Context. The most massive binary system Eta Carinae has been recently established as a gamma-ray source by the AGILE and Fermi-LAT detectors. The high energy spectrum of this gamma-ray source is very intriguing. It shows two clear components and a lack of any evidence of variability with the orbital period of the binary system. Aims. We consider different scenarios for the acceleration of particles (both electrons and hadrons) and the production of the high energy radiation in the model of stellar wind collisions within the binary system Eta Carinae with the aim to explain the gamma-ray observations and predict the behaviour of the source at very high gamma-ray energies. Methods. The gamma-ray spectra calculated in terms of the specific models are compared with the observations of Eta Carinae, and the neutrino spectra produced in hadronic models are confronted with the atmospheric neutrino background and the sensitivity of 1 km 2 neutrino telescope. Results. We show that spectral features can be explained in terms of the stellar wind collision model between the winds of the companion stars in which the acceleration of particles occurs on both sides of the double shock structure. The shocks from the Eta Carinae star and the companion star can accelerate particles to different energies depending on the different conditions determined by the parameters of the stars. The lack of strong GeV gamma-ray variability with the period of the binary system can be also understood in terms of such a model. Conclusions. We predict that the gamma-ray emission features at energies above ∼100 GeV will show significant variability (or its lack) depending on the acceleration and interaction scenario of particles accelerated within the binary system. For the hadronic models we predict the expected range of neutrino fluxes from the binary system Eta Carinae. This can be tested through observations with the large-scale neutrino telescopes, which will support or disprove the specific hadronic models.

TeV gamma-ray emission has been recently observed from direction of a few open clusters containing massive stars. We consider the high energy processes occurring within massive binary systems and in their dense environment by assuming that nuclei, from the stellar winds of massive stars, are accelerated at the collision region of the stellar winds. We calculate the rates of injection of protons and neutrons from fragmentation of these nuclei in collisions with stellar radiation and matter of the winds from the massive companions in binary system. Protons and neutrons can interact with the matter, within the stellar wind cavity and within the open cluster, producing pions which decay into γ-rays and neutrinos. We discuss the detectability of such γ-ray emission by the present and future Cherenkov telescopes for the case of two binary systems Eta Carinae, within the Carina Nebula, and WR 20a, within the Westerlund 2 open cluster. We also calculate the neutrino fluxes produced by protons around the binary systems and within the open clusters. This neutrino emission is confronted with ANTARES upper limits on the neutrino fluxes from discrete sources and with the sensitivity of IceCube. PACS numbers: 97.80Jp,98.20Ej,96.40Qr,98.60Ce,98.70Rz

The accretion of matter on to intermediate polar white dwarfs (IPWDs) seems to provide attractive conditions for acceleration of particles to high energies in a strongly magnetized turbulent region at the accretion disc inner radius. We consider possible acceleration of electrons and hadrons in such region and investigate their high-energy radiation processes. It is concluded that accelerated electrons lose energy mainly on synchrotron process producing non-thermal X-ray emission. On the other hand, accelerated hadrons are convected on to the white dwarf (WD) surface and interact with dense matter. As a result, high-energy γ -rays from decay of neutral pions and secondary leptons from decay of charged pions appear. We show that GeV-TeV γ -rays can escape from the vicinity of the WD. Secondary leptons produce synchrotron radiation in the hard X-rays and soft γ -rays. As an example, we predict the X-ray and γ -ray emission from IPWD V1223 Sgr. Depending on the spectral index of injected particles, this high-energy emission may be detected by the Fermi Large Array Telescope and/or the future Cherenkov Telescope Array observatory.

The surface of a low mass star inside a compact low mass X-ray binary system (LMXB) can be heated by an external X-ray source apparently caused by the accretion of mass onto a companion compact object (a neutron star or a black hole). As a result, the surface temperature of the star can become significantly higher than it is in the normal state resulting from thermonuclear burning. We investigate whether high energy electrons and gamma-rays, injected within the binary system, can efficiently interact with this enhanced radiation field. To decide this, we calculate the optical depths of the gamma-ray photons in the radiation field of such an irradiated star as a function of the phase of the binary system. Based on these calculations, we conclude that compact low mass X-ray binary systems may also become sources of high energy gamma-rays since conditions for the interaction of electrons and γ-rays are quite similar to those found within high mass TeV γ-ray binaries such as LS 5039 and LSI 303 +61. However, because of differences in the soft radiation field, the expected γ-ray light curves can differ significantly between low mass and high mass X-ray binaries. As an example, we apply these calculations to two well known LMXBs Her X-1 and Sco X-1. It is concluded that electrons accelerated to high energies inside these binaries should collide with a sufficient number of soft photon targets from the companion star to achieve efficient γ-ray production.

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