Upper limits on gamma-ray emission from Supernovae serendipitously observed with H.E.S.S

TL;DR

This study used H.E.S.S. observations to set upper limits on gamma-ray emission from nine nearby supernovae, finding no significant signals and constraining theoretical models of particle acceleration in young supernovae.

Contribution

First to analyze serendipitous H.E.S.S. data for supernovae, providing upper limits on gamma-ray emission and informing models of particle acceleration.

Findings

No significant gamma-ray emission detected from the supernovae.

Gamma-ray upper limits of approximately 10^{-13} cm^{-2}s^{-1} above 1 TeV.

Constraints on models predicting gamma-ray emission from young supernovae.

Abstract

Recent theoretical models suggest that young supernovae might be able to accelerate particles, which in turn might generate very high energy gamma-ray emission. We search for gamma-ray emission towards supernovae in nearby galaxies which were serendipitously within the field of view of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) within a year of the supernova event. H.E.S.S. data collected between December 2003 and March 2015 were considered and compared to recent catalogs. Nine candidate supernovae were identified and analyzed. No significant emission from these objects has been found. Gamma-ray emission upper limits, which are of the order $\sim$10$^{-13}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ above 1 TeV, are reported.