Gamma-ray emission from high Galactic latitude globular clusters

TL;DR

This study analyzes 8 years of Fermi-LAT data to detect and characterize gamma-ray emission from 30 high Galactic latitude globular clusters, revealing diverse spectral behaviors and potential links to X-ray sources.

Contribution

It provides the first detection of gamma-ray emission from NGC 6254 and refines spectral models for multiple globular clusters, suggesting diverse emission mechanisms.

Findings

Six clusters detected with TS > 25

NGC 6254 detected as gamma-ray bright for the first time

Spectral models vary, indicating multiple source types

Abstract

We analyse 8 years of PASS 8 Fermi-LAT data, in the 60 MeV - 300 GeV energy range, from 30 high Galactic latitude globular clusters. Six of these globular clusters are detected with a TS > 25, with NGC 6254 being detected as gamma-ray bright for the first time. The most significant detection is of the well-known globular cluster 47 Tuc, and we produce a refined spectral fit for this object with a log parabola model. NGC 6093, NGC 6752 and NGC 6254 are fitted with hard, flat power law models, NGC 7078 is best fitted with a soft power law and NGC 6218 is best fitted with a hard, broken power law. This variety of spectral models suggests that there is a variety of gamma-ray source types within globular clusters, in addition to the traditional millisecond pulsar interpretation. We identify a correspondence between diffuse X-ray emission in globular cluster cores and gamma-ray emission. This connection suggests that gamma-ray emission in globular clusters could also arise from unresolved X-ray sources or a relativistic electron population, perhaps generated by the millisecond pulsars. X-ray observations of further gamma-ray bright globular clusters would allow a functional relationship to be determined between diffuse X-ray and gamma-ray emission.