H.E.S.S. observations of the massive stellar cluster Westerlund 1

Link:
Beteiligte Personen:
  • Rieger, Frank M.
  • van Eldik, Christopher
  • Hofmann, Werner
Verlag/Körperschaft:
Sissa Medialab Srl
Erscheinungsjahr:
2010
Medientyp:
Text
Beschreibung:
  • Westerlund 1 (Wd 1) is best known for being the most massive stellar cluster in the Galaxy, har-bouring the richest population (≥24) of stars in the Wolf-Rayet phase. The dissipated power inthe form of kinetic energy in stellar winds and expanding supernova (SN) shells has been esti-mated to reachL≈3×1039erg s−1. A fraction of the kinetic energy is available to accelerateparticles to very-high energies, e.g. at the boundaries of wind-blown bubbles, in colliding windzones in binary systems, or in the framework of collective wind or wind/SN ejecta scenarios.Owing to these particle acceleration scenarios, Wd 1 has become a promising target for VHEγ-ray observations. Here we present spectral and morphological results of H.E.S.S. observationsof Wd 1 performed from 2004 to 2008 and discuss the origin of thedetected, degree-scale VHEγ-ray emission in the context of different particle acceleration mechanisms.
Lizenz:
  • info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Quellsystem:
Forschungsinformationssystem der UHH

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Quelldatensatz
oai:www.edit.fis.uni-hamburg.de:publications/d3bba093-5a89-4da5-9ebe-8355b796e469