A Multi-Wavelength Study of the Unidentified TeV Gamma-ray Source HESS J1626-490

TL;DR

This study investigates the unidentified TeV gamma-ray source HESS J1626-490 by analyzing X-ray and molecular data, concluding a hadronic origin involving cosmic rays from a nearby supernova remnant.

Contribution

It provides the first multi-wavelength analysis linking HESS J1626-490 to a molecular cloud and a supernova remnant, proposing a hadronic emission scenario.

Findings

No X-ray point sources match the gamma-ray source's energetic requirements.

No diffuse X-ray emission detected above the Galactic background.

Cosmic rays from SNR G335.2+00.1 likely interact with a molecular cloud to produce gamma rays.

Abstract

HESS J1626-490, so far only detected with the H.E.S.S. array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, could not be unambiguously identified with any source seen at lower energies. Therefore, we analyzed data from an archival XMM-Newton observation, pointed towards HESS J1626-490, to classify detected point-like and extended X-ray sources according to their spectral properties. None of the detected X-ray point sources fulfills the energetic requirements to be considered as the synchrotron radiation (SR) counterpart to the VHE source assuming an Inverse Compton (IC) emission scenario. Furthermore, we did not detect any diffuse X-ray excess emission originating from the region around HESS J1626-490 above the Galactic Background. The derived upper limit for the total X-ray flux disfavors a purely leptonic emission scenario for HESS J1626-490. To characterize the Interstellar Medium surrounding HESS J1626-490 we analyzed ^{12}CO(J=1-0) molecular line data from the Nanten Galactic plane survey and HI data from the Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS). We found a good morphological match between molecular and atomic gas in the -27 km/s to -18 km/s line-of-sight velocity range and HESS J1626-490. The cloud has a mass of 1.8x10^4 M_sun and is located at a mean kinematic distance of d = 1.8 kpc. Furthermore, we found a density depression in the HI gas at a similar distance which is spatially consistent with the SNR G335.2+00.1. Therefore, the most likely origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission observed with H.E.S.S. is the hadronic interaction of cosmic rays with a moderately dense molecular cloud, which we detected with Nanten. The application of a detailed hadronic model for cosmic ray transport and interaction shows that the cosmic rays could originate from the nearby SNR G335.2+00.1.