Broadband High-energy Emission of the Gamma-Ray Binary System LS 5039: Spectral and Temporal Features Using NuSTAR and Fermi Observations

Abstract

Abstract We report a detailed analysis of the hard X-ray and GeV gamma-ray spectra of LS 5039, one of the brightest gamma-ray binary system in the Galaxy. The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) observation covering its entire orbit in 2016 allowed us for the first time to study the orbital variability of the spectrum above 10 keV. The hard X-ray spectrum is well described with a single power-law component up to 78 keV. The X-ray flux showed a slight deviation from those observed previously with Suzaku in 2007. The fast X-ray brightening observed with Suzaku, around the inferior conjunction, was not observed in this observation. We also analyzed 11 yr of Fermi Large Area Telescope data of LS 5039. The GeV spectrum around the inferior conjunction was well described with two nonthermal components: a power law with a photon index of ∼3 and a cutoff power law with a cutoff energy of ∼2 GeV. The orbital flux variability also changed gradually around a few GeV. These results indicate that there are two emission components in the GeV band, and the dominant component above ∼1 GeV does not depend on the orbital phase. By combining these results, we update the spectral energy distribution of LS 5039 with the highest available statistics. Theoretical models proposed so far cannot explain the obtained multiwavelength spectrum, especially the emission from ∼1 to ∼400 MeV, and we discuss the possibility that particle acceleration in LS 5039 is different from the shock acceleration.