Speaker
Description
Gamma-ray binaries are a rare class of high mass binary systems that show persistent gamma-ray emission. The systems consist of an O or B/Be stars in orbit with a compact object in the mass range of a neutron star or black hole. The compact object for the majority of these systems is most likely a non-accreting pulsar, and the non-thermal emission originates from the shock that forms between the pulsar and stellar winds. However, very high energy gamma-rays produced near the apex of the shock should be subject to high optical depths, due to gamma-gamma absorption with the stellar photon field. A second shock cause by the orbital motion of the system, as found in RMHD simulations, has been suggested as a second location for the production of the very high energy emission. We present results of the expected gamma-gamma absorption for most known gamma-ray binaries, and discuss how this could modify the observed gamma-ray spectrum, and whether this may provide constraints on where the very high energy emission originates from.
| Track | Binaries |
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