Observation of radio galaxies with HAWC

TL;DR

This paper reports upper limits on TeV gamma-ray flux from the radio galaxy M87 observed with HAWC, providing insights into high-energy processes and neutrino expectations, with implications for theoretical models.

Contribution

It presents the first upper limits on TeV gamma-ray emission from M87 using HAWC data, constraining models of high-energy emission and neutrino production.

Findings

Upper limits set on M87's TeV gamma-ray flux.

Implications for photo-hadronic interaction models.

Estimated neutrino event expectations in IceCube.

Abstract

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory is an extensive air shower array located in Puebla, Mexico. The closest radio galaxy within the HAWC field of view, M87, has been detected in very high energies. In this work we report upper limits on the TeV {\gamma}-ray flux of the radio galaxy M87. At a distance of 16 Mpc, M87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy located in the Virgo Cluster that has been observed from radio wavelengths to TeV {\gamma}-rays. Although a single-zone synchrotron self-Compton model has been successfully used to explain the spectral energy distribution of this source up to a few GeV, the {\gamma}-ray spectrum at TeV has been interpreted within different theoretical models. We discuss the implications of these upper limits on the photo-hadronic interactions, as well as the number of neutrino events expected in the IceCube neutrino telescope.