Testing the Molecular Cloud Paradigm for Ultra-High-Energy Gamma Ray Emission from the Direction of SNR G106.3+2.7

TL;DR

This study investigates the gamma ray emission from SNR G106.3+2.7, using extensive data to determine its morphology and spectrum, supporting the hypothesis that the SNR can produce PeV cosmic rays through hadronic processes.

Contribution

It provides detailed morphological and spectral analysis of SNR G106.3+2.7 at very-high energies, demonstrating its capability to produce PeV cosmic rays via hadronic mechanisms.

Findings

Detected gamma ray emission above 100 TeV.

Identified a flux peak in the TeV energy range.

Supported a hadronic origin for the highest-energy gamma rays.

Abstract

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are believed to be capable of accelerating cosmic rays (CRs) to PeV energies. SNR G106.3+2.7 is a prime PeVatron candidate. It is formed by a head region, where the pulsar J2229+6114 and its boomerang-shaped pulsar wind nebula are located, and a tail region containing SN ejecta. The lack of observed gamma ray emission from the two regions of this SNR has made it difficult to assess which region would be responsible for the PeV CRs. We aim to characterize the very-high-energy (VHE, 0.1-100 TeV) gamma ray emission from SNR G106.3+2.7 by determining the morphology and spectral energy distribution of the region. This is accomplished using 2565 days of data and improved reconstruction algorithms from the HAWC Observatory. We also explore possible gamma ray production mechanisms for different energy ranges. Using a multi-source fitting procedure based on a maximum-likelihood estimation method, we evaluate the complex nature of this region. We determine the morphology, spectrum, and energy range for the source found in the region. Molecular cloud information is also used to create a template and evaluate the HAWC gamma ray spectral properties at ultra-high-energies (UHE, >56 TeV). This will help probe the hadronic nature of the highest-energy emission from the region. We resolve one extended source coincident with all other gamma ray observations of the region. The emission reaches above 100~TeV and its preferred log-parabola shape in the spectrum shows a flux peak in the TeV range. The molecular cloud template fit on the higher energy data reveals that the SNR's energy budget is fully capable of producing a purely hadronic source for UHE gamma rays.