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Study of Ultra-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Source 1LHAASO J0056+6346u and Its Possible Origins

We report a dedicated study of the newly discovered extended UHE $γ$-ray source 1LHAASO J0056+6346u. Analyzing 979 days of LHAASO-WCDA data and 1389 days of LHAASO-KM2A data, we observed a significant excess of $γ$-ray events with both WCDA and KM2A. Assuming a point power-law source with a fixed spectral index, the significance maps reveal excesses of ${\sim}12.65\,σ$, ${\sim}22.18\,σ$, and ${\sim}10.24\,σ$ in the energy ranges of 1--25 TeV, 25--100 TeV, and $> 100$ TeV, respectively. We use a 3D likelihood algorithm to derive the morphological and spectral parameters, and the source is detected with significances of $12.65\,σ$ by WCDA and $25.27\,σ$ by KM2A. The best-fit positions derived from WCDA and KM2A data are (R.A. = $13.96^\circ\pm0.09^\circ$, Decl. = $63.92^\circ\pm0.05^\circ$) and (R.A. = $14.00^\circ\pm0.05^\circ$, Decl. = $63.79^\circ\pm0.02^\circ$), respectively. The angular size ($r_{39}$) of 1LHAASO J0056+6346u is $0.34^\circ\pm0.04^\circ$ at 1--25 TeV and $0.24^\circ\pm0.02^\circ$ at $> 25$ TeV. The differential flux of this UHE $γ$-ray source can be described by an exponential cutoff power-law function: $(2.67\pm0.25) \times 10^{-15} (E/20\,\text{TeV})^{-1.97\pm0.10} e^{-E/(55.1\pm7.2)\,\text{TeV}} \,\text{TeV}^{-1}\,\text{cm}^{-2}\,\text{s}^{-1}$. To explore potential sources of $γ$-ray emission, we investigated the gas distribution around 1LHAASO J0056+6346u. 1LHAASO J0056+6346u is likely to be a TeV PWN powered by an unknown pulsar, which would naturally explain both its spatial and spectral properties. Another explanation is that this UHE $γ$-ray source might be associated with gas content illuminated by a nearby CR accelerator, possibly the SNR candidate G124.0+1.4.