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Gamma Rays from Active Regions in the Galaxy: The Possible Contribution of Stellar Winds

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Galactic Astrophysics and Gamma-Ray Astronomy

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Abstract

Massive stars (> 20 M⊙) release a considerable amount of mechanical energy in the form of strong stellar winds. A fraction of this energy may be transferred to relativistic cosmic rays by diffusive shock acceleration at the wind boundary, and/or in the expanding, turbulent wind itself. Massive stars are most frequently found in OB associations, surrounded by H ii regions lying at the edge of dense molecular clouds. The interaction of the freshly accelerated particles with matter gives rise to γ-ray emission. In this paper, we first briefly review the current knowledge on the energetics of strong stellar winds from O and Wolf-Rayet stars, as well as from T Tauri stars. Taking into account the finite lifetime of these stars, we then proceed to show that stellar winds dominate the energetics of OB associations during the first 4 to 6 million years, after which supernovae take over. In the solar neighborhood, the star formation rate is constant, and a steady-state situation prevails, in which the supernova contribution is found to be dominant. A small, but meaningful fraction of the COS-B γ-ray sources may be fueled by WR and O stellar winds in OB associations, while the power released by T Tauri stars alone is perhaps insufficient to account for the γ-ray emission of nearby dark clouds. Finally, we discuss some controversial aspects of the physics of particle acceleration by stellar winds.

Proceedings of the XVIII General Assembly of the IAU: Galactic Astrophysics and Gamma-Ray Astronomy, held at Patras, Greece, 19 August 1982.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service d’Astrophysique, Centre d’Etudes Nucléaires de Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

    Catherine J. Cesarsky & Thierry Montmerle

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  1. Catherine J. Cesarsky
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  2. Thierry Montmerle
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Garching b. München, Germany

    G. E. Morfill

  2. Istituto di Fisica Cosmica e Informatica del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy

    R. Buccheri

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© 1983 D. Reidel Publishing Co., Dordrecht and Boston

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Cesarsky, C.J., Montmerle, T. (1983). Gamma Rays from Active Regions in the Galaxy: The Possible Contribution of Stellar Winds. In: Morfill, G.E., Buccheri, R. (eds) Galactic Astrophysics and Gamma-Ray Astronomy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7208-7_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7208-7_12

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