Young Massive Star Clusters as TeV Emitters: Constraints from H.E.S.S. and LHAASO

Abstract

Young massive star clusters (YMSCs) have been proposed as excellent candidates for the main sources of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) up to the PeV range. The detection and study of gamma rays in the very-high-energy (E>100GeV) range has brought arguments in favour of this hypothesis. Current instruments have detected only a few YMSCs. Future observatories are expected to increase this number, providing a larger sample improving our ability to constrain the role of YMSCs in the origin of CRs. We study the population of TeV YMSCs detected and their properties, confronting simulations of the YMSC population to the observed sample, to address the fundamental questions concerning the spectrum of accelerated particles, the efficiency of CR production, and the fraction of the wind luminosity converted into turbulent magnetic fields. Using Monte Carlo methods, we simulate the Galactic population of YMSCs in the gamma-ray domain and confront our simulations to the catalogue of sources of the systematic survey of the Galactic plane performed by H.E.S.S. (HGPS) and the First LHAASO Catalogue of Gamma-Ray Sources. We systematically explore the parameter space of our model, including the slope of accelerated particles $\alpha$, the CR efficiency ${\eta }_{\mathrm{CR}}$, the fraction of the wind luminosity converted into turbulent magnetic field ${\eta }_{\mathrm{b}}$, and the diffusion regime. We found 5 possible sets of parameters for which >75% of realisations agree with the combined data from the HGPS and LHAASO 1st catalogue. Certain regions of the parameter space are strongly disfavoured, such as Bohm diffusion. Our model successfully reproduces the YMSC population observed in both catalogues. With future systematic surveys, e.g. the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), this approach will help break degeneracies and improve our understanding of particle acceleration at YMSC shocks in the Galaxy.

Published in A&A 07 May 2026

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