Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Observations of the Galactic Centre Region

TL;DR

Recent advancements in VHE gamma-ray observations have enabled detailed studies of the Galactic Centre, revealing both compact sources and diffuse emission, which help understand energetic particle behavior near the Milky Way's core.

Contribution

This paper reviews recent VHE gamma-ray observations of the Galactic Centre, highlighting new diffuse emission detection and discussing future CTA prospects.

Findings

Detection of faint diffuse gamma-ray emission

Identification of two compact gamma-ray sources

Insights into particle acceleration near the Galactic Centre

Abstract

Recent progress in pushing the sensitivity of the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique into the 10 mCrab regime has enabled first sensitive observations of the innermost few 100 pc of the Milky Way in Very High Energy (VHE; >100 GeV) gamma rays. These observations are a valuable tool to understand the acceleration and propagation of energetic particles near the Galactic Centre. Remarkably, besides two compact gamma-ray sources, faint diffuse gamma-ray emission has been discovered with high significance. The current VHE gamma-ray view of the Galactic Centre region is reviewed, and possible counterparts of the gamma-ray sources and the origin of the diffuse emission are discussed. The future prospects for VHE Galactic Centre observations are discussed based on order-of-magnitude estimates for a CTA type array of telescopes.