On the Origin of the Gamma-Ray Emission toward SNR CTB 37A with $Fermi$-LAT

TL;DR

This study uses eight years of Fermi-LAT data to analyze the gamma-ray emission from SNR CTB 37A, revealing its compact morphology, spectral characteristics, and the role of cosmic ray reacceleration in its emission.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed morphological and spectral analysis of CTB 37A's gamma-ray emission using improved Fermi-LAT data, and models the emission as resulting from cosmic ray reacceleration in the remnant's environment.

Findings

Gamma-ray emission is compact with a 68% containment radius of 0.116 degrees.

The gamma-ray spectrum follows a LogParabola with a spectral index of 1.92 and curvature 0.18.

Reacceleration of preexisting cosmic rays by shocks explains the broadband emission.

Abstract

The middle-aged supernova remnant (SNR) CTB 37A is known to interact with several dense molecular clouds through the detection of shocked ${\rm H_{2}}$ and OH 1720 MHz maser emission. In the present work, we use eight years of $\textit Fermi$-LAT Pass 8 data, with an improved point-spread function and an increased acceptance, to perform detailed morphological and spectral studies of the $\gamma$-ray emission toward CTB 37A from 200 MeV to 200 GeV. The best fit of the source extension is obtained for a very compact Gaussian model with a significance of 5.75$\sigma$ and a 68\% containment radius of $0.116^{\circ}$ $\pm$ $0.014^{\circ}_{\rm stat}$ $\pm$ $0.017^{\circ}_{\rm sys}$ above 1 GeV, which is larger than the TeV emission size. The energy spectrum is modeled as a LogParabola, resulting in a spectral index $\alpha$ = 1.92 $\pm$ 0.19 at 1 GeV and a curvature $\beta$ = 0.18 $\pm$ 0.05, which becomes softer than the TeV spectrum above 10 GeV. The SNR properties, including a dynamical age of 6000 yr, are derived assuming the Sedov phase. From the multiwavelength modeling of emission toward the remnant, we conclude that the nonthermal radio and GeV emission is mostly due to the reacceleration of preexisting cosmic rays (CRs) by radiative shocks in the adjacent clouds. Furthermore, the observational data allow us to constrain the total kinetic energy transferred to the trapped CRs in the clouds. Based on these facts, we infer a composite nature for CTB 37A to explain the broadband spectrum and to elucidate the nature of the observed $\gamma$-ray emission.