The GeV $\gamma$-ray emission from the composite SNR CTB 87

TL;DR

This study analyzes 16 years of Fermi LAT data to identify two distinct GeV gamma-ray sources near SNR CTB 87, linking one to the SNR-MC interaction and the other to a pulsar wind nebula, with implications for understanding their emission mechanisms.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed analysis of GeV gamma-ray emission from CTB 87, identifying two separate sources and modeling the PWN emission with a leptonic scenario.

Findings

Two separate GeV gamma-ray sources identified near CTB 87.

One source likely due to SNR shock interaction with molecular clouds.

The other source is associated with the pulsar wind nebula VER J2016+371.

Abstract

We report the GeV $\gamma$-ray emission around the composite supernova remnant (SNR) CTB 87 with more than 16 yrs PASS 8 data recorded by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. Two separate point sources with the different GeV spectra are identified in this region: one has a soft $\gamma$-ray spectrum, likely due to interactions between the SNR shock and molecular clouds (MCs); and another source with a hard GeV $\gamma$-ray spectrum aligns with the TeV spectrum of VER J2016+371, suggesting it as the GeV counterpart. Considering the observations of CTB 87 in the radio and X-ray bands, VER J2016+371 is proposed to originate from the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) associated with PSR J2016+3711. A leptonic model with a broken power-law electron distribution could explain the multi-wavelength data of VER J2016+371, with fitted parameters matching typical $\gamma$-ray PWNe. Deeper searching for the SNR shock of CTB 87 in other bands and the future TeV observations by LHAASO and CTA are crucial to reveal the nature of CTB 87.