Discovery of very-high-energy γ-rays from the Galactic Centre ridge

被引:420
|
作者
Aharonian, F
Akhperjanian, AG
Bazer-Bachi, AR
Beilicke, M
Benbow, W
Berge, D
Bernlöhr, K
Boisson, C
Bolz, O
Borrel, V
Braun, I
Breitling, F
Brown, AM
Chadwick, PM
Chounet, LM
Cornils, R
Costamante, L
Degrange, B
Dickinson, HJ
Djannati-Ataï, A
Drury, LO
Dubus, G
Emmanoulopoulos, D
Espigat, P
Feinstein, F
Fontaine, G
Fuchs, Y
Funk, S
Gallant, YA
Giebels, B
Gillessen, S
Glicenstein, JF
Goret, P
Hadjichristidis, C
Hauser, D
Hauser, M
Heinzelmann, G
Henri, G
Hermann, G
Hinton, JA
Hofmann, W
Holleran, M
Horns, D
Jacholkowska, A
de Jager, OC
Khélifi, B
Klages, S
Komin, N
Konopelko, A
Latham, IJ
机构
[1] Max Planck Inst Kernphys, D-69029 Heidelberg, Germany
[2] Yerevan Phys Inst, Yerevan 375036, Armenia
[3] UPS, CNRS, Ctr Etud Spatiale Rayonnements, F-31029 Toulouse 4, France
[4] Univ Hamburg, Inst Expt Phys, D-22761 Hamburg, Germany
[5] Humboldt Univ, Inst Phys, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
[6] Observ Paris, CNRS, UMR 8102, LUTH,Sect Meudon, F-92195 Meudon, France
[7] Univ Durham, Dept Phys, Durham DH1 3LE, England
[8] Ecole Polytech, CNRS, IN2P3, Lab Leprince Ringuet, F-91128 Palaiseau, France
[9] APC, F-75231 Paris 05, France
[10] Univ Paris 06, CEA, Observ Paris, CNRS,UMR 7164, F-75252 Paris 05, France
[11] Dublin Inst Adv Studies, Dublin 2, Ireland
[12] Landessternwarte Konigstuhl, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
[13] Univ Montpellier 2, CNRS, IN2P3, Lab Phys Theoret & Astroparticules, F-34095 Montpellier 5, France
[14] Univ Grenoble 1, CNRS, INSU, Lab AStrophys Grenoble, F-38041 Grenoble 9, France
[15] Ctr Etud Saclay, CEA, DAPNIA, DSM, F-91191 Gif Sur Yvette, France
[16] NW Univ, Unit Space Phys, ZA-2520 Potchefstroom, South Africa
[17] Univ Paris 06, CNRS, IN2P3, Lab Phys Nucl & Hautes Energies, F-75252 Paris 5, France
[18] Univ Paris 07, CNRS, IN2P3, Lab Phys Nucl & Hautes Energies, F-75252 Paris 5, France
[19] Ruhr Univ Bochum, Inst Theoret Phys, Lehrstuhl Weltraum & Astrophys 4, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
[20] Charles Univ Prague, Inst Nucl & Particle Phys, Prague 18000 8, Czech Republic
[21] Univ Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
基金
新加坡国家研究基金会;
关键词
D O I
10.1038/nature04467
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
The source of Galactic cosmic rays ( with energies up to 10(15) eV) remains unclear, although it is widely believed that they originate in the shock waves of expanding supernova remnants(1,2). At present the best way to investigate their acceleration and propagation is by observing the gamma-rays produced when cosmic rays interact with interstellar gas(3). Here we report observations of an extended region of very-high-energy (> 10(11) eV) gamma-ray emission correlated spatially with a complex of giant molecular clouds in the central 200 parsecs of the Milky Way. The hardness of the gamma-ray spectrum and the conditions in those molecular clouds indicate that the cosmic rays giving rise to the gamma-rays are likely to be protons and nuclei rather than electrons. The energy associated with the cosmic rays could have come from a single supernova explosion around 10(4) years ago.
引用
收藏
页码:695 / 698
页数:4
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