Related papers: Revealing Gamma-Ray Binaries
Cosmic rays (CRs) are charged particles that arrive at Earth isotropically from all directions and interact with the atmosphere. The presence of a spectral knee feature seen in the CR spectrum at $\sim$3 PeV energies is an evidence that…
Microquasars are binary star systems with relativistic radio-emitting jets. They are potential sources of cosmic rays and laboratories for elucidating the physics of relativistic jets. Here we report the detection of variable gamma-ray…
Classical novae produce radioactive nuclei which are emitters of gamma-rays in the MeV range. Some examples are the lines at 478 and 1275 keV (from 7Be and 22Na) and the positron-electron annihilation emission, with the 511 keV line and a…
gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely sources of ultra-high energy, >10^{19} eV, protons and high energy, >1 TeV, neutrinos. Large volume detectors of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and high energy neutrinos, which are already…
I present a review of the main phenomenological properties at high energies related to massive gamma-ray binaries and I discuss some aspects of pulsar models for these objects.
Diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission is produced in interactions of cosmic rays with gas and ambient photon fields and thus provides us with an indirect measurement of cosmic rays in various locations in the Galaxy. The diffuse gamma-ray…
We discuss the ability of the GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT) to identify, resolve, and study the high energy gamma-ray sky. Compared to previous instruments the telescope will have greatly improved sensitivity and ability to localize…
Since their discovery in 1973, Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) have remained for many years one of the most elusive mysteries in High Energy-Astrophysics. The main problem regarding the nature of GRBs has usually been the lack of knowledge of their…
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are extra-galactic and extremely energetic transient emissions of gamma rays, which are thought to be associated with the death of massive stars or the merger of compact objects in binary systems. Their huge…
Ultra high energy gamma rays produce electron--positron pairs in interactions on the geomagnetic field. The pair electrons suffer magnetic bremsstrahlung and the energy of the primary gamma ray is shared by a bunch of lower energy…
Microquasars are stellar x-ray binaries that behave as a scaled down version of extragalactic quasars. The star LS 5039 is a new microquasar system with apparent persistent ejection of relativistic plasma at a 3 kiloparsec distance from the…
The propagation of $\gamma$ rays over very large distances provides new insights on the intergalactic medium and on fundamental physics. On their path to the Earth, $\gamma$ rays can annihilate with diffuse infrared or optical photons of…
The detection of photons above 10 keV through MeV and GeV energies is challenging due to the penetrating nature of the radiation, which can require large detector volumes, resulting in correspondingly high background. In this energy range,…
Data obtained in the very high energy gamma-ray band with the new generation of imaging telescopes, in particular through the galactic plane survey undertaken by H.E.S.S., low threshold observations with MAGIC and more recently by operation…
Recently, two nearby prominent starburst galaxies, M82 and NGC253, have been detected as point-like sources with gamma-ray telescopes at TeV energies [1] [2]. It has been claimed that these detections show that the cosmic ray intensity in…
High-energy gamma rays are a valuable tool for studying particle acceleration and radiation in the magnetospheres of energetic pulsars. The seven or more pulsars seen by instruments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) show that: the…
Recent observations of blazars at high energy (HE, 0.1-100 GeV) and very high energy (VHE, >0.1 TeV) have provided important constraints on the intensity and spectrum of the diffuse Extragalactic Background Light (EBL), shedding light on…
Microquasars, X-ray binary systems that generate relativistic jets, were discovered in our Galaxy in the last decade of the XXth century. Their name indicates that they are manifestations of the same physics as quasars but on a completely…
The very large collection area of ground-based gamma-ray telescopes gives them a substantial advantage over balloon/satellite based instruments in the detection of very-high-energy (>600 GeV) cosmic-ray electrons. Here we present the…
High-energy photons are a powerful probe for astrophysics and for fundamental physics under extreme conditions. During the recent years, our knowledge of the most violent phenomena in the universe has impressively progressed thanks to the…