English

Galactic Binaries Can Explain the Fermi Galactic Center Excess and 511 keV Emission

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2018-08-15 v1

Abstract

The Fermi-LAT Galactic Center excess and the 511 keV positron-annihilation signal from the inner Galaxy bare a striking morphological similarity. We propose that both can be explained through a scenario in which millisecond pulsars produce the Galactic Center excess and their progenitors, low-mass X-ray binaries, the 511 keV signal. As a proof-of-principle we study a specific population synthesis scenario from the literature involving so-called ultracompact X-ray binaries. Moreover, for the first time, we quantitatively show that neutron star, rather than black hole, low-mass X-ray binaries can be responsible for the majority of the positrons. In this particular scenario binary millisecond pulsars can be both the source of the Fermi-LAT γ\gamma-ray excess and the bulge positrons. Future avenues to test this scenario are discussed.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1803.04370,
  title  = {Galactic Binaries Can Explain the Fermi Galactic Center Excess and 511 keV Emission},
  author = {Richard Bartels and Francesca Calore and Emma Storm and Christoph Weniger},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1803.04370},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

11 pages, 5 figures, appendix, comments welcome