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Discovery of a radiation component from the Vela pulsar reaching 20 teraelectronvolts

Nature Astronomy volume 7, pages 1341–1350 (2023)Cite this article

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An Author Correction to this article was published on 06 November 2023

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Abstract

Gamma-ray observations have established energetic isolated pulsars as outstanding particle accelerators and antimatter factories. However, many questions are still open regarding the acceleration and radiation processes involved, as well as the locations where they occur. The radiation spectra of all gamma-ray pulsars observed to date show strong cutoffs or a break above energies of a few gigaelectronvolts. Using the High Energy Stereoscopic System’s Cherenkov telescopes, we discovered a radiation component from the Vela pulsar which emerges beyond this generic cutoff and extends up to energies of at least 20 teraelectronvolts. This is an order of magnitude larger than in the case of the Crab pulsar, the only other pulsar detected in the teraelectronvolt energy range. Our results challenge the state-of-the-art models for the high-energy emission of pulsars. Furthermore, they pave the way for investigating other pulsars through their multiteraelectronvolt emission, thereby imposing additional constraints on the acceleration and emission processes in their extreme energy limit.

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Fig. 1: Phasograms of Vela as measured with H.E.S.S. CT1–4 for energies above 5 TeV, with H.E.S.S. CT5 in the 10 to 80 GeV range and with the Fermi-LAT above 1 GeV and 10 GeV.
Fig. 2: Excess map of the P2 pulse of Vela as measured with H.E.S.S. CT1–4 for energies above 5 TeV.
Fig. 3: Spectral energy distribution of the P2 pulse of Vela.
Fig. 4: Sketch illustrating main scenarios of particle acceleration and gamma-ray emission.

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Data availability

The H.E.S.S. raw data used in this study are not public but belong to the H.E.S.S. Collaboration. The high-level data for the light curve (Fig. 1), and the confidence interval for the spectral energy distributions (Fig. 3) are available at: https://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/hfm/HESS/pages/publications/auxiliary/2023_Vela_MultiTeV.

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Acknowledgements

The support of the Namibian authorities and of the University of Namibia in facilitating the construction and operation of H.E.S.S. is gratefully acknowledged, as is the support by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the Max Planck Society, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Helmholtz Association, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS/IN2P3 and CNRS/INSU), the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Irish Research Council (IRC) and the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Polish Ministry of Education and Science (agreement no. 2021/WK/06), the South African Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation, the National Commission on Research, Science & Technology of Namibia (NCRST), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the University of Amsterdam and the Science Committee of Armenia (grant no. 21AG-1C085). Work at NRL is supported by NASA. We appreciate the excellent work of the technical support staff in Berlin, Zeuthen, Heidelberg, Palaiseau, Paris, Saclay, Tübingen and in Namibia in the construction and operation of the equipment. This work benefited from services provided by the H.E.S.S. Virtual Organization supported by the national resource providers of the EGI Federation. This research made use of the Python packages Astropy96 and naima97. A.D.-A. thanks B. Cerutti and J. Pétri for fruitful discussions on the striped-wind model during the ‘Entretiens sur l’observation et la modélisation des pulsars’ sessions funded by the Programme National Hautes Energies; that support is acknowledged here. The authors wish to acknowledge the seminal role played by our late colleague, O. de Jager, in opening the VHE pulsar window of research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin, Ireland

    F. Aharonian, R. Brose, C. Burger-Scheidlin, J. Mackey & D. Zargaryan

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany

    F. Aharonian, K. Bernlöhr, M. Breuhaus, L. Haerer, J. A. Hinton, W. Hofmann, Z. Huang, V. Marandon, A. Mitchell, L. Mohrmann, L. Olivera-Nieto, M. Panter, G. Peron, F. Rieger, E. Ruiz-Velasco, S. Sailer, S. Steinmassl, M. Tsirou, F. Werner & R. White

  3. Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia

    F. Aharonian

  4. Landessternwarte, Universität Heidelberg, Königstuhl, Heidelberg, Germany

    F. Ait Benkhali, S. Ghafourizadeh, F. Jankowsky, I. Lypova, R. Marx, A. Quirrenbach & S. J. Wagner

  5. GRAPPA, Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    J. Aschersleben, D. A. Prokhorov, M. Vecchi & J. Vink

  6. Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École Polytechnique, CNRS, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau, France

    H. Ashkar, G. Fontaine, J. Muller & M. de Naurois

  7. University of Namibia, Department of Physics, Windhoek, Namibia

    M. Backes, E. Kasai, J. N. S. Shapopi & R. Steenkamp

  8. Centre for Space Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    M. Backes, M. Böttcher, T. Chand, S. Chandra, O. Chibueze, P. Goswami, I. Sushch, C. Venter, H. Yassin, M. Zacharias & N. Żywucka

  9. DESY, Zeuthen, Germany

    V. Barbosa Martins, D. Berge, J. Damascene Mbarubucyeye, M. Füßling, G. Giavitto, M. Haupt, T. L. Holch, S. Klepser, D. Kostunin, T. Murach, S. Ohm, E. de Ona Wilhelmi, H. Prokoph & S. J. Zhu

  10. School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    R. Batzofin, A. Chen, Nu. Komin & P. Marchegiani

  11. Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, Paris, France

    Y. Becherini, M. Cerruti, A. Djannati-Ataï, S. Gabici, L. Giunti, B. Khélifi, A. Lemière, S. Pita, M. Punch, M. Spir-Jacob, R. Terrier & S. Zouari

  12. Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden

    Y. Becherini, T. Bylund & M. Punch

  13. Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    D. Berge, J. Borowska, T. Lohse, R. D. Parsons & U. Schwanke

  14. Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    B. Bi, F. Leuschner, D. Malyshev, G. Pühlhofer, H. Salzmann, A. Santangelo & C. Thorpe-Morgan

  15. Laboratoire Univers et Théories, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Université de Paris, Meudon, France

    C. Boisson, A. Dmytriiev, G. Fichet de Clairfontaine, A. Luashvili, H. Sol, M. Zacharias & A. Zech

  16. Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies, Paris, France

    J. Bolmont, F. Cangemi, S. Caroff, G. Grolleron & J.-P. Lenain

  17. Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules, IN2P3, Annecy, France

    M. de Bony de Lavergne, A. Fiasson, G. Maurin & D. A. Sanchez

  18. IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    F. Bradascio, F. Brun, L. Giunti, J. F. Glicenstein, K. Kosack, A. Montanari, E. Moulin, P. Reichherzer, F. Schüssler & T. Tavernier

  19. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Erlangen, Germany

    B. Bruno, J. Celic, S. Funk, D. Glawion, V. Joshi, I. Jung-Richardt, R. G. Lang, D. Malyshev, A. Mitchell, K. Nakashima, M. Sasaki, A. Specovius, S. Spencer, C. van Eldik, J. Veh & Y. Wun Wong

  20. Astronomical Observatory, The University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

    T. Bulik

  21. Instytut Fizyki Jadrowej, PAN, Kraków, Poland

    S. Casanova, J. Niemiec & A. Wierzcholska

  22. University of Oxford, Department of Physics, Oxford, UK

    G. Cotter

  23. Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    K. Egberts & C. Steppa

  24. Université d‘Aix-Marseille, CNRS, IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France

    J.-P. Ernenwein & S. Le Stum

  25. School of Physical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    K. Feijen, P. Marinos & G. Rowell

  26. Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université Montpellier, CNRS, IN2P3, Montpellier, France

    Y. A. Gallant, A. Marcowith, M. Renaud & A. Sinha

  27. Université Bordeaux, CNRS, LP2I Bordeaux, Gradignan, France

    M.-H. Grondin & M. Lemoine-Goumard

  28. Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    M. Holler, G. Martí-Devesa, S. Panny, A. Reimer & O. Reimer

  29. Universität Hamburg, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Hamburg, Germany

    D. Horns, M. Meyer & M. Tluczykont

  30. Obserwatorium Astronomiczne, Uniwersytet JagielloÅ„ski, Kraków, Poland

    M. Jamrozy, A. Priyana Noel, M. Ostrowski & L. Stawarz

  31. Institute of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland

    K. Katarzyński

  32. Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland

    W. Kluźniak, R. Moderski, B. Rudak & A. A. Zdziarski

  33. Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    P. O’Brien

  34. Yerevan Physics Institute, Yerevan, Armenia

    V. Sahakian

  35. Department of Physics, Konan University, Kobe, Japan

    H. Suzuki & T. Tanaka

  36. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan

    T. Takahashi

  37. RIKEN, Saitama, Japan

    N. Tsuji

  38. Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory gGmbH, Bologna, Italy

    R. Zanin

  39. Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA

    M. Kerr

  40. CSIRO, Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, Epping, New South Wales, Australia

    S. Johnston & R. M. Shannon

  41. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

    R. M. Shannon

  42. ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

    R. M. Shannon

  43. Centre d’Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan, IN2P3, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Gradignan, France

    D. A. Smith

  44. Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Pessac, France

    D. A. Smith

Consortia

The H.E.S.S. Collaboration et al.

  • F. Aharonian
  • , F. Ait Benkhali
  • , J. Aschersleben
  • , H. Ashkar
  • , M. Backes
  • , V. Barbosa Martins
  • , R. Batzofin
  • , Y. Becherini
  • , D. Berge
  • , K. Bernlöhr
  • , B. Bi
  • , M. Böttcher
  • , C. Boisson
  • , J. Bolmont
  • , M. de Bony de Lavergne
  • , J. Borowska
  • , F. Bradascio
  • , M. Breuhaus
  • , R. Brose
  • , F. Brun
  • , B. Bruno
  • , T. Bulik
  • , C. Burger-Scheidlin
  • , T. Bylund
  • , F. Cangemi
  • , S. Caroff
  • , S. Casanova
  • , J. Celic
  • , M. Cerruti
  • , T. Chand
  • , S. Chandra
  • , A. Chen
  • , O. Chibueze
  • , G. Cotter
  • , J. Damascene Mbarubucyeye
  • , A. Djannati-Ataï
  • , A. Dmytriiev
  • , K. Egberts
  • , J.-P. Ernenwein
  • , K. Feijen
  • , A. Fiasson
  • , G. Fichet de Clairfontaine
  • , G. Fontaine
  • , M. Füßling
  • , S. Funk
  • , S. Gabici
  • , Y. A. Gallant
  • , S. Ghafourizadeh
  • , G. Giavitto
  • , L. Giunti
  • , D. Glawion
  • , J. F. Glicenstein
  • , P. Goswami
  • , G. Grolleron
  • , M.-H. Grondin
  • , L. Haerer
  • , M. Haupt
  • , J. A. Hinton
  • , W. Hofmann
  • , T. L. Holch
  • , M. Holler
  • , D. Horns
  • , Z. Huang
  • , M. Jamrozy
  • , F. Jankowsky
  • , V. Joshi
  • , I. Jung-Richardt
  • , E. Kasai
  • , K. KatarzyÅ„ski
  • , B. Khélifi
  • , S. Klepser
  • , W. Kluźniak
  • , Nu. Komin
  • , K. Kosack
  • , D. Kostunin
  • , R. G. Lang
  • , S. Le Stum
  • , A. Lemière
  • , M. Lemoine-Goumard
  • , J.-P. Lenain
  • , F. Leuschner
  • , T. Lohse
  • , A. Luashvili
  • , I. Lypova
  • , J. Mackey
  • , D. Malyshev
  • , D. Malyshev
  • , V. Marandon
  • , P. Marchegiani
  • , A. Marcowith
  • , P. Marinos
  • , G. Martí-Devesa
  • , R. Marx
  • , G. Maurin
  • , M. Meyer
  • , A. Mitchell
  • , R. Moderski
  • , L. Mohrmann
  • , A. Montanari
  • , E. Moulin
  • , J. Muller
  • , T. Murach
  • , K. Nakashima
  • , M. de Naurois
  • , J. Niemiec
  • , A. Priyana Noel
  • , P. O’Brien
  • , S. Ohm
  • , L. Olivera-Nieto
  • , E. de Ona Wilhelmi
  • , M. Ostrowski
  • , S. Panny
  • , M. Panter
  • , R. D. Parsons
  • , G. Peron
  • , S. Pita
  • , D. A. Prokhorov
  • , H. Prokoph
  • , G. Pühlhofer
  • , M. Punch
  • , A. Quirrenbach
  • , P. Reichherzer
  • , A. Reimer
  • , O. Reimer
  • , M. Renaud
  • , F. Rieger
  • , G. Rowell
  • , B. Rudak
  • , E. Ruiz-Velasco
  • , V. Sahakian
  • , S. Sailer
  • , H. Salzmann
  • , D. A. Sanchez
  • , A. Santangelo
  • , M. Sasaki
  • , F. Schüssler
  • , U. Schwanke
  • , J. N. S. Shapopi
  • , A. Sinha
  • , H. Sol
  • , A. Specovius
  • , S. Spencer
  • , M. Spir-Jacob
  • , L. Stawarz
  • , R. Steenkamp
  • , S. Steinmassl
  • , C. Steppa
  • , I. Sushch
  • , H. Suzuki
  • , T. Takahashi
  • , T. Tanaka
  • , T. Tavernier
  • , R. Terrier
  • , C. Thorpe-Morgan
  • , M. Tluczykont
  • , M. Tsirou
  • , N. Tsuji
  • , C. van Eldik
  • , M. Vecchi
  • , J. Veh
  • , C. Venter
  • , J. Vink
  • , S. J. Wagner
  • , F. Werner
  • , R. White
  • , A. Wierzcholska
  • , Y. Wun Wong
  • , H. Yassin
  • , M. Zacharias
  • , D. Zargaryan
  • , A. A. Zdziarski
  • , A. Zech
  • , S. J. Zhu
  • , S. Zouari
  • , N. Żywucka
  • , R. Zanin
  • , M. Kerr
  • , S. Johnston
  • , R. M. Shannon
  •  & D. A. Smith

Contributions

A.D.-A. led the H.E.S.S. project of the Vela pulsar and the main H.E.S.S. data analysis. G. Giavitto and L.M. performed the cross-check analyses used in this study along with V.M. The statistical assessment of the results relies on MC simulations performed by M.S.-J. A.D.-A. developed the interpretation and modelling together with B.R., M.S.-J., T. Tavernier, E.d.O.W. and C.V. The manuscript was prepared by A.D.-A., B.R., E.d.O.W., C.V. and L.M. T.L. and M. Böttcher supervised the review and discussion of the manuscript among the coauthors. The sketch in Fig. 4 was designed by H.P. together with E.d.O.W., based on an initial proposal by M.S.-J. and A.D.-A. The other coauthors contributed by preparing and obtaining the observations; by calibrating the data, simulating showers and developing analyses; by developing, constructing, operating and maintaining telescopes, cameras and calibration devices; and by conducting data handling, data reduction and data analysis. The ephemeris used for phase-folding the H.E.S.S. data was provided by M.K., S.J., R.M.S. and D.A. Smith. All authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria and have reviewed, discussed and commented on the results and the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to A. Djannati-Ataï, E. de Ona Wilhelmi, B. Rudak or C. Venter.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Supplementary Sections 1–4, References and Figs. 1–3.

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The H.E.S.S. Collaboration et al.. Discovery of a radiation component from the Vela pulsar reaching 20 teraelectronvolts. Nat Astron 7, 1341–1350 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02052-3

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