English

An extragalactic gamma-ray binary formed in supernova 2022jli

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2025-12-11 v1

Abstract

On May 5 2022, a type Ic supernova (SN) explosion SN~2022jli was discovered. This SN showed additional optical emissions, which were found to exhibit 12.4-day periodic undulations and concordant periodic velocity shifts. These key features likely indicate a compact object in a binary system was formed. A faint γ\gamma-ray source was also detected at the position of the SN and upon checking the γ\gamma-ray photons' arrival times, it was revealed that the same 12.4-day periodicity was likely present. Here we report our detailed analysis results for the γ\gamma-ray source. Not only was the γ\gamma-ray emission detectable for \sim1.5\,years since the discovery time, but a strong modulation at period 12.5\,day was also clearly determined. Considering the newly formed compact object to be a neutron star or a stellar-mass black hole, the putative binary, having an orbital period of 12.5\,day, is likely the first extragalactic high-energy system detected. The system may serve as a valuable example for the formation of many such binaries observed in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.09223,
  title  = {An extragalactic gamma-ray binary formed in supernova 2022jli},
  author = {Pengfei Zhang and Zhongxiang Wang and Shunhao Ji},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.09223},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to Nature Communications, under review

R2 v1 2026-07-01T08:18:10.551Z