Related papers: Gamma-ray binaries
We argue that the bright flare of the binary pulsar \object{PSR B1259$-$63/LS2883} detected by the {\it Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT), is due to the inverse Compton (IC) scattering of the unshocked electron-positron pulsar wind with a…
In the very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray wave band, pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) represent to date the most populous class of Galactic sources. Nevertheless, the details of the energy conversion mechanisms in the vicinity of pulsars are not…
Gamma-ray binaries are stellar systems containing a neutron star or black hole with gamma-ray emission produced by an interaction between the components. These systems are rare, even though binary evolution models predict dozens in our…
LS I +61 303 is a puzzling Be/X-ray binary with variable gamma-ray emission at up TeV energies. The nature of the compact object and the origin of the high-energy emission are unclear. One family of models invokes particle acceleration in…
We investigate the effects of inverse Compton scattering by electrons and positrons in the unshocked winds of rotationally-powered binary pulsars. This process can scatter low energy target photons to produce gamma rays with energies from…
X-ray binaries are binary star systems in which a compact object (a neutron star or a black hole) and a relatively normal star orbit a common centre of mass. Since the discovery of X-ray binaries with the first X-ray telescopes in the…
Pulsars play a crucial astrophysical role as the highly energetic compact radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray sources. Our previous works show that the radio pulsars found as the pulsing gamma sources by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the board…
LS 5039 is among the most interesting VHE sources in the Galaxy. Two scenarios have been put forward to explain the observed TeV radiation: jets vs pulsar winds. The source has been detected during the superior conjunction of the compact…
Only a few binary systems with compact objects display TeV emission. The physical properties of the companion stars represent basic input to understand the physical mechanisms behind the particle acceleration, emission, and absorption…
A young and energetic pulsar powers the well-known Crab Nebula. Here we describe two separate gamma-ray (photon energy >100 MeV) flares from this source detected by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The…
Non-thermal variable emission from radio to very-high energy gamma rays (VHE; >100 GeV) are the prime characteristics of gamma-ray binaries. The underlying physical processes leading to the observed VHE emission are not well understood, as…
High-mass microquasars are binary systems consisting of a massive star and an accreting compact object from which relativistic jets are launched. There is considerable observational evidence that winds of massive stars are clumpy.…
Several binary systems, composed of a star and a compact object, have been detected in the GeV-TeV range. Several systems have been observed but only a handful of sources have shown emission at those energies. Here, we present the…
Pulsars are known to be efficient accelerators that produce copious amounts of relativistic particles and inject them into the Galactic medium. The radiation emitted by such a pulsar wind can be seen from radio through gamma-rays as a…
In this chapter we review some aspects of X-ray binaries, particularly those presenting steady jets, i.e. microquasars. Because of their proximity and similarities with active galactic nuclei (AGN), galactic jet sources are unique…
Binaries hosting a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar are powerful non-thermal emitters due to the interaction of the pulsar and the stellar wind. The winds of massive stars are thought to be inhomogeneous, which could have an impact…
The binary systems that have been detected in gamma rays have proven very useful to study high-energy processes, in particular particle acceleration, emission and radiation reprocessing, and the dynamics of the underlying magnetized flows.…
Gamma-ray binaries are X-ray binaries with gamma-ray emissions. Their multi-wavelength emissions range from radio, optical, X-ray and to very high energy (TeV). X-ray emissions are crucial to understand the nature of gamma-ray binaries.…
The discovery of very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emitting X-ray binaries has triggered an intense effort to better understand the particle acceleration, absorption, and emission mechanisms in compact binary systems, which provide variable…
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…