Extended TeV Halos May Commonly Exist around Middle-Aged Pulsars

A. Albert; R. Alfaro; C. Alvarez; J. C. Arteaga-Velázquez; D. Avila Rojas; H. A. Ayala Solares; R. Babu; E. Belmont-Moreno; A. Bernal; K. S. Caballero-Mora; T. Capistrán; A. Carramiñana; S. Casanova; U. Cotti; J. Cotzomi; S. Coutiño De León; E. De La Fuente; C. De León; D. Depaoli; P. Desiati; N. Di Lalla; R. Diaz Hernandez; B. L. Dingus; M. A. Duvernois; J. C. Díaz-Vélez; K. Engel; C. Espinoza; K. L. Fan; K. Fang; N. Fraija; J. A. García-González; F. Garfias; H. Goksu; M. M. González; J. A. Goodman; S. Groetsch; J. P. Harding; S. Hernández-Cadena; I. Herzog; D. Huang; F. Hueyotl-Zahuantitla; A. Iriarte; S. Kaufmann; D. Kieda; J. Lee; H. León Vargas; J. T. Linnemann; A. L. Longinotti; G. Luis-Raya; K. Malone; O. Martinez; J. Martínez-Castro; J. A. Matthews; P. Miranda-Romagnoli; J. A. Morales-Soto; E. Moreno; M. Mostafá; L. Nellen; M. U. Nisa; N. Omodei; Y. Pérez Araujo; E. G. Pérez-Pérez; C. D. Rho; D. Rosa-González; E. Ruiz-Velasco; H. Salazar; D. Salazar-Gallegos; A. Sandoval; M. Schneider; J. Serna-Franco; Y. Son; R. W. Springer; O. Tibolla; K. Tollefson; I. Torres; R. Torres-Escobedo; R. Turner; F. Ureña-Mena; E. Varela; L. Villaseñor; X. Wang; E. Willox; H. Wu; H. Zhou

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005

Extended TeV Halos May Commonly Exist around Middle-Aged Pulsars

A. Albert
, R. Alfaro
, C. Alvarez
, J. C. Arteaga-Velázquez
, D. Avila Rojas
, H. A. Ayala Solares
, R. Babu
, E. Belmont-Moreno
, A. Bernal
, K. S. Caballero-Mora
, T. Capistrán
, A. Carramiñana
, S. Casanova
, U. Cotti
, J. Cotzomi
, S. Coutiño De León
, E. De La Fuente
, C. De León
, D. Depaoli
, P. Desiati

N. Di Lalla, R. Diaz Hernandez, B. L. Dingus, M. A. Duvernois, J. C. Díaz-Vélez, K. Engel, C. Espinoza, K. L. Fan, K. Fang, N. Fraija, J. A. García-González, F. Garfias, H. Goksu, M. M. González, J. A. Goodman, S. Groetsch, J. P. Harding, S. Hernández-Cadena, I. Herzog, D. Huang, F. Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, A. Iriarte, S. Kaufmann, D. Kieda, J. Lee, H. León Vargas, J. T. Linnemann, A. L. Longinotti, G. Luis-Raya, K. Malone, O. Martinez, J. Martínez-Castro, J. A. Matthews, P. Miranda-Romagnoli, J. A. Morales-Soto, E. Moreno, M. Mostafá, L. Nellen, M. U. Nisa, N. Omodei, Y. Pérez Araujo, E. G. Pérez-Pérez, C. D. Rho, D. Rosa-González, E. Ruiz-Velasco, H. Salazar, D. Salazar-Gallegos, A. Sandoval, M. Schneider, J. Serna-Franco, Y. Son, R. W. Springer, O. Tibolla, K. Tollefson, I. Torres, R. Torres-Escobedo, R. Turner, F. Ureña-Mena, E. Varela, L. Villaseñor, X. Wang, E. Willox, H. Wu, H. Zhou

Department of Physics

Los Alamos National Laboratory
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas
Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo
Pennsylvania State University
Michigan Technological University
University of Turin
Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica Optica y Electronica
Polish Academy of Sciences
Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Valencia
Universidad de Guadalajara
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
Stanford University
University of Maryland, College Park
Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Michigan State University
Universidad Politecnica de Pachuca
University of Utah
University of Seoul
Instituto Politécnico Nacional
University of New Mexico
Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo
Temple University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Extended gamma-ray emission around isolated pulsars at TeV energies, also known as TeV halos, have been found around a handful of middle-aged pulsars. The halos are significantly more extended than their pulsar wind nebulae but much smaller than the particle diffusion length in the interstellar medium. The origin of TeV halos is unknown. Interpretations invoke either local effects related to the environment of a pulsar or generic particle transport behaviors. The latter scenario predicts that TeV halos would be a universal phenomena for all pulsars. We searched for extended gamma-ray emission around 36 isolated middle-aged pulsars identified by radio and gamma-ray facilities using 2321 days of data from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory. Through a stacking analysis comparing TeV flux models against a background-only hypothesis, we identified TeV halolike emission at a significance level of 5.10σ. Our results imply that extended TeV gamma-ray halos may commonly exist around middle-aged pulsars. This reveals a previously unknown feature about pulsars and opens a new window to identify the pulsar population that is invisible to radio, x-ray, and GeV gamma-ray observations.

Original language	English
Article number	171005
Journal	Physical Review Letters
Volume	134
Issue number	17
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005
State	Published - 2 May 2025

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10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005

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Albert, A., Alfaro, R., Alvarez, C., Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C., Avila Rojas, D., Ayala Solares, H. A., Babu, R., Belmont-Moreno, E., Bernal, A., Caballero-Mora, K. S., Capistrán, T., Carramiñana, A., Casanova, S., Cotti, U., Cotzomi, J., Coutiño De León, S., De La Fuente, E., De León, C., Depaoli, D., ... Zhou, H. (2025). Extended TeV Halos May Commonly Exist around Middle-Aged Pulsars. Physical Review Letters, 134(17), Article 171005. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005

@article{733beb93dd2049c1ae1a06703ce5eda7,

title = "Extended TeV Halos May Commonly Exist around Middle-Aged Pulsars",

abstract = "Extended gamma-ray emission around isolated pulsars at TeV energies, also known as TeV halos, have been found around a handful of middle-aged pulsars. The halos are significantly more extended than their pulsar wind nebulae but much smaller than the particle diffusion length in the interstellar medium. The origin of TeV halos is unknown. Interpretations invoke either local effects related to the environment of a pulsar or generic particle transport behaviors. The latter scenario predicts that TeV halos would be a universal phenomena for all pulsars. We searched for extended gamma-ray emission around 36 isolated middle-aged pulsars identified by radio and gamma-ray facilities using 2321 days of data from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory. Through a stacking analysis comparing TeV flux models against a background-only hypothesis, we identified TeV halolike emission at a significance level of 5.10σ. Our results imply that extended TeV gamma-ray halos may commonly exist around middle-aged pulsars. This reveals a previously unknown feature about pulsars and opens a new window to identify the pulsar population that is invisible to radio, x-ray, and GeV gamma-ray observations.",

author = "A. Albert and R. Alfaro and C. Alvarez and Arteaga-Vel{\'a}zquez, \{J. C.\} and \{Avila Rojas\}, D. and \{Ayala Solares\}, \{H. A.\} and R. Babu and E. Belmont-Moreno and A. Bernal and Caballero-Mora, \{K. S.\} and T. Capistr{\'a}n and A. Carrami{\~n}ana and S. Casanova and U. Cotti and J. Cotzomi and \{Couti{\~n}o De Le{\'o}n\}, S. and \{De La Fuente\}, E. and \{De Le{\'o}n\}, C. and D. Depaoli and P. Desiati and \{Di Lalla\}, N. and \{Diaz Hernandez\}, R. and Dingus, \{B. L.\} and Duvernois, \{M. A.\} and D{\'i}az-V{\'e}lez, \{J. C.\} and K. Engel and C. Espinoza and Fan, \{K. L.\} and K. Fang and N. Fraija and Garc{\'i}a-Gonz{\'a}lez, \{J. A.\} and F. Garfias and H. Goksu and Gonz{\'a}lez, \{M. M.\} and Goodman, \{J. A.\} and S. Groetsch and Harding, \{J. P.\} and S. Hern{\'a}ndez-Cadena and I. Herzog and D. Huang and F. Hueyotl-Zahuantitla and A. Iriarte and S. Kaufmann and D. Kieda and J. Lee and \{Le{\'o}n Vargas\}, H. and Linnemann, \{J. T.\} and Longinotti, \{A. L.\} and G. Luis-Raya and K. Malone and O. Martinez and J. Mart{\'i}nez-Castro and Matthews, \{J. A.\} and P. Miranda-Romagnoli and Morales-Soto, \{J. A.\} and E. Moreno and M. Mostaf{\'a} and L. Nellen and Nisa, \{M. U.\} and N. Omodei and \{P{\'e}rez Araujo\}, Y. and P{\'e}rez-P{\'e}rez, \{E. G.\} and Rho, \{C. D.\} and D. Rosa-Gonz{\'a}lez and E. Ruiz-Velasco and H. Salazar and D. Salazar-Gallegos and A. Sandoval and M. Schneider and J. Serna-Franco and Y. Son and Springer, \{R. W.\} and O. Tibolla and K. Tollefson and I. Torres and R. Torres-Escobedo and R. Turner and F. Ure{\~n}a-Mena and E. Varela and L. Villase{\~n}or and X. Wang and E. Willox and H. Wu and H. Zhou",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 American Physical Society.",

year = "2025",

month = may,

day = "2",

doi = "10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005",

language = "English",

volume = "134",

journal = "Physical Review Letters",

issn = "0031-9007",

publisher = "American Physical Society",

number = "17",

}

Albert, A, Alfaro, R, Alvarez, C, Arteaga-Velázquez, JC, Avila Rojas, D, Ayala Solares, HA, Babu, R, Belmont-Moreno, E, Bernal, A, Caballero-Mora, KS, Capistrán, T, Carramiñana, A, Casanova, S, Cotti, U, Cotzomi, J, Coutiño De León, S, De La Fuente, E, De León, C, Depaoli, D, Desiati, P, Di Lalla, N, Diaz Hernandez, R, Dingus, BL, Duvernois, MA, Díaz-Vélez, JC, Engel, K, Espinoza, C, Fan, KL, Fang, K, Fraija, N, García-González, JA, Garfias, F, Goksu, H, González, MM, Goodman, JA, Groetsch, S, Harding, JP, Hernández-Cadena, S, Herzog, I, Huang, D, Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F, Iriarte, A, Kaufmann, S, Kieda, D, Lee, J, León Vargas, H, Linnemann, JT, Longinotti, AL, Luis-Raya, G, Malone, K, Martinez, O, Martínez-Castro, J, Matthews, JA, Miranda-Romagnoli, P, Morales-Soto, JA, Moreno, E, Mostafá, M, Nellen, L, Nisa, MU, Omodei, N, Pérez Araujo, Y, Pérez-Pérez, EG, Rho, CD, Rosa-González, D, Ruiz-Velasco, E, Salazar, H, Salazar-Gallegos, D, Sandoval, A, Schneider, M, Serna-Franco, J, Son, Y, Springer, RW, Tibolla, O, Tollefson, K, Torres, I, Torres-Escobedo, R, Turner, R, Ureña-Mena, F, Varela, E, Villaseñor, L, Wang, X, Willox, E, Wu, H & Zhou, H 2025, 'Extended TeV Halos May Commonly Exist around Middle-Aged Pulsars', Physical Review Letters, vol. 134, no. 17, 171005. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005

TY - JOUR

T1 - Extended TeV Halos May Commonly Exist around Middle-Aged Pulsars

AU - Albert, A.

AU - Alfaro, R.

AU - Alvarez, C.

AU - Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.

AU - Avila Rojas, D.

AU - Ayala Solares, H. A.

AU - Babu, R.

AU - Belmont-Moreno, E.

AU - Bernal, A.

AU - Caballero-Mora, K. S.

AU - Capistrán, T.

AU - Carramiñana, A.

AU - Casanova, S.

AU - Cotti, U.

AU - Cotzomi, J.

AU - Coutiño De León, S.

AU - De La Fuente, E.

AU - De León, C.

AU - Depaoli, D.

AU - Desiati, P.

AU - Di Lalla, N.

AU - Diaz Hernandez, R.

AU - Dingus, B. L.

AU - Duvernois, M. A.

AU - Díaz-Vélez, J. C.

AU - Engel, K.

AU - Espinoza, C.

AU - Fan, K. L.

AU - Fang, K.

AU - Fraija, N.

AU - García-González, J. A.

AU - Garfias, F.

AU - Goksu, H.

AU - González, M. M.

AU - Goodman, J. A.

AU - Groetsch, S.

AU - Harding, J. P.

AU - Hernández-Cadena, S.

AU - Herzog, I.

AU - Huang, D.

AU - Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F.

AU - Iriarte, A.

AU - Kaufmann, S.

AU - Kieda, D.

AU - Lee, J.

AU - León Vargas, H.

AU - Linnemann, J. T.

AU - Longinotti, A. L.

AU - Luis-Raya, G.

AU - Malone, K.

AU - Martinez, O.

AU - Martínez-Castro, J.

AU - Matthews, J. A.

AU - Miranda-Romagnoli, P.

AU - Morales-Soto, J. A.

AU - Moreno, E.

AU - Mostafá, M.

AU - Nellen, L.

AU - Nisa, M. U.

AU - Omodei, N.

AU - Pérez Araujo, Y.

AU - Pérez-Pérez, E. G.

AU - Rho, C. D.

AU - Rosa-González, D.

AU - Ruiz-Velasco, E.

AU - Salazar, H.

AU - Salazar-Gallegos, D.

AU - Sandoval, A.

AU - Schneider, M.

AU - Serna-Franco, J.

AU - Son, Y.

AU - Springer, R. W.

AU - Tibolla, O.

AU - Tollefson, K.

AU - Torres, I.

AU - Torres-Escobedo, R.

AU - Turner, R.

AU - Ureña-Mena, F.

AU - Varela, E.

AU - Villaseñor, L.

AU - Wang, X.

AU - Willox, E.

AU - Wu, H.

AU - Zhou, H.

PY - 2025/5/2

Y1 - 2025/5/2

N2 - Extended gamma-ray emission around isolated pulsars at TeV energies, also known as TeV halos, have been found around a handful of middle-aged pulsars. The halos are significantly more extended than their pulsar wind nebulae but much smaller than the particle diffusion length in the interstellar medium. The origin of TeV halos is unknown. Interpretations invoke either local effects related to the environment of a pulsar or generic particle transport behaviors. The latter scenario predicts that TeV halos would be a universal phenomena for all pulsars. We searched for extended gamma-ray emission around 36 isolated middle-aged pulsars identified by radio and gamma-ray facilities using 2321 days of data from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory. Through a stacking analysis comparing TeV flux models against a background-only hypothesis, we identified TeV halolike emission at a significance level of 5.10σ. Our results imply that extended TeV gamma-ray halos may commonly exist around middle-aged pulsars. This reveals a previously unknown feature about pulsars and opens a new window to identify the pulsar population that is invisible to radio, x-ray, and GeV gamma-ray observations.

AB - Extended gamma-ray emission around isolated pulsars at TeV energies, also known as TeV halos, have been found around a handful of middle-aged pulsars. The halos are significantly more extended than their pulsar wind nebulae but much smaller than the particle diffusion length in the interstellar medium. The origin of TeV halos is unknown. Interpretations invoke either local effects related to the environment of a pulsar or generic particle transport behaviors. The latter scenario predicts that TeV halos would be a universal phenomena for all pulsars. We searched for extended gamma-ray emission around 36 isolated middle-aged pulsars identified by radio and gamma-ray facilities using 2321 days of data from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory. Through a stacking analysis comparing TeV flux models against a background-only hypothesis, we identified TeV halolike emission at a significance level of 5.10σ. Our results imply that extended TeV gamma-ray halos may commonly exist around middle-aged pulsars. This reveals a previously unknown feature about pulsars and opens a new window to identify the pulsar population that is invisible to radio, x-ray, and GeV gamma-ray observations.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105004056350

U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005

DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.171005

M3 - Article

C2 - 40408724

AN - SCOPUS:105004056350

SN - 0031-9007

VL - 134

JO - Physical Review Letters

JF - Physical Review Letters

IS - 17

M1 - 171005

ER -

Extended TeV Halos May Commonly Exist around Middle-Aged Pulsars

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