Review on the multiwavelength emission of the gamma-ray binary LS I +61 303

TL;DR

This review summarizes the multiwavelength emission observations of the gamma-ray binary LS I +61 303 and discusses the competing models explaining its emission mechanisms, including pulsar wind interaction and microquasar scenarios.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of observational data and theoretical models for LS I +61 303, highlighting the ongoing debate over its emission origin.

Findings

Multiwavelength emission data compiled from radio to gamma-rays.

Evidence supporting both pulsar wind and microquasar models.

Discussion of conflicting observational results over decades.

Abstract

Gamma-ray binaries are systems composed of a massive star and a compact object that produce emission from radio to very high energy gamma-rays. LS I +61 303 is one of the only six gamma-ray binaries discovered so far. It is thought that gamma-ray binaries contain a young highly rotating neutron star as compact object, and the emission is produced by the interaction between its relativistic pulsar wind and the stellar wind, However, in the case of LS I +61 303 a microquasar scenario is still considered and results pointing to oppose directions have been published during the last decades. Here we provide a review about the state of the art of LS I +61 303, summarizing the observed emission from radio to very high energy gamma-rays along all these years, and we discuss the proposed scenarios that can explain such emission.