Detectability of Supernova Remnants with the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory

TL;DR

This paper predicts the detection prospects of supernova remnants with the upcoming Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory, using a model validated against current data to estimate how many SNRs will be observed.

Contribution

It introduces a model of SNR gamma-ray emission, applies it to predict SWGO detections, and validates it with current observations, advancing gamma-ray astronomy capabilities.

Findings

SWGO could detect 6 to 11 SNRs within one year.

The model accurately fits current SNR gamma-ray data.

Predicted detection rates will enhance understanding of cosmic ray sources.

Abstract

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are likely sources of hadronic particle acceleration within our galaxy, contributing to the galactic cosmic ray flux. Next-generation instruments, such as the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), will be of crucial importance in identifying new candidate SNRs. SWGO will observe two-thirds of the gamma-ray sky, covering the energy range between a few hundreds of GeV and a PeV. In this work, we apply a model of SNR evolution to a catalogue of SNRs in order to predict their gamma-ray spectra, explore the SNR emission phase space, and quantify detection prospects for SWGO. Finally, we validate our model for sources observed with current-generation instruments, fitting it using a Monte-Carlo Markov Chain technique to the observed gamma-ray emission from four SNRs. We anticipate that at least 6, and potentially as many as 11 SNRs will be detected by SWGO within 1 year.