Multiwavelength Observations of the TeV Binary LS I +61° 303 with VERITAS, Fermi-LAT, and Swift/XRT during a TeV Outburst

• We present the results of a multiwavelength observational campaign on the TeV binary system LS I +61° 303 with the VERITAS telescope array (>200 GeV), Fermi-LAT (0.3-300 GeV), and Swift/XRT (2-10 keV). The data were taken from 2011 December through 2012 January and show a strong detection in all three wavebands. During this period VERITAS obtained 24.9 hr of quality selected livetime data in which LS I +61° 303 was detected at a statistical significance of 11.9σ. These TeV observations show evidence for nightly variability in the TeV regime at a post-trial significance of 3.6σ. The combination of the simultaneously obtained TeV and X-ray fluxes do not demonstrate any evidence for a correlation between emission in the two bands. For the first time since the launch of the Fermi satellite in 2008, this TeV detection allows the construction of a detailed MeV-TeV spectral energy distribution from LS I +61° 303. This spectrum shows a distinct cutoff in emission near 4 GeV, with emission seen by the VERITAS observations following a simple power-law above 200 GeV. This feature in the spectrum of LS I +61° 303, obtained from overlapping observations with Fermi-LAT and VERITAS, may indicate that there are two distinct populations of accelerated particles producing the GeV and TeV emission.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

acceleration of particles

binaries: general

gamma rays: stars

relativistic processes

X-rays: binaries

Astropartikelfysik

Astroparticle Physics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)