2009/03/10 by V. Sguera, G. E. Romero, A. Bazzano +3
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Space Technology and Applications #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/697/2/1194
published as Astrophys.J.697:1194-1205,2009 · Accepted for publication in ApJ, 30 pages, 5 figures
arxiv created 2009/03/10 · openalex publication_date 2009/05/11 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
3EG J1837–0423 and HESS J1841–055 are two unidentified and peculiar high-energy sources located in the same region of the sky, separated by ∼1.4°. Specifically, 3EG J1837–0423 is a transient MeV object detected by EGRET only once during flaring activity that lasted a few days while HESS J1841–055 is a highly extended TeV source. We attempted to match the high-energy emission from the unidentified sources 3EG J1837–0423 and HESS J1841–055 with X-rays (4–20 keV) and soft γ-rays (20–100 keV) candidate counterparts detected through deep International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory observations of the sky region. As a result we propose the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient (SFXT) AX J1841.0–0536 as a possible candidate counterpart of 3EG J1837–0423, based on spatial proximity and transient behavior. Alternatively, AX J1841.0–0536 could be responsible for at least a fraction of the entire TeV emission from the extended source HESS J1841–055, based on a striking spatial correlation. In either case, the proposed association is also supported from an energetic standpoint by a theoretical scenario where AX J1841.0–0536 is a low magnetized pulsar which, due to accretion of massive clumps from the supergiant companion donor star, undergoes sporadic changes to transient Atoll-states where a magnetic tower can produce transient jets and as a consequence high-energy emission. In either case (by association with 3EG J1837–0423 or alternatively with HESS J1841–055), AX J1841.0–0536 might be the prototype of a new class of Galactic transient MeV/TeV emitters.