«A Microquasar Odyssey: Unveiling the Complexities»

LHAASO observations of UHE gamma-rays from Microquasars

Not scheduled

15m

Palazzo Municipale - Sala delle Capriate (Cefalù (Palermo))

Invited talk Invited talk Very High Energy Emission from MQ

Speaker

Prof. Felix Aharonian (DIAS and MPIK)

Description

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) is a mega facility designed to investigate cosmic rays and gamma rays at very-high (VHE; E > 0.1 TeV) and ultra-high energies (UHE; E > 0.1 PeV). In its initial years of operation, LHAASO has detected more than 100 gamma-ray sources, with approximately half constituting a newly emerging population of UHE gamma-ray emitters. Among these are extended gamma-ray structures spatially associated with powerful microquasars, pointing to the presence of nearby PeVatrons, astrophysical accelerators capable of producing particles at peta-electronvolt energies. In this talk, I will present the microquasars detected by LHAASO and describe their spectral, spatial, and temporal characteristics. I will also discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the origin of UHE gamma rays and their progenitors—PeV electrons and protons likely accelerated within or around the microquasar environments.