the TeV nebulae. A joint modelling of the data from HAWC and \textsl{Fermi}-LAT disfavors Geminga and PSR~B0656+14 as the dominant source of the positron excess at $\sim 50-500$ GeV for the usual Kolmogorov-type diffusion, while for an energy-independent diffusion, a dominant part of the positron excess contributed by them cannot be ruled out by the current data.

arXiv comment26 pages, 11 figures, significantly expanded, to appear in ApJ

References in corpus (32)

• Observation of an anomalous positron abundance in the cosmic radiation
• Production and propagation of cosmic-ray positrons and electrons
• Fermi-LAT Observations of the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission: Implications for Cosmic Rays and the Interstellar Medium
• Measurement of separate cosmic-ray electron and positron spectra with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• The Parkes multibeam pulsar survey: VI. Discovery and timing of 142 pulsars and a Galactic population analysis
• Pulsars as the Sources of High Energy Cosmic Ray Positrons
• Extended gamma-ray sources around pulsars constrain the origin of the positron flux at Earth
• The Fermi Large Area Telescope On Orbit: Event Classification, Instrument Response Functions, and Calibration
• Development of the Model of Galactic Interstellar Emission for Standard Point-Source Analysis of Fermi Large Area Telescope Data
• A New $\Sigma -D$ Relation and Its Application to the Galactic Supernova Remnant Distribution
• 3FHL: The Third Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT Sources
• TeV Gamma Rays from Geminga and the Origin of the GeV Positron Excess
• The 2HWC HAWC Observatory Gamma Ray Catalog
• New Positron Spectral Features from Supersymmetric Dark Matter - a Way to Explain the PAMELA Data?
• The 1st Fermi Lat Supernova Remnant Catalog
• Milagro Observations of Multi-TeV Emission from Galactic Sources in the Fermi Bright Source List
• Klein-Nishina Effects in the Spectra of Non-Thermal Sources Immersed in External Radiation Fields
• PAMELA data and leptonically decaying dark matter
• Dark matter annihilations and decays after the AMS-02 positron measurements
• Dark Matter and Pulsar Origins of the Rising Cosmic Ray Positron Fraction in Light of New Data From AMS
• HAWC Observations Strongly Favor Pulsar Interpretations of the Cosmic-Ray Positron Excess
• Dissecting cosmic-ray electron-positron data with Occam's Razor: the role of known Pulsars
• Self-Generated Cosmic-Ray Confinement in TeV Halos: Implications for TeV Gamma-Ray Emission and the Positron Excess
• Is the PAMELA anomaly caused by the supernova explosions near the Earth?
• Evolution of shocks and turbulence in major cluster mergers
• Lessons from HAWC PWNe observations: the diffusion constant is not a constant; Pulsars remain the likeliest sources of the anomalous positron fraction; Cosmic rays are trapped for long periods of time in pockets of inefficient diffusion
• Two-zone diffusion of electrons and positrons from Geminga explains the positron anomaly
• Pulsar interpretation for the AMS-02 result
• Positron flux and gamma-ray emission from Geminga pulsar and pulsar wind nebula
• Measuring the Local Diffusion Coefficient with H.E.S.S. Observations of Very High-Energy Electrons
• $p\gamma$ interactions in Galactic jets as a plausible origin of the positron excess
• A self-consistent model of cosmic-ray fluxes and positron excess: Roles of nearby pulsars and a sub-dominant source population

Cited by in corpus (31)

• Extended Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission Surrounding PSR J0622 + 3749 Observed by LHAASO-KM2A
• Detection of a $\gamma$-ray halo around Geminga with the Fermi-LAT and implications for the positron flux
• TeV Halos are Everywhere: Prospects for New Discoveries
• Understanding the multiwavelength observation of Geminga's TeV halo: the role of anisotropic diffusion of particles
• Gamma-ray halos around pulsars as the key to understanding cosmic ray transport in the Galaxy
• Contribution of pulsars to cosmic-ray positrons in light of recent observation of inverse-Compton halos
• Evidences of low-diffusion bubbles around Galactic pulsars
• The Physics of Pulsar Halos: Research Progress and Prospect
• Reanalyze the pulsar scenario to explain the cosmic positron excess considering the recent developments
• Are pulsar halos rare ?
• Slow diffusion is necessary to explain the gamma-ray pulsar halos
• Implications of a possible TeV break in the cosmic-ray electron and positron flux
• Ultra-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy
• Self-consistent interpretations of the multi-wavelength gamma-ray spectrum of LHAASO J0621$+$3755
• Gamma-ray halos around pulsars: impact on pulsar wind physics and galactic cosmic ray transport
• Test of the superdiffusion model in the interstellar medium around the Geminga pulsar
• Discovery of a spatially extended GeV source in the vicinity of the TeV halo candidate 2HWC J1912+099: a TeV halo or supernova remnant ?
• Positron Excess from Cosmic Ray Interactions in Galactic Molecular Clouds
• Monte Carlo Study of Electron and Positron Cosmic-Ray Propagation with the CALET Spectrum
• Galactic Positron Excess from Selectively Enhanced Dark Matter Annihilation
• Interpretation of the puzzling gamma-ray spectrum of the Geminga halo
• Prospect of Detecting X-Ray Halos Around Middle-Aged Pulsars with eROSITA
• Constraining the slow-diffusion zone size and electron injection spectral index for the Geminga pulsar halo
• Anisotropic Diffusion of $e^{\pm }$ in Pulsar Halos over Multiple Coherence of Magnetic Fields
• Discovery of an Extended $\gamma$-ray Emission around the Supernova Remnant Candidate associated with PSR J0837$-$2454
• Detecting and characterizing pulsar haloes with the Cherenkov Telescope Array
• Geminga contribution to the cosmic-ray positron excess according to the gamma-ray observations
• PHECT: A lightweight computation tool for pulsar halo emission
• Possible evidence for extended X-ray emission surrounding PSR B0656+14 with eROSITA
• Method for testing diffusive shock acceleration and diffusion propagation of 1-100 TeV cosmic electrons with multiwavelength observations of the Geminga halo and pulsar wind nebula
• Investigating the emission signatures of pulsar halo candidate HESS J1813-126