H.E.S.S. observations of massive stellar clusters
Abstract
Stellar clusters are potential acceleration sites of very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100GeV) particles since they host supernova remnants (SNRs) and pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). Additionally, in stellar clusters, particles can also be accelerated e.g. at the boundaries of wind-blown bubbles, in colliding wind zones in massive binary systems or in the framework of collective wind or wind/supernova(SN) ejecta scenarios. Motivated by the detection of VHE gamma-ray emission towards Westerlund 2 and assuming similar particle acceleration mechanisms at work, Westerlund 1 is an even more promising target for VHE gamma-ray observations given that massive star content and distance are more favorable for detectable VHE gamma-ray emission compared to Westerlund 2. Here, H.E.S.S. observations of massive stellar clusters in general with special emphasis on the most massive stellar cluster in the galaxy, Westerlund 1 are summarized.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0906.2637,
title = {H.E.S.S. observations of massive stellar clusters},
author = {Stefan Ohm and Dieter Horns and Olaf Reimer and Jim Hinton and Gavin Rowell and Emma de Oña Wilhelmi and Milton Virgilio Fernandes and Fabio Acero and Alexandre Marcowith},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0906.2637},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Invited talk at HEPIMS Workshop (Jaen 2009); 10 pages, 4 figures, to appear in PASP