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Researchers detected extended gamma-ray emission near the young massive star cluster Berkeley 87 using 18 years of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The analysis suggests a hadronic origin for the emission, where cosmic ray protons interact with dense gas surrounding the cluster, with the cluster's strong stellar winds providing sufficient energy to produce the observed gamma rays. The study also examines a nearby pulsar (PSR J2021+3651) in the same region and discusses the maximum energies of accelerated particles in this system.
Why it matters
This finding adds to evidence that young massive star clusters are important cosmic ray accelerators in our galaxy, helping scientists understand where and how high-energy particles are produced in space. The work contributes to mapping galactic sources of cosmic rays and gamma-ray emission.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
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Abstract: Young massive stellar clusters have been recognized as a significant population of cosmic ray accelerators and gamma-ray sources. We report the detection of extended gamma-ray emission toward the young massive star cluster Berkeley 87 using 18 years of Fermi-LAT data. The hadronic scenario is favored given the dense gas and the cluster’s strong stellar winds. The cluster can supply sufficient energy to power the observed gamma-ray emission. A nearby pulsar, PSR J2021+3651, associated with the Dragonfly pulsar wind nebula and the 4HWC source 4HWC J2021+3650, lies in the same field of view. We also discuss the maximum accelerated proton energy and electron energy density of this pulsar.
Source: Diffuse gamma-ray emission in the vicinity of open cluster Berkeley 87