Authors
Felix Aharonian, AG Akhperjanian, K-M Aye, AR Bazer-Bachi, Matthias Beilicke, Wystan Benbow, D Berge, P Berghaus, K Bernlöhr, C Boisson, O Bolz, I Braun, F Breitling, AM Brown, J Bussons Gordo, PM Chadwick, L-M Chounet, R Cornils, L Costamante, B Degrange, A Djannati-Ataï, G Dubus, D Emmanoulopoulos, P Espigat, F Feinstein, P Fleury, G Fontaine, Y Fuchs, S Funk, YA Gallant, B Giebels, S Gillessen, JF Glicenstein, P Goret, C Hadjichristidis, M Hauser, G Heinzelmann, G Henri, G Hermann, JA Hinton, W Hofmann, M Holleran, D Horns, OC de Jager, S Johnston, B Khélifi, JG Kirk, Nu Komin, A Konopelko, IJ Latham, R Le Gallou, A Lemière, M Lemoine-Goumard, N Leroy, O Martineau-Huynh, T Lohse, A Marcowith, C Masterson, TJL McComb, M de Naurois, SJ Nolan, A Noutsos, KJ Orford, JL Osborne, M Ouchrif, M Panter, G Pelletier, S Pita, G Pühlhofer, M Punch, BC Raubenheimer, M Raue, J Raux, SM Rayner, I Redondo, A Reimer, O Reimer, J Ripken, L Rob, L Rolland, G Rowell, V Sahakian, L Saugé, S Schlenker, R Schlickeiser, C Schuster, U Schwanke, M Siewert, O Skjæraasen, H Sol, R Steenkamp, C Stegmann, J-P Tavernet, R Terrier, CG Théoret, M Tluczykont, G Vasileiadis, C Venter, P Vincent, HJ Völk, SJ Wagner
Publication date
2005/10/1
Journal
Astronomy & astrophysics
Volume
442
Issue
1
Pages
1-10
Publisher
EDP Sciences
Description
We report the discovery of very-high-energy (VHE) γ-ray emission of the binary system PSR B1259-63/SS 2883 of a radio pulsar orbiting a massive, luminous Be star in a highly eccentric orbit. The observations around the 2004 periastron passage of the pulsar were performed with the four 13 m Cherenkov telescopes of the HESS experiment, recently installed in Namibia and in full operation since December 2003. Between February and June 2004, a γ-ray signal from the binary system was detected with a total significance above . The flux was found to vary significantly on timescales of days which makes PSR B1259-63 the first variable galactic source of VHE γ-rays observed so far. Strong emission signals were observed in pre- and post-periastron phases with a flux minimum around periastron, followed by a gradual flux decrease in the months after. The measured time-averaged energy spectrum above a mean …
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F Aharonian, AG Akhperjanian, KM Aye… - Astronomy & astrophysics, 2005