Aharonian F A, Akhperjanian A G, Aye K-M, Bazer-Bachi A R, Beilicke M, Benbow W, Berge D, Berghaus P, Bernlöhr K, Bolz O, Boisson C, Borgmeier C, Breitling F, Brown A M, Gordo J Bussons, Chadwick P M, Chitnis V R, Chounet L-M, Cornils R, Costamante L, Degrange B, Djannati-Ataï A, Drury L O'C, Ergin T, Espigat P, Feinstein F, Fleury P, Fontaine G, Funk S, Gallant Y A, Giebels B, Gillessen S, Goret P, Guy J, Hadjichristidis C, Hauser M, Heinzelmann G, Henri G, Hermann G, Hinton J A, Hofmann W, Holleran M, Horns D, De Jager O C, Jung I, Khélifi B, Komin Nu, Konopelko A, Latham I J, Le Gallou R, Lemoine M, Lemière A, Leroy N, Lohse T, Marcowith A, Masterson C, McComb T J L, De Naurois M, Nolan S J, Noutsos A, Orford K J, Osborne J L, Ouchrif M, Panter M, Pelletier G, Pita S, Pohl M, Pühlhofer G, Punch M, Raubenheimer B C, Raue M, Raux J, Rayner S M, Redondo I, Reimer A, Reimer O, Ripken J, Rivoal M, Rob L, Rolland L, Rowell G, Sahakian V, Saugé L, Schlenker S, Schlickeiser R, Schuster C, Schwanke U, Siewert M, Sol H, Steenkamp R, Stegmann C, Tavernet J-P, Théoret C G, Tluczykont M, Van Der Walt D J, Vasileiadis G, Vincent P, Visser B, Völk H J, Wagner S J
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, PO Box 103980, D 69029 Heidelberg, Germany.
Nature. 2004 Nov 4;432(7013):75-7. doi: 10.1038/nature02960.
A significant fraction of the energy density of the interstellar medium is in the form of high-energy charged particles (cosmic rays). The origin of these particles remains uncertain. Although it is generally accepted that the only sources capable of supplying the energy required to accelerate the bulk of Galactic cosmic rays are supernova explosions, and even though the mechanism of particle acceleration in expanding supernova remnant (SNR) shocks is thought to be well understood theoretically, unequivocal evidence for the production of high-energy particles in supernova shells has proven remarkably hard to find. Here we report on observations of the SNR RX J1713.7 - 3946 (G347.3 - 0.5), which was discovered by ROSAT in the X-ray spectrum and later claimed as a source of high-energy gamma-rays of TeV energies (1 TeV = 10(12) eV). We present a TeV gamma-ray image of the SNR: the spatially resolved remnant has a shell morphology similar to that seen in X-rays, which demonstrates that very-high-energy particles are accelerated there. The energy spectrum indicates efficient acceleration of charged particles to energies beyond 100 TeV, consistent with current ideas of particle acceleration in young SNR shocks.
星际介质能量密度的很大一部分是以高能带电粒子（宇宙射线）的形式存在的。这些粒子的起源仍然不确定。尽管人们普遍认为，能够提供加速大部分银河系宇宙射线所需能量的唯一来源是超新星爆发，而且尽管理论上认为在膨胀的超新星遗迹（SNR）激波中粒子加速机制已得到很好的理解，但要找到超新星壳层中产生高能粒子的确凿证据却非常困难。在此，我们报告对SNR RX J1713.7 - 3946（G347.3 - 0.5）的观测结果，它是由ROSAT在X射线波段发现的，后来被认定为一个TeV能量（1 TeV = 10¹² eV）的高能伽马射线源。我们展示了该超新星遗迹的TeV伽马射线图像：这个具有空间分辨率的遗迹具有与X射线波段所见类似的壳层形态，这表明那里存在非常高能粒子的加速。能谱表明带电粒子能被有效地加速到超过100 TeV的能量，这与当前关于年轻超新星遗迹激波中粒子加速的观点一致。
