Constraints on the Galactic Population of TeV Pulsar Wind Nebulae Using Fermi Large Area Telescope Observations

Acero, F.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Bechtol, K.; Bellazzini, R.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.; Bonamente, E.; Bottacini, E.; Brandt, T. J.; Bregeon, J.; Brigida, M.; Bruel, P.; Buehler, R.; Buson, S.; Caliandro, G. A.; Cameron, R. A.; Caraveo, P. A.; Cecchi, C.; Charles, E.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chekhtman, A.; Chiang, J.; Chiaro, G.; Ciprini, S.; Claus, R.; Cohen Tanugi, J.; Conrad, J.; Cutini, S.; Dalton, M.; D'Ammando, F.; de Palma, F.; Dermer, C. D.; Di Venere, L.; Silva, E. do Couto e.; Drell, P. S.; Drlica Wagner, A.; Falletti, L.; Favuzzi, C.; Fegan, S. J.; Ferrara, E. C.; Focke, W. B.; Franckowiak, A.; Fukazawa, Y.; Funk, S.; Fusco, P.; Gargano, F.; Gasparrini, D.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Giroletti, M.; Glanzman, T.; Godfrey, G.; Grégoire, T.; Grenier, I. A.; Grondin, M. H.; Grove, J. E.; Guiriec, S.; Hadasch, D.; Hanabata, Y.; Harding, A. K.; Hayashida, M.; Hayashi, K.; Hays, E.; Hewitt, J.; Hill, A. B.; Horan, D.; Hou, X.; Hughes, R. E.; Inoue, Y.; Jackson, M. S.; Jogler, T.; Jóhannesson, G.; Johnson, A. S.; Kamae, T.; Kawano, T.; Kerr, M.; Knödlseder, J.; Kuss, M.; Lande, J.; Larsson, S.; Latronico, L.; Lemoine Goumard, M.; Longo, F.; Loparco, F.; Lovellette, M. N.; Lubrano, P.; Marelli, M.; Massaro, Francesco; Mayer, M.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Mcenery, J. E.; Mehault, J.; Michelson, P. F.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Mizuno, T.; Monte, C.; Monzani, M. E.; Morselli, A.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Murgia, S.; Nakamori, T.; Nemmen, R.; Nuss, E.; Ohsugi, T.; Okumura, A.; Orienti, M.; Orlando, E.; Ormes, J. F.; Paneque, D.; Panetta, J. H.; Perkins, J. S.; Pesce Rollins, M.; Piron, F.; Pivato, G.; Porter, T. A.; Rainò, S.; Rando, R.; Razzano, M.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Reposeur, T.; Ritz, S.; Roth, M.; Rousseau, R.; Saz Parkinson, P. M.; Schulz, A.; Sgrò, C.; Siskind, E. J.; Smith, D. A.; Spandre, G.; Spinelli, P.; Suson, D. J.; Takahashi, H.; Takeuchi, Y.; Thayer, J. G.; Thayer, J. B.; Thompson, D. J.; Tibaldo, L.; Tibolla, O.; Tinivella, M.; Torres, D. F.; Tosti, G.; Troja, E.; Uchiyama, Y.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Vasileiou, V.; Vianello, G.; Vitale, V.; Werner, M.; Winer, B. L.; Wood, K. S.; Yang, Z.

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/773/1/77

Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) have been established as the most populous class of TeV γ -ray emitters. Since launch, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has identified five high-energy (100 MeV < E < 100 GeV) γ -ray sources as PWNe and detected a large number of PWN candidates, all powered by young and energetic pulsars. The wealth of multi-wavelength data available and the new results provided by Fermi-LAT give us an opportunity to find new PWNe and to explore the radiative processes taking place in known ones. The TeV γ -ray unidentified (UNID) sources are the best candidates for finding new PWNe. Using 45 months of Fermi-LAT data for energies above 10 GeV, an analysis was performed near the position of 58 TeV PWNe and UNIDs within 5◦ of the Galactic plane to establish new constraints on PWNproperties and find new clues on the nature of UNIDs. Of the 58 sources, 30 were detected, and this work provides their γ -ray fluxes for energies above 10 GeV. The spectral energy distributions and upper limits, in the multi-wavelength context, also provide new information on the source nature and can help distinguish between emission scenarios, i.e., between classification as a pulsar candidate or as a PWN candidate. Six new GeV PWN candidates are described in detail and compared with existing models. A population study of GeV PWN candidates as a function of the pulsar/PWN system characteristics is presented.