OBSERVATION OF THE TeV GAMMA-RAY SOURCE MGRO J1908+06 WITH ARGO-YBJ

The extended gamma-ray source MGRO J1908+06, discovered by the Milagro air shower detector in 2007, has been observed for ∼4 years by the ARGO-YBJ experiment at TeV energies, with a statistical significance of 6.2 standard deviations. The peak of the signal is found at a position consistent with the pulsar PSR J1907+0602. Parameterizing the source shape with a two-dimensional Gauss function, we estimate an extension of σext = 0.49° ± 0.22°, which is consistent with a previous measurement by the Cherenkov Array H.E.S.S. The observed energy spectrum is dN/dE = (6.1 ± 1.4) × 10−13 (E/4 TeV)**(−2.54±0.36) photons cm−2 s−1 TeV−1, in the energy range of ∼1–20 TeV. The measured gamma-ray flux is consistent with the results of the Milagro detector, but is ∼2–3 times larger than the flux previously derived by H.E.S.S. at energies of a few TeV. The continuity of the Milagro and ARGO-YBJ observations and the stable excess rate observed by ARGO-YBJ and recorded in four years of data support the identification of MGRO J1908+06 as the steady powerful TeV pulsar wind nebula of PSR J1907+0602, with an integrated luminosity over 1 TeV ∼ 1.8 times the luminosity of the Crab Nebula.