# GeV emission from the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A

## 1 Introduction

Observations in the 30–10000 MeV energy range by the high-energy $`\gamma `$-ray telescope EGRET on board the Compton Observatory (CGRO) has shown the presence of a class of $`\gamma `$-ray bright blazars. Blazars are in general characterized by flat radio spectra, rapid time variability at most wavelengths and typically emit the bulk of their bolometric luminosity at $`\gamma `$-ray energies. The recently released 3rd EGRET catalog hart  contains 271 $`\gamma `$-ray sources of which 68 are known to be extragalactic (66 blazars, 1 radio galaxy (Cen A) and 1 normal galaxy (LMC)). Thus almost $`\frac{2}{3}^{rd}`$ of the known $`\gamma `$-ray sources remain unidentified.

We report here the results from the analysis of all available EGRET data ($``$ 10 weeks of on-axis exposure) on the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A. Centaurus A, at a distance of $``$3.5 Mpc hui , is the closest active galactic nucleus. The proximity of Cen A has made it the subject of numerous studies at many wavelengths from radio to TeV energies. Radio studies have shown the presence of a double-lobed radio morphology sch1 . In the past, the presence of an obscuring dust lane has prevented detailed optical studies of the central nucleus and the inner regions of the jet. However recent NICMOS observations sch2  show extended emission and a bright unresolved central nucleus which may have associated with it a small ($``$40 pc diameter) inclined disk. A one-sided X-ray jet is visible sch3  and is collimated in the direction of the giant radio lobes. At TeV energies Grindlay et al. gr  used an early non-imaging Cherenkov system to report the discovery of emission from Cen A during a period of overall high activity at lower frequencies. More recent observations by more sensitive instruments (CANGAROO) provide only upper limits rowell .

Earlier attempts to detect Cen A from individual EGRET observations (typically 2 weeks long) were hampered by weak detection significance which resulted in large positional uncertainty. The possibility of association of the $`\gamma `$-ray excess with another likely candidate, BL Lac object 1312-423 (1.95away from Cen A), could not be ruled out . The strong Galactic diffuse emission and the larger uncertainties associated with the diffuse model hunter ; sree1 , also contributed to the difficulties in confirming the detection early on in the mission fichtel ; nol .

## 2 Results

A likelihood analysis mattox  shows a 6.5$`\sigma `$ detection of a point source type excess, positionally coincident with Centaurus A. The average $`>`$100 MeV flux is (13.6$`\pm `$2.5)$`\times `$10<sup>-8</sup> photons cm<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> . The nearby BL Lac object 1312-423 is well outside the 95$`\%`$ confidence contour. Unlike the variability seen at lower energies miyazaki , the emission above 100 MeV appears steady. The lack of variability could arise from the near threshold detection associated with the individual observations. The 30-10000 MeV photon spectrum is well characterized by a single power law of index 2.40$`\pm `$0.28. This is steeper than the average power law spectrum from $`\gamma `$-ray blazars (2.15$`\pm `$0.04) muk  and also steeper than the observed extragalactic $`\gamma `$-ray background (2.10$`\pm `$0.03) sree1 . A comparison of the EGRET measurements with OSSE kinzer  and COMPTEL steinle  data at keV and MeV energies yields a smooth, continuous spectrum that appears to evolve from a power law above 200 keV (index=1.97) and steepen gradually above 1 MeV. The inclusion of significant systematic errors in comparing results from different instruments is small, as evidenced by the good cross-comparison of the single power-law Crab pulsar spectrum across these energy bands ulmer . A systematic search for $`\gamma `$-ray emission from other nearby radio galaxies/Seyferts yielded no significant detection.

## 3 Conclusions

EGRET localization and spectral measurements provide unique confirmation that the source detected by OSSE and COMPTEL is Cen A. Unlike the error regions defined by OSSE and COMPTEL, the nearby XBL 1312-4221 ($``$2away from Cen A) lies well outside the EGRET 99$`\%`$ confidence contour. The consistency of the spectrum going from 50 keV to 1 GeV argues favorably for emission from a single source coincident with Cen A.

A detailed analysis of EGRET archival data shows $`>`$100 MeV emission from only the nearest radio galaxy (Cen A). The low $`\gamma `$-ray luminosity of Cen A ($``$10<sup>41</sup> ergs/s, about 10<sup>5</sup> times smaller than the typical $`\gamma `$-ray blazar) if typical of this source class, provides the most likely explanation for the non-detection of more distant members of this source class.

If Cen A is indeed a misaligned blazar bailey  this provides new evidence for $`>`$100 MeV emission from radio-loud AGN with jets at large inclination angles ($`>`$60). This is contrary to the model of Skibo, Dermer & Kinzer sk  which suggests a significant cut off in the spectrum around a few MeV. Assuming a unification model for AGN, and increasing high-energy emission with decreasing inclination angles dermer , the detection of more distant radio-loud AGN with intermediate jet inclination angles can be expected. This provides a new extragalactic source class for future high-energy experiments such as GLAST and VERITAS. Though the intrinsic luminosity is lower than other on-axis sources, the significantly larger space density of radio-loud FR-I sources, points to a new unresolved source class that could contribute to the extragalactic $`\gamma `$-ray background around 1 MeV steinle . If the mean $`\gamma `$-ray spectrum of this new source class is harder than the power-law spectral index of 2.40$`\pm `$0.28 observed for Cen A, then significant contributions from this new source class are also expected above 10 MeV. A more detailed discussion including constraints on some theoretical models is provided elsewhere sree2 .