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Globular clusters (GCs) are established emitters of high-energy (HE, 100 MeV<E<100 GeV) gamma-ray radiation which could originate from the cumulative emission of the numerous millisecond pulsars (msPSRs) in the clusters cores or from inverse Compton (IC) scattering of relativistic leptons accelerated in the GC environment. These stellar clusters could also constitute a new class of sources in the very-high-energy (VHE, E>100 GeV) gamma-ray regime, judging from the recent detection of a signal from the direction of Terzan 5 with the H.E.S.S. telescope array. We searched for point-like and extended VHE gamma-ray emission from 15 GCs serendipitously covered by H.E.S.S observations and also performed a stacking analysis combining the data from all GCs to investigate the hypothesis of a population of faint emitters. Assuming IC emission as the origin of the VHE gamma-ray signal from the direction of Terzan 5, we calculated the expected gamma-ray flux from each of the 15 GCs, based on their number of millisecond pulsars, their optical brightness and the energy density of background photon fields. We did not detect significant VHE gamma-ray emission from any of the 15 GCs in either of the two analyses. Given the uncertainties related to the parameter determinations, the obtained flux upper limits allow to rule out the simple IC/msPSR scaling model for NGC 6388 and NGC 7078. The upper limits derived from the stacking analyses are factors between 2 and 50 below the flux predicted by the simple leptonic scaling model, depending on the assumed source extent and the dominant target photon fields. Therefore, Terzan 5 still remains exceptional among all GCs, as the VHE gamma-ray emission either arises from extra-ordinarily efficient leptonic processes, or from a recent catastrophic event, or is even unrelated to the GC itself.
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Globular clusters (GCs) are established emitters of high-energy (HE, 100 MeV<E<100 GeV) gamma-ray radiation which could originate from the cumulative emission of the numerous millisecond pulsars (msPSRs) in the clusters cores or from inverse Compton (IC) scattering of relativistic leptons accelerated in the GC environment. GCs could also constitute a new class of sources in the very-high-energy (VHE, E>100 GeV) gamma-ray regime, judging from the recent detection of emission from the direction of Terzan 5 with the H.E.S.S. telescope array. To search for VHE gamma-ray sources associated with other GCs, and to put constraints on leptonic emission models, we systematically analyzed the observations towards 15 GCs taken with H.E.S.S. We searched for individual sources of VHE gamma-rays from each GC in our sample and also performed a stacking analysis combining the data from all GCs to investigate the hypothesis of a population of faint emitters. Assuming IC emission as the source of emission from Terzan 5, we calculated the expected gamma-ray flux for each of the 15 GCs, based on their number of millisecond pulsars, their optical brightness and the energy density of background photon fields. We did not detect significant emission from any of the 15 GCs. The obtained flux upper limits allow to rule out the simple IC/msPSR scaling model for NGC 6388 and NGC 7078. The upper limits derived from the stacking analyses are factors between 2 and 50 below the flux predicted by the simple leptonic model, depending on the assumed source extent and the dominant target photon fields. Therefore, Terzan 5 still remains exceptional among all GCs, as the VHE gamma-ray emission either arises from extra-ordinarily efficient leptonic processes, or from a recent catastrophic event, or is even unrelated to the GC itself.
The energetic pulsar PSR B1706-44 and the adjacent supernova remnant (SNR) candidate G 343.1-2.3 were observed by H.E.S.S. during a dedicated observational campaign in 2007. A new source of very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission, HESS J1708-443, was discovered with its centroid at RA(J2000) = 17h08m10s and Dec(J2000) = -44d21, with a statistical error of 3 arcmin on each axis. The VHE gamma-ray source is significantly more extended than the H.E.S.S. point-spread function, with an intrinsic Gaussian width of 0.29 +/- 0.04 deg. Its energy spectrum can be described by a power law with a photon index Gamma = 2.0 +/- 0.1 (stat) +/- 0.2 (sys). The integral flux measured between 1-10 TeV is ~17% of the Crab Nebula flux in the same energy range. The possible associations with PSR B1706-44 and SNR G343.1-2.3 are discussed.
PKS 0625-354 (z=0.055) was observed with the four H.E.S.S. telescopes in 2012 during 5.5 hours. The source was detected above an energy threshold of 200 GeV at a significance level of 6.1$sigma$. No significant variability is found in these observations. The source is well described with a power-law spectrum with photon index $Gamma =2.84 pm 0.50_{stat} pm 0.10_{syst}$ and normalization (at $E_0$=1.0 TeV) $N_0(E_0)=(0.58 pm 0.22_{stat} pm 0.12_{syst})times10^{-12}$ TeV$^{-1}$cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$. Multi-wavelength data collected with Fermi-LAT, Swift-XRT, Swift-UVOT, ATOM and WISE are also analysed. Significant variability is observed only in the Fermi-LAT $gamma$-ray and Swift-XRT X-ray energy bands. Having a good multi-wavelength coverage from radio to very high energy, we performed a broadband modelling from two types of emission scenarios. The results from a one zone lepto-hadronic, and a multi-zone leptonic models are compared and discussed. On the grounds of energetics, our analysis favours a leptonic multi-zone model. Models associated to the X-ray variability constraint supports previous results suggesting a BL Lac nature of PKS 0625-354, with, however, a large-scale jet structure typical of a radio galaxy.
The H.E.S.S. very-high-energy (VHE, E > 0.1 TeV) gamma-ray telescope system has discovered a new source, HESS J1747-248. The measured integral flux is (1.2 +/- 0.3) times 10^-12 cm-2 s-1 above 440 GeV for a power-law photon spectral index of 2.5 +/- 0.3 stat +/- 0.2 sys. The VHE gamma-ray source is located in the close vicinity of the Galactic globular cluster Terzan 5 and extends beyond the H.E.S.S. point spread function (0.07 degree). The probability of a chance coincidence with Terzan 5 and an unrelated VHE source is quite low (~ 10^-4). With the largest population of identified millisecond pulsars (msPSRs), a very high core stellar density and the brightest GeV range flux as measured by Fermi-LAT, Terzan 5 stands out among Galactic globular clusters. The properties of the VHE source are briefly discussed in the context of potential emission mechanisms, notably in relation to msPSRs. Interpretation of the available data accommodates several possible origins for this VHE gamma-ray source, although none of them offers a satisfying explanation of its peculiar morphology.
Young core-collapse supernovae with dense-wind progenitors may be able to accelerate cosmic-ray hadrons beyond the knee of the cosmic-ray spectrum, and this may result in measurable gamma-ray emission. We searched for gamma-ray emission from ten supernovae observed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) within a year of the supernova event. Nine supernovae were observed serendipitously in the H.E.S.S. data collected between December 2003 and December 2014, with exposure times ranging from 1.4 hours to 53 hours. In addition we observed SN 2016adj as a target of opportunity in February 2016 for 13 hours. No significant gamma-ray emission has been detected for any of the objects, and upper limits on the $>1$ TeV gamma-ray flux of the order of $sim$10$^{-13}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ are established, corresponding to upper limits on the luminosities in the range $sim$2 $times$ 10$^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ to $sim$1 $times$ 10$^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$. These values are used to place model-dependent constraints on the mass-loss rates of the progenitor stars, implying upper limits between $sim$2 $times 10^{-5}$ and $sim$2 $times 10^{-3}$M$_{odot}$yr$^{-1}$ under reasonable assumptions on the particle acceleration parameters.
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