Efficiency of centrifugal mechanism in producing PeV neutrinos from active galactic nuclei

Abstract

A several-step theoretical model is constructed to trace the origin of ultra high energy (UHE) [1−2] PeV neutrinos detected, recently, by the IceCube collaboration. Protons in the AGN magnetosphere, experiencing different gravitational centrifugal force, provide free energy for the parametric excitation of Langmuir waves via a generalized two-stream instability. Landau damping of these waves, outside the AGN magnetosphere, can accelerate protons to ultra high energies. The ultimate source for this mechanism, the Langmuir-Landau-Centrifugal-Drive (LLCD), is the gravitational energy of the compact object. The LLCD generated UHE protons provide the essential ingredient in the creation of UHE neutrinos via appropriate hadronic reactions; protons of energy 1017 eV can be generated in the plasmas surrounding AGN with bolometric luminosities of the order of 1043 ergs s−1. By estimating the diffusive energy flux of extragalactic neutrinos in the energy interval [1−2] PeV, we find that an acceptably small fraction 0.003% of the total bolometric luminosity will suffice to create the observed fluxes of extragalactic ultra-high energy neutrinos.