FERMI-LAT Observations of Supernova Remnant G5.7-0.1, Believed to be Interacting with Molecular Clouds

TL;DR

This study reports the detection and modeling of gamma-ray emission from supernova remnant G5.7-0.1, confirming its interaction with molecular clouds and identifying pi-zero decay as a key emission process.

Contribution

First detailed gamma-ray analysis of SNR G5.7-0.1, demonstrating pi-zero decay as a major emission mechanism and constraining its distance and luminosity.

Findings

Gamma-ray emission coincides with SNR G5.7-0.1

Pi-zero decay dominates gamma-ray production

SNR is approximately 3 kpc away with luminosity ~7.4e34 erg/s

Abstract

This work reports on the detection of $\gamma$-ray emission coincident with the supernova remnant (SNR) SNR G5.7-0.1 using data collected by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The SNR is believed to be interacting with molecular clouds, based on 1720 MHz hydroxyl (OH) maser emission observations in its direction. This interaction is expected to provide targets for the production of $\gamma$-ray emission from $\pi^0$-decay. A $\gamma$-ray source was observed in the direction of SNR G5.7-0.1, positioned nearby the bright $\gamma$-ray source SNR W28. We model the emission from radio to $\gamma$-ray energies using a one-zone model. Following consideration of both $\pi^0$-decay and leptonically dominated emission scenarios for the MeV-TeV source, we conclude that a considerable component of the $\gamma$-ray emission must originate from the $\pi^0$-decay channel. Finally, constraints were placed on the reported ambiguity of the SNR distance through X-ray column density measurements made using XMM-Newton observations. We conclude SNR G5.7-0.1 is a significant $\gamma$-ray source positioned at a distance of $\sim 3$ kpc with luminosity in the 0.1--100 GeV range of $L_{\gamma} \approx 7.4 \times 10^{34}$ erg/s.