Ponente
Descripción
The binary system Eta Carinae is a unique laboratory to study particle acceleration processes under a wide range of conditions. Particles are thought to be accelerated at shocks forming in the wind collision region. Eta Carinae has been firmly established as a source of high-energy (HE) and very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-rays in Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. data in the last decade. With its highly eccentric orbit lasting 5.5 years, the periastron passage of the two stars is extremely close, making it an intriguing time interval to probe the underlying acceleration processes within the system.
The 2020 periastron was the first periastron passage visible for the full 5-telescope H.E.S.S. array and was therefore monitored with an extensive observation campaign spanning the phase range from 0.97 to 1.05. This led to the detection of VHE emission above 130 GeV close to and during the periastron passage ( H.E.S.S. Collaboration, 2025).
We report on the spectral and temporal characteristics of this signal. Together with previous and follow-up observations, a VHE light curve sampling one full orbit is presented. Modelling the combined VHE and HE spectrum, we can constrain the gamma-ray emission region and the emission can be assigned to the acceleration of protons up to energies of at least several TeV inside the system.
