Extended gamma-ray sources around pulsars constrain the origin of the positron 
flux at Earth

HAWC collaboration,; Abeysekara, A. U.; Albert, A.; Alfaro, R.; Alvarez, C.; Álvarez, J. D.; Arceo, R.; Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.; Rojas, D. Avila; Solares, H. A. Ayala; Barber, A. S.; Bautista-Elivar, N.; Becerril, A.; Belmont-Moreno, E.; BenZvi, S. Y.; Berley, D.; Bernal, A.; Braun, J.; Brisbois, C.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Capistrán, T.; Carramiñana, A.; Casanova, S.; Castillo, M.; Cotti, U.; Cotzomi, J.; de León, S. Coutiño; De León, C.; De la Fuente, E.; Dingus, B. L.; DuVernois, M. A.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Engel, K.; Enríquez-Rivera, O.; Fiorino, D. W.; Fraija, N.; García-González, J. A.; Garfias, F.; Gerhardt, M.; Muñoz, A. González; González, M. M.; Goodman, J. A.; Hampel-Arias, Z.; Harding, J. P.; Hernández, S.; Hernández-Almada, A.; Hinton, J.; Hona, B.; Hui, C. M.; Hüntemeyer, P.; Iriarte, A.; Jardin-Blicq, A.; Joshi, V.; Kaufmann, S.; Kieda, D.; Lara, A.; Lauer, R. J.; Lee, W. H.; Lennarz, D.; Vargas, H. León; Linnemann, J. T.; Longinotti, A. L.; Raya, G. Luis; Luna-García, R.; López-Coto, R-; Malone, K.; Marinelli, S. S.; Martinez, O.; Martinez-Castellanos, I.; Martínez-Castro, J.; Martínez-Huerta, H.; Matthews, J. A.; Miranda-Romagnoli, P.; Moreno, E.; Mostafá, M.; Nellen, L.; Newbold, M.; Nisa, M. U.; Noriega-Papaqui, R.; Pelayo, R.; Pretz, J.; Pérez-Pérez, E. G.; Ren, Z.; Rho, C. D.; Rivière, C.; Rosa-González, D.; Rosenberg, M.; Ruiz Velasco, E.; Salazar, H.; Greus, F. Salesa; Sandoval, A.; Schneider, M.; Schoorlemmer, H.; Sinnis, G.; Smith, A. J.; Springer, R. W.; Surajbali, P.; Taboada, I.; Tibolla, O.; Tollefson, K.; Torres, I.; Ukwatta, T. N.; Vianello, G.; Weisgarber, T.; Westerhoff, S.; Wisher, I. G.; Wood, J.; Yapici, T.; Yodh, G.; Younk, P. W.; Zepeda, A.; Zhou, H.; Guo, F.; Hahn, J.; Li, H.; Zhang, H.

doi:10.1126/science.aan4880

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Extended gamma-ray sources around pulsars constrain the origin of the positron flux at Earth

MPS-Authors

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Casanova, S.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Hinton, J.
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons185147

Jardin-Blicq, A.
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons182534

Joshi, V.
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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López-Coto, R-
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons226684

Ruiz Velasco, E.
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons226682

Schoorlemmer, H.
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons198439

Surajbali, P.
Division Prof. Dr. James A. Hinton, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

HAWC collaboration, Abeysekara, A. U., Albert, A., Alfaro, R., Alvarez, C., Álvarez, J. D., et al. (2017). Extended gamma-ray sources around pulsars constrain the origin of the positron flux at Earth. Science, 358( 6365), 911-914. doi:10.1126/science.aan4880.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0002-6381-C

Abstract

The unexpectedly high flux of cosmic ray positrons detected at Earth may
originate from nearby astrophysical sources, dark matter, or unknown processes
of cosmic-ray secondary production. We report the detection, using the
HighAltitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC), of extended tera-electron volt
gamma-ray emission coincident with the locations of two nearby middle-aged
pulsars (Geminga and PSR B0656+14). The HAWC observations demonstrate that
these pulsars are indeed local sources of accelerated leptons, but the measured
tera-electron volt emission profile constrains the diffusion of particles away
from these sources to be much slower than previously assumed. We demonstrate
that the leptons emitted by these objects are therefore unlikely to be the
origin of the excess positrons, which may have a more exotic origin.