Gamma rays and interstellar gas in the Cepheus region: A new gamma-ray source?

Abstract

A recent CO survey of the Cepheus Flare region (100°<=1<=141°, 8°<=b<=22°) has allowed a detailed study of the diffuse gamma-ray emission and the gas content of this nearby region. The comparison of the HI and CO observations with the COS-B gamma-ray data yields estimates of the N(H₂)/WCO ratio in this molecular complex and of the emissivity spectrum of the gas between 70 MeV and 5 GeV. A significant (3.9σ) point-like excess above the diffuse emission has been found and can be interpreted as a new gamma-ray source.