HESS J1427−608: AN UNUSUAL HARD, UNBROKEN γ-RAY SPECTRUM IN A VERY WIDE ENERGY RANGE

Abstract

ABSTRACT We report the detection of a GeV γ-ray source that spatially overlaps and is thus very likely associated with the unidentified very high energy (VHE) γ-ray source HESS J1427−608 with the Pass 8 data recorded by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The photon spectrum of this source is best described by a power law with an index of 1.85 ± 0.17 in the energy range of 3–500 GeV, and the measured flux connects smoothly with that of HESS J1427−608 at a few hundred gigaelectronvolts. This source shows no significant extension and time variation. The broadband GeV to TeV emission over four decades of energies can be well fitted by a single power-law function with an index of 2.0, without obvious indication of spectral cutoff toward high energies. Such a result implies that HESS J1427−608 may be a PeV particle accelerator. We discuss the possible nature of HESS J1427−608 according to the multiwavelength spectral fittings. Given the relatively large errors, either a leptonic or a hadronic model can explain the multiwavelength data from radio to VHE γ-rays. The inferred magnetic field strength is a few micro-Gauss, which is smaller than the typical values of supernova remnants (SNRs) and is consistent with some pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). On the other hand, the flat γ-ray spectrum is slightly different from typical PWNe but is similar to that of some known SNRs.