3.9 day orbital modulation in the TeV gamma-ray flux and spectrum from the 
X-ray binary LS 5039

Aharonian, Felix; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Bazer-Bachi, A. R.; Beilicke, M.; Benbow, Wystan; Berge, David; Bernlöhr, K.; Boisson, C.; Bolz, Oliver; Borrel, V.; Braun, Isabel; Brown, A. M.; Bühler, Rolf; Büsching, I.; Carrigan, Svenja; Chadwick, P. M.; Chounet, L.-M.; Cornils, R.; Costamante, L.; Degrange, B.; Djannati-Atai, A.; Drury, L.O'C.; Emmanoulopoulos, D.; Espigat, P.; Feinstein, F.; Ferrero, E.; Fontaine, G.; Funk, S.; Gallant, Y. A.; Giebels, B.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Goret, P.; Hadjichristidis, C.; Hauser, Dominik; Hauser, M.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hinton, J. A.; Hofmann, W.; Holleran, M.; Horns, D.; de Jager, O. C.; Khélifi, B.; Komin, N.; Konopelko, A.; Latham, I. J.; Le Gallou, R.; Lemière, A.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Lohse, T.; Martineau-Huynh, O.; Marcowith, A.; Masterson, C.; McComb, T. J. L.; de Naurois, M.; Nedbal, Dalibor; Nolan, S. J.; Noutsos, A.; Orford, K. J.; Osborne, J. L.; Ouchrif, M.; Panter, Michael; Pelletier, G.; Pita, S.; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Raubenheimer, B. C.; Raue, M.; Rayner, S. M.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Ripken, J.; Rob, L.; Rolland, L.; Rowell, Gavin; Sahakian, V.; Saugé, L.; Schlenker, S.; Schlickeiser, R.; Schröder, R.; Schwanke, U.; Sol, H.; Spangler, D.; Steenkamp, R.; Stegmann, C.; Tavernet, J.-P-; Terrier, R.; Tluczykont, M.; Vasileiadis, G.; Venter, C.; Vincent, P.; Völk, H. J.; Wagner, S. J.; Ward, M.; Bolz, O.; Dickinson, H. J.; Dubus, G.; Egberts, Kathrin; Fiasson, A.; Funk, S.; Jacholkowska, A.; Kosack, K.; Martin, J. M.; Spanier, F.; Superina, G.; van Eldik, C.; Funk, Seb.; the H.E.S.S. Collaboration

doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065940

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3.9 day orbital modulation in the TeV gamma-ray flux and spectrum from the X-ray binary LS 5039

MPS-Authors

/persons/resource/persons30244

Aharonian, Felix
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30247

Akhperjanian, A. G.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30290

Beilicke, M.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30293

Benbow, Wystan
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30296

Berge, David
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30300

Bernlöhr, K.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30322

Bolz, Oliver
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30333

Braun, Isabel
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30350

Bühler, Rolf
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30367

Carrigan, Svenja
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30380

Cornils, R.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30382

Costamante, L.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30414

Djannati-Atai, A.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30460

Feinstein, F.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30497

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

/persons/resource/persons30502

Gallant, Y. A.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30573

Hauser, Dominik
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30584

Hermann, G.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30597

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

/persons/resource/persons30605

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

/persons/resource/persons30623

Horns, D.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30670

Khélifi, B.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30703

Konopelko, A.
Prof. Heinrich J. Völk, Emeriti, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30798

Masterson, C.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30397

de Naurois, M.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30841

Nedbal, Dalibor
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30865

Orford, K. J.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30869

Osborne, J. L.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30878

Panter, Michael
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30914

Pühlhofer, G.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30923

Raue, M.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30959

Rowell, Gavin
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30976

Saugé, L.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons31135

Vasileiadis, G.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons31141

Völk, H. J.
Prof. Heinrich J. Völk, Emeriti, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30322

Bolz, O.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30428

Dubus, G.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30436

Egberts, Kathrin
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons30497

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

/persons/resource/persons30707

Kosack, K.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons31132

van Eldik, C.
Division Prof. Dr. Werner Hofmann, MPI for Nuclear Physics, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Aharonian, F., Akhperjanian, A. G., Bazer-Bachi, A. R., Beilicke, M., Benbow, W., Berge, D., et al. (2006). 3.9 day orbital modulation in the TeV gamma-ray flux and spectrum from the X-ray binary LS 5039. Astrophysics & Astronomy, 460(3), 743-749. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065940.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0011-865C-2

Abstract

New observations of LS 5039, a High Mass X-ray Binary comprising a massive star and compact object, were carried out with the High Energy Stereoscopic System of Cherenkov Telescopes (H.E.S.S.) in 2005 at very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray energies. These observations reveal that its flux and energy spectrum are modulated with the 3.9 day orbital period of the binary system. This is the first time in gamma-ray astronomy that orbital modulation has been observed, and periodicity clearly established using ground-based gamma-ray detectors. The VHE gamma-ray emission is largely confined to half of the orbit, peaking around the inferior conjunction epoch of the compact object. For this epoch, there is also a hardening of the energy spectrum in the energy range between 0.2 TeV and a few TeV. The flux vs. orbital phase profile provides the first clear indication of gamma-ray absorption via pair production within an astrophysical source, a process which is expected to occur if the gamma-ray production site is situated within ~1 AU of the compact object. Moreover the production region size must be not significantly greater than the binary separation (~0.15 AU). Notably, these constraints are also considerably smaller than the collimated outflows or jets (extending out to ~1000 AU) observed in LS 5039. The spectral hardening could arise from variations with phase in the maximum electron energies, and/or the dominant VHE gamma-ray production mechanism.