GeV Photons Research Articles

Development of a real-time beam profile monitor for GeV photons and its application in accelerator facilities

A real-time beam profile monitoring system is proposed for GeV photon beams at the BM4 beamline of the Mikamine site, Research Center for Accelerator and Radioisotope Science (RARiS; previously known as ELPH) at Tohoku University. This monitoring system enhances the capability to monitor the entire beamline by incorporating newly developed beam profile monitors (BPMs) for upstream and midstream sections, in addition to the existing high-speed BPM used for downstream monitoring. This paper reports on the detection mechanisms of the newly developed BPMs and the actual measurement results obtained using the integrated beam monitoring system. The new BPMs are composed of plastic scintillation fibers and silicon photomultipliers, enabling high-precision, real-time measurements. Data acquisition utilizes streaming TDC, a firmware commonly employed in the J-PARC Hadron-hall, allowing real-time detection of high-intensity photon beams with count rates reaching several tens of MHz. With sufficient statistical data, the BPM achieved a 1-s beam-profiling accuracy of 10 μm. The proposed BPM system serves as a valuable resource for future physics experiments at the BM4 photon beamline and will significantly contribute to ongoing accelerator research endeavors.

Synchrotron self-Compton in a radiative-adiabatic fireball scenario: Modelling the multiwavelength observations in some Fermi/LAT bursts

Abstract Energetic GeV photons expected from the closest and the most energetic Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) provide an unique opportunity to study the very-high-energy emission as well as the possible correlations with lower energy bands in realistic GRB afterglow models. In the standard GRB afterglow model, the relativistic homogeneous shock is usually considered to be fully adiabatic, however, it could be partially radiative. Based on the external forward-shock scenario in both stellar wind and constant-density medium. We present a radiative-adiabatic analytical model of the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) and synchrotron processes considering an electron energy distribution with a power-law index of 1 < p < 2 and 2 ≤ p. We show that the SSC scenario plays a relevant role in the radiative parameter ε, leading to a prolonged evolution during the slow cooling regime. In a particular case, we derive the Fermi/LAT light curves together with the photons with energies ≥100 MeV in a sample of nine bursts from the second Fermi/LAT GRB catalog that exhibited temporal and spectral indices with ≳ 1.5 and ≈2, respectively. These events can hardly be described with closure relations of the standard synchrotron afterglow model, and also exhibit energetic photons above the synchrotron limit. We have modeled the multi-wavelength observations of our sample to constrain the microphysical parameters, the circumburst density, the bulk Lorentz factor and the mechanism responsible for explaining the energetic GeV photons.

Fermionic signal of vacuum polarization in strong laser fields

Vacuum polarization (VP) is investigated for the interaction of a polarized γ-ray beam of GeV photons with a counterpropagating ultraintense laser pulse. In a conventional setup of a vacuum birefringence measurement, a VP signal is the emerging small circular (linear) polarization of the initially linearly (circularly) polarized probe photons. The pair production via the nonlinear Breit-Wheeler process in such a high-energy environment eliminates part of the γ photons in the outgoing γ beam, increasing the statistical error and decreasing the accuracy of this VP signal. In contrast, we investigate the conversion of the emerging circular polarization of γ photons into longitudinal polarization of the created positrons, considering the latter as the main VP signal. To study the VP effects in the highly nonlinear regime, where the Euler-Heisenberg effective Lagrangian method breaks down, we have developed a Monte Carlo simulation method, incorporating vacuum birefringence and dichroism via the one-loop QED probabilities in the locally constant field approximation. Our Monte Carlo method will enable the study of VP effects in strong fields of arbitrary configuration. With 10 PW laser systems, we demonstrate the feasibility of detecting the fermionic signal of the VP effect at the 5σ confidence level with a few hours of measurement time. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Influence of cosmic voids on the propagation of TeV gamma-rays and the puzzle of GRB 221009A

ABSTRACT The recent detection of gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A has attracted attention due to its record brightness and first-ever detection of $\gtrsim 10$ TeV gamma-rays from a GRB. Despite being the second-nearest GRB ever detected, at a redshift of $z=0.151$, the distance is large enough for severe attenuation of gamma-ray flux at these energies due to $\gamma \gamma \rightarrow e^\pm$ pair production with the extragalactic background light (EBL). Here, we investigate whether the presence of cosmic voids along the line of sight can significantly impact the detectability of very high energy (VHE, $\gt $100 GeV) gamma-rays from distant sources. Notably, we find that the gamma–gamma opacity for VHE gamma-rays can be reduced by approximately 10 per cent and up to 30 per cent at around 13 TeV, the highest-energy photon detected from GRB 221009A, for intervening cosmic voids along the line of sight with a combined radius of 110 Mpc, typically found from void catalogues, and 250 Mpc, respectively. This reduction is substantially higher for TeV photons compared to GeV photons, attributable to the broader target photon spectrum that TeV photons interact with. This finding implies that VHE photons are more susceptible to variations in the EBL spectrum, especially in regions dominated by cosmic voids. Our study sheds light on the detection of $\gtrsim 10$ TeV gamma-rays from GRB 221009A in particular, and on the detection of extragalactic VHE sources in general.

A delayed 400 GeV photon from GRB 221009A and implication on the intergalactic magnetic field

Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory has detected 0.2 − 13 TeV emission of GRB 221009A within 2000 s since the trigger. Here we report the detection of a 400 GeV photon, without accompanying prominent low-energy emission, by Fermi Large Area Telescope in this direction with a 0.4 days’ delay. Given an intergalactic magnetic field strength of about 4 × 10−17 G, which is comparable to limits from TeV blazars, the delayed 400 GeV photon can be explained as the cascade emission of about 10 TeV gamma rays. We estimate the probabilities of the cascade emission that can result in one detectable photon beyond 100 GeV by Fermi Large Area Telescope within 0.3 − 1 days is about 2% whereas it is about 20.5% within 0.3 − 250 days. Our results show that Synchrotron Self-Compton explanation is less favored with probabilities lower by a factor of about 3 − 30 than the cascade scenario.

Supernova Remnants in Gamma Rays

In the 1960s, the remnants of supernova explosions (SNRs) were indicated as a possible source of galactic cosmic rays through the Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) mechanism. Since then, the observation of gamma-ray emission from relativistic ions in these objects has been one of the main goals of high-energy astrophysics. A few dozen SNRs have been detected at GeV and TeV photon energies in the last two decades. However, these observations have shown a complex phenomenology that is not easy to reduce to the standard paradigm based on DSA acceleration. Although the understanding of these objects has greatly increased, and their nature as efficient electron and proton accelerators has been observed, it remains to be clarified whether these objects are the main contributors to galactic cosmic rays. Here, we review the observations of γ-ray emission from SNRs and the perspectives for the future.

GeV γ-ray emission in the field of young massive star cluster RCW 38

ABSTRACT We report the detection of γ-ray emission by the Fermi Large Area Telescope towards the young massive star cluster RCW 38 in the 1–500 GeV photon energy range. We found spatially extended GeV emission towards the direction of RCW 38, which is best modelled by a Gaussian disc of 0.23° radius with a significance of the extension of ∼11.4σ. Furthermore, the spatial correlation with the ionized and molecular gas content favours the hadronic origin of the γ-ray emission. The γ-ray spectrum of RCW 38 has a relatively hard photon index of 2.44 ± 0.03, which is similar to other young massive star clusters. We argue that the diffuse GeV γ-ray emission in this region likely originates from the interaction of accelerated protons in the stellar cluster with the ambient gas.

Efficiency of Nonthermal Pulsed Emission from Eight MeV Pulsars

We report on the properties of pulsed X-ray emission from eight MeV pulsars using XMM-Newton, NICER, NuSTAR, and HXMT data. For five of the eight MeV pulsars, the X-ray spectra can be fit by a broken power-law model with a break energy of ∼5–10 keV. The photon indices below and above the break energy are ∼1 and ∼1.5, respectively. In comparison with the X-ray emission of the Fermi-LAT pulsars, the MeV pulsars have a harder spectrum and a higher radiation efficiency in the 0.3–10 keV energy bands. When isotropic emission is assumed, the emission efficiency in the keV–MeV bands is estimated to be η MeV ∼ 0.01–0.1, and this is similar to the efficiency of the GeV emission of the Fermi-LAT pulsars with a similar spin-down power. To explain the observed efficiency of the MeV pulsars, we estimate the required pair multiplicity as 104–7, which depends on the emission process (curvature radiation or synchrotron radiation) and on the location in the magnetosphere. The high multiplicity indicates that the secondary pairs that are created by a pair-creation process of the GeV photons produce the X-ray/soft gamma-ray emission of the MeV pulsars. We speculate that the difference between MeV pulsars and Fermi-LAT pulsars can be attributed to the difference in viewing angle measured from the spin axis if the emission originates from a region inside the light cylinder (canonical gap model) or to the difference in the inclination angle of the magnetic axis if the emission is produced in the equatorial current sheet outside the light cylinder.

Constraining the Astrophysical Origin of Intergalactic Magnetic Fields

High-energy photons can produce electron–positron pairs upon interacting with the extragalactic background light. These pairs will in turn be deflected by the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF), before possibly up-scattering photons of the cosmic microwave background, thereby initiating an electromagnetic cascade. The nonobservation of an excess of GeV photons and an extended halo around individual blazars due to this electromagnetic cascade can be used to constrain the properties of the IGMF. In this work, we use publicly available data of 1ES 0229+200 obtained with the Fermi Large Area Telescope and the High Energy Stereoscopic System to constrain cosmological MHD simulations of various magnetogenesis scenarios, and find that all models without a strong space-filling primordial component or overoptimistic dynamo amplifications can be excluded at the 95% confidence level. In fact, we find that the fraction of space filled by a strong IGMF has to be at least f ≳ 0.67, thus excluding most astrophysical production scenarios. Moreover, we set lower limits of B 0 > 5.1 × 10−15 G (B 0 > 1.0 × 10−14 G) for a space-filling primordial IGMF for a blazar activity time of Δt = 104 yr (Δt = 107 yr).

TANAMI: Tracking active galactic nuclei with austral milliarcsecond interferometry

Context.With the emergence of very high energy astronomy (VHE;E >100 GeV), new open questions were presented to astronomers studying the multi-wavelength emission from blazars. Answers to these open questions, such as the Doppler crisis, and finding the location of the high-energy activity have eluded us thus far. Recently, quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength monitoring programs have shown considerable success in investigating blazar activity.Aims.Such quasi-simultaneous observations across the electromagnetic spectrum became possible thanks to the launch of theFermiGamma-ray Space Telescope in 2008. In addition, with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations, we can resolve the central parsec region of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and compare morphological changes to γ-ray activity in order to study high-energy-emitting blazars. To achieve our goals, we need sensitive, long-term VLBI monitoring of a complete sample of VHE-detected AGN.Methods.We performed VLBI observations of TeV-detected AGN and high-likelihood neutrino associations as of December of 2021 with the Long Baseline Array (LBA) and other southern-hemisphere radio telescopes at 2.3 GHz.Results.In this paper, we present first light TANAMIS-band images, focusing on the TeV-detected subsample of the full TANAMI sample. In addition to these VHE-detected sources, we show images of two flux density calibrators and two additional sources included in the observations. We study the redshift, 0.1–100 GeV photon flux, andS-band core brightness temperature distributions of the TeV-detected objects, and find that flat-spectrum radio quasars and low-synchrotron-peaked sources on average show higher brightness temperatures than high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacs. Sources with bright GeVγ-ray emission also show higher brightness temperature values thanγ-low sources.Conclusions.Long-term monitoring programs are crucial for studying the multiwavelength properties of AGN. With the successful detection of even the faintest sources, with flux densities below 50 mJy, future work will entail kinematic analysis and spectral studies both at 2.3 and 8.4 GHz to investigate the connection between the radio andγ-ray activity of these objects.

Off-axis Afterglow Closure Relations and Fermi-LAT Detected Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are one of the most promising transient events for studying multiwavelength observations in extreme conditions. Observation of GeV photons from bursts would provide crucial information on GRB physics, including the off-axis emission. The Second Gamma-ray Burst Catalog (2FLGC) has been announced by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) Collaboration. This catalog includes 29 bursts with photon energy higher than 10 GeV. While the synchrotron forward-shock model has well explained the afterglow data of GRBs, photon energies greater than 10 GeV are very difficult to interpret within this framework. To study the spectral and temporal indices of those bursts described in 2FLGC, Fraija et al. () proposed the closure relations (CRs) of the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission of GRBs emitted from an on-axis jet, which decelerates in stellar-wind and constant-density medium. In this paper, we extend the CRs of the SSC afterglow from an on-axis scenario to an off-axis scenario, including the synchrotron afterglow radiation that seems to be off-axis. In order to investigate the spectral and temporal index evolution of those bursts reported in 2FLGC, we consider hydrodynamical evolution with energy injection in the adiabatic and radiative regimes for an electron distribution with a spectral index of 1 < p < 2 and 2 < p. The results show that the most likely scenario for synchrotron emission corresponds to the stellar wind whether or not there is energy injection and that the most likely scenario for SSC emission corresponds to the constant density when there is no energy injection and to the stellar wind when there is energy injection.

Plasma harmonic generation for highly efficient Breit-Wheeler pair creation

Observation of efficient Breit-Wheeler electron-positron pair creation is one of the main goals for modern-day strong laser-particle experiments. We propose exploring this process by colliding plasma-generated harmonics, from currently available laser pulses, with a beam of GeV photons. We show that the creation yield is enhanced for more than one order of magnitude, compared with the yield obtained without high-harmonic generation. The robustness of the yield enhancement is demonstrated by considering multiple interaction parameters and the potential photon source for the upcoming experiments. Moreover, we show that due to the evident field asymmetry of the plasma-generated harmonics, the averaged spin-polarization of the created pairs could be as high as 62%.

Pure CsI electromagnetic calorimeter design for the Super Tau-Charm Facility

The Super Tau-Charm Facility (STCF) is a high-luminosity electron-positron collider proposed in China. It will operate in the energy region of 2–7 GeV with a peak luminosity of at least 0.5×1035 cm−2 s−1, providing an excellent platform for studying the tau-charm physics. The STCF detector includes an electromagnetic calorimeter (EMC), which plays a crucial role in the accurate measurement of photon energy. To address the challenge of achieving superior photon energy resolution in the high-rate environment caused by the high luminosity, a fast-response EMC based on pure CsI crystals is proposed for the STCF experiment. In this paper, we present the conceptual design of a pure CsI EMC for STCF. The light yield of a pure CsI unit designed for the STCF EMC was measured using cosmic rays. Without considering the mechanical structures of the EMC and the sub-detectors in front of the EMC, the performance of the pure CsI based EMC was studied through Geant4 simulations incorporating the measured light yield, and the EMC design was optimized based on the results. The simulation was carried out under the condition of 100 p.e./MeV light yield and the high background environment anticipated in the STCF experiment. By employing a waveform fitting method, an energy resolution of better than 2.5% for 1 GeV photons was achieved, which satisfies the major performance requirement for the STCF EMC. However, validation studies should be conducted, including the contribution of different types of experimental backgrounds and the accuracy of the background counting rate.

XCC: an X-ray FEL-based γγ Compton collider Higgs factory

This report describes the conceptual design of a γγ Higgs factory in which 62.8 GeV electron beams collide with 1 keV X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) beams to produce colliding beams of 62.5 GeV photons. The Higgs boson production rate is 80,000 Higgs bosons per 107 second year, roughly the same as the ILC Higgs rate at √s = 250 GeV. The electron accelerator is based on cold copper distributed coupling (C3) accelerator technology. Unlike the center-of-mass energy spectra of previous optical wavelength γγ collider designs, the sharply peaked γγ center-of-mass energy spectrum of XCC produces model independent Higgs coupling measurements with precision on par with e + e - colliders. For the triple Higgs coupling measurement, the XCC center-of-mass energy can be upgraded to 380 GeV, where the cross section for γγ → HH is twice that of e + e - → ZHH at √s = 500 GeV. Design challenges are discussed, along with the R&D to address them, including demonstrators.

An Analysis on Radiation Protection Abilities of Different Colored Obsidians

Obsidians are naturally occurring structures which have great interest and are widely used in engineering, nuclear and medical applications. These glassy volcanic rocks are formed as a result of volcanic activity and lava eruptions. In the present study, it is aimed to determine the radiation protection parameters of obsidians with different colors in order to examine the radiation shielding capabilities of the samples. The parameters were determined in the range of 4keV-100 GeV photon energies by using Phy-X/PSD code. In order to make a meaningful analyze for the radiation shielding potentials of the obsidians, the calculated mass attenuation and linear attenuation coefficients were compared with ordinary concrete which can be widely used as shielding material in the nuclear application.

Light speed variation from GRB 221009A

It is postulated in Einstein’s relativity that the speed of light in vacuum is a constant for all observers. However, the effect of quantum gravity could bring an energy dependence of light speed, and a series of studies on high-energy photon events from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) suggest a light speed variation with E LV = 3.6 × 1017 GeV or a bound E LV ≥ 3.6 × 1017 GeV. From the newly observed gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A, we find that a 99.3 GeV photon detected by Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) is coincident with the sharp spike in the light curves detected by both Fermi-Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and HEBS under the above scenario of light speed variation, suggesting an option that this high-energy photon was emitted at the same time as a sharp spike of low-energy photon emission at the GRB source. Thus this highest energy photon event detected by Fermi-LAT during the prompt emission of GRBs might be considered as an optional signal for the linear form modification of light speed in cosmological space.

Opportunities for studying { C }-even resonances at a 3–12 GeV photon collider

Recently, a gamma gamma collider based on the existing 17.5 GeV linac of the European XFEL has been proposed. High-energy photons will be generated by Compton scattering of laser photons with a wavelength of 0.5–1{,upmu mathrm m} on electrons. Such a photon collider covers the range of invariant masses W_{gamma gamma } <12{mathrm {,Ge V!/}c^2}. The physics program includes spectroscopy of C -even resonances (c-, b-quarkonia, 4-quark states, glueballs) in various J^P states. Variable circular and linear polarizations will help in determining the quantum numbers. In this paper, we present a summary of measured and predicted two-photon widths of various resonances in the mass region 3–12 {mathrm {,Ge V!/}c^2} and investigate the experimental possibility of observing these heavy two-photon resonances under the conditions of a large multi-hadron background. Registration of all final particles is assumed. The minimum values of varGamma _{gamma gamma }(W) are obtained at which resonances can be detected at a 5sigma confidence level in 1 year of operation.

Atomistic modeling and characterizaion of light sources based on small-amplitude short-period periodically bent crystals

The feasibility of gamma-ray light sources based on the channeling phenomenon of ultrarelativistic electrons and positrons in oriented crystals that are periodically bent with Small Amplitude and Short Period (SASP) is demonstrated by means of rigorous numerical modeling that accounts for the interaction of a projectile with all atoms of the crystalline environment. Numerical data on the spectral distribution, brilliance, number of photons and power of radiation emitted by 10 GeV electron and positron beams passing through diamond, silicon and germanium crystals are presented and analyzed. The case studies presented in the paper refer to the FACET-II beams available at the SLAC facility. It is shown that the SASP bending gives rise to the radiation enhancement in the GeV photon energy range where the peak brilliance of radiation can be as high as on the 1024 photons/s/mrad2/mm2/0.1%BW. The parameters of radiation can be tuned by varying the amplitude and period of bending.

Detection of GeV Emission from an Ultralong Gamma-Ray Burst with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

GRB 220627A, detected by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), shows two episodes of gamma-ray emission, which are separated by a ∼700 s long quiescent phase. Due to similar temporal shapes and spectra in the two episodes, GRB 220627A is speculated to be a gravitationally lensed gamma-ray burst (GRB). We analyze Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data and find that about 49 gamma-ray photons above 100 MeV come from the GRB during the first episode, while there are no photons above 100 MeV in the second episode. Based on the broadband spectral study of the two episodes, the gravitationally lensing scenario can be ruled out at a high confidence level and we thus conclude that GRB 220627A is an intrinsically ultralong GRB with the prompt burst emission lasting longer than 1000 s. It is then the first case that GeV emission is detected from an ultralong GRB. We find that a short spike seen in the LAT light curve is also present in GBM detectors that see the burst, suggesting a common internal region of emission across the entire Fermi energy range. The detection of a 15.7 GeV photon during the early prompt phase places a lower limit of Γ ≥ 300 on the bulk Lorentz factor of the GRB ejecta. The constraint on the bulk Lorentz factor could shed light on the origin of ultralong GRBs.

Search for Gamma-ray Emission from Accretion Flares of Tidal Disruption Events Possibly Associated with the IceCube Neutrinos

Outflows or disk-coronas generated in tidal disruption events (TDEs) of supermassive black holes have been suggested as possible sites of high-energy neutrinos. Three TDEs (AT2019dsg, AT2019fdr and AT2019aalc) have been claimed to be associated with high-energy astrophysical neutrinos in multi-messenger follow-ups. No GeV photons have been detected accompanying the neutrino for the three sources. In this work, we searched for the high-energy gamma-ray emission from a larger sample of TDE candidates observed by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). No significant GeV emission was observed, and the upper limits of the gamma-ray emission flux are reported. We then performed a stacking analysis for the sample sources and found that the collective gamma-ray emission of this class of sources was also not bright enough to be detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT). The nondetection of the high-energy gamma-ray emission from the sample TDEs could be due to the fact that the high-energy gamma rays are absorbed by soft photons in the source. Using a model-based hypothesis, the upper limit on the emission radius of the neutrino production is obtained for these TDEs: R&lt;1016 cm for typical TDE parameter values.