Investigation of the Microquasar SS 433 with VERITAS

Abstract Microquasars such as SS 433 are considered potential contributors to cosmic rays up to the knee of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum (∼4 PeV), where a transition in the dominant acceleration processes is expected. The SS 433 system, located within the W50 supernova remnant, is a Galactic microquasar with relativistic jets interacting with the surrounding medium over parsec scales, providing an example for studying jet-driven particle acceleration. A deep morphological and spectral study of SS 433 is performed using more than 150 hr of observations with VERITAS, sensitive to γ -ray energies &gt;100 GeV. With an angular resolution better than 0 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mover> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>°</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> </mml:math> 1, extended TeV γ -ray emission is resolved from both the eastern and western jet lobes, located tens of parsecs from the central binary. The emission appears elongated along the jet axis and coincides with regions where the jets interact with the surrounding supernova remnant. No TeV emission is detected from the central binary, nor is significant emission observed between the central binary and the jet lobes. Phase-resolved analyses show no evidence for variability in the orbital or precessional phase, supporting a steady emission scenario. The observed morphology and spectra are consistent with scenarios where particles are accelerated in the lobes of the jets, possibly through shocks or alternative processes such as magnetic reconnection. The extended TeV emission from the jet lobes of SS 433 favors a leptonic origin in the VERITAS energy range, suggesting that any hadronic acceleration is subdominant. The results offer valuable constraints on how microquasar jets may contribute to the Galactic cosmic-ray population toward the knee.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2026-04-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae5a31
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
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article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Investigation of the Microquasar SS 433 with VERITAS

M. E. Godoy, N. R. Bond, J. E. Pedrosa, R. Mukherjee et al.
The Astrophysical Journal
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
article

Investigation of the Microquasar SS 433 with VERITAS

M. E. Godoy, N. R. Bond, J. E. Pedrosa, R. Mukherjee, S. Filbert, A. Pandey, J. Holder, G. H. Sembroski, W. Benbow, M. Kertzman, F. Krennrich, A. J. Chromey, I. Sadeh, R. A. Ong, P. L. Rabinowitz, A. Duerr, E. Joshi, W. Hanlon, M. Santander, P. T. Reynolds, A. Archer, P. Moriarty, Y. J. Chen, S. Kundu, O. Hervet, D. Ribeiro, H. Salzmann, W. Jin, L. Saha, K. Ragan, S. Feldman, J. L. Christiansen, Dr. S. Gokul Kumar, A. Furniss, T. Yoshikoshi, E. Pueschel, S. L. Wong, P. Kaaret, M. Ohishi, M. Iskakova, M. N. Johnson, J. V. Tucci, P. Bangale, Q. Feng, N. Korzoun, T. K. Kleiner, M. Kherlakian, T. B. Humensky, J. T. Bartkoske, M. Errando, D. A. Williams, C. E. Hinrichs, M. Pohl, G. Maier, J. Woo, M. Lundy, E. Roache, S. Tandon, M. J. Lang
article en

Abstract

Abstract Microquasars such as SS 433 are considered potential contributors to cosmic rays up to the knee of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum (∼4 PeV), where a transition in the dominant acceleration processes is expected. The SS 433 system, located within the W50 supernova remnant, is a Galactic microquasar with relativistic jets interacting with the surrounding medium over parsec scales, providing an example for studying jet-driven particle acceleration. A deep morphological and spectral study of SS 433 is performed using more than 150 hr of observations with VERITAS, sensitive to γ -ray energies &gt;100 GeV. With an angular resolution better than 0 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mover> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>.</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>°</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> </mml:math> 1, extended TeV γ -ray emission is resolved from both the eastern and western jet lobes, located tens of parsecs from the central binary. The emission appears elongated along the jet axis and coincides with regions where the jets interact with the surrounding supernova remnant. No TeV emission is detected from the central binary, nor is significant emission observed between the central binary and the jet lobes. Phase-resolved analyses show no evidence for variability in the orbital or precessional phase, supporting a steady emission scenario. The observed morphology and spectra are consistent with scenarios where particles are accelerated in the lobes of the jets, possibly through shocks or alternative processes such as magnetic reconnection. The extended TeV emission from the jet lobes of SS 433 favors a leptonic origin in the VERITAS energy range, suggesting that any hadronic acceleration is subdominant. The results offer valuable constraints on how microquasar jets may contribute to the Galactic cosmic-ray population toward the knee.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 1002(1)
Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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