HAWC Study on the Ultra-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emissions from the Pulsar Wind Nebula G32.64+0.53

TL;DR

This study uses HAWC data to analyze gamma-ray emissions from PWN G32.64+0.53, confirming it as a PeV electron accelerator with emissions extending beyond 100 TeV, and constraining its physical properties.

Contribution

First detailed analysis confirming G32.64+0.53 as a leptonic PeV accelerator using 2860 days of HAWC data and a sophisticated diffuse emission model.

Findings

UHE gamma-ray emission confirmed up to 270 TeV

Nebula accelerates electrons to ~1.5 PeV

System age estimated at 26.8 kyr

Abstract

Multi-TeV gamma-ray emission around eHWC J1850+001 (a source from the first HAWC catalog of gamma-ray sources emitting above 56 TeV) is spatially coincident with the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) G32.64+0.53, powered by PSR J1849-0001. The absence of counterparts in radio, optical, and GeV energy ranges, contrasted with clear detections in X-rays and very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-rays, is indicative of a non-thermal leptonic origin for the nebula. We apply a systematic analysis pipeline, including a sophisticated model for the Galactic diffuse emission, to 2860 days of data from the HAWC Observatory. Our detailed analysis confirms that the ultra-high-energy (UHE) emission originates from G32.64+0.53, and we measure its spectrum up to 270 TeV with significant emission well beyond 100 TeV. We fit the multi-wavelength observations with a time-dependent leptonic model powered by the pulsar's rotational energy, and the results establish the nebula as a leptonic PeV accelerator, capable of accelerating electrons to a maximum energy of $E_{\mathrm{cut}}=1.5_{-0.6}^{+1.7}~\mathrm{PeV}$. The model also constrains the true age of the system to $26.8~\mathrm{kyr}$ and the nebular magnetic field to a low value of $2.5 ~\mathrm{\mu G}$, supporting a leptonic PWN origin for the observed UHE emission.