Institut de recherche sur les lois fondamentales de l'Univers

From the cosmic-ray spectrum, we know that there must be objects in our galaxy that can accelerate particles to above PeV energies, but it's not clear what they are. Very-High-Energy gamma-rays (E>100 GeV to >100 TeV) provide a useful tool for searching for these accelerators, since they provide a view of non-thermal photon emission from the sites where particles are accelerated.  I will present an overview of the problem, how we are using telescopes like HESS (and later CTA) to search for these "PeVatrons" and what difficulties have been encountered.  Finally, I will show the latest results, including evidence for an acceleration event in the Galactic Center.

Local contact, organization: V. Lebouteiller.