Interactions Of Cosmic Ray Protons Research Articles

Production of Positrons by Cosmic Rays

It is shown that electromagnetic interactions of cosmic ray protons provide a noticeable contribution to positrons production. This is due to a combination of low energy threshold of electron–positron pair creation compared to the thresholds of pion creation in strong interactions and rapid decrease of the cosmic rays energy spectrum. Moreover, the electromagnetically produced positrons are very soft, therefore their annihilation with background electrons directly produces the observed 511 keV gamma-line.

Search for GeV gamma-ray emission from SPT-SZ selected galaxy clusters with 15 years of Fermi-LAT data

Galaxy clusters could produce gamma-rays from inverse Compton scattering of cosmic ray electrons or hadronic interactions of cosmic ray protons with the intracluster medium. It is still an open question on whether gamma-ray emission (> GeV energies) has been detected from galaxy clusters. We carry out a systematic search for gamma-ray mission based on 300 galaxy clusters selected from the 2500 deg2 SPT-SZ survey after sorting them in descending order of M 500/z 2, using about 15 years of Fermi-LAT data in the energy range between 1–300 GeV. We were able to detect gamma-ray emission with significance of about 6.1σ from one cluster, viz. SPT-CL J2012-5649. The estimated photon energy flux from this cluster is approximately equal to 1.3 × 10-6 MeV cm-2 s-1. The gamma-ray signal is observed between 1–10 GeV with the best-fit spectral index equal to -3.61 ± 0.33. However, since there are six radio galaxies spatially coincident with SPT-CL J2012-5649 within the Fermi-LAT PSF, we cannot rule out the possibility this signal could be caused by some of these radio galaxies. Six other SPT-SZ clusters show evidence for gamma-ray emission with significance between 3–5σ. None of the remaining clusters show statistically significant evidence for gamma-ray emission.

HESS J1809-193: Gamma-Ray Emission by Cosmic Rays from a Past Explosion

The very-high-energy γ-ray source HESS J1809-193 has been detected by the LHAASO and HAWC observatory beyond 100 TeV energy. It is an interesting candidate for exploring the underlying mechanisms of γ-ray production due to the presence of supernova remnants, pulsars, and molecular clouds close to it. We have considered the injection of the energetic cosmic rays from a past explosion, whose reminiscent may be SNR G011.0-00.0, which is located within the extended γ-ray source HESS J1809-193. We explain the multiwavelength data from the region of HESS J1809-193 with synchrotron, inverse Compton, and bremsstrahlung emission of cosmic-ray electrons and secondary γ-ray production in interactions of cosmic-ray protons with the cold protons in the local molecular clouds within a time-dependent framework including the diffusion loss of cosmic rays. The observational data have been modeled with the secondary photons produced by the time-evolved cosmic-ray spectrum assuming the age of the explosion is 4500 yr.

Hint for a TeV neutrino emission from the Galactic Ridge with ANTARES

Interactions of cosmic ray protons, atomic nuclei, and electrons in the interstellar medium in the inner part of the Milky Way produce a γ-ray flux from the Galactic Ridge. If the γ-ray emission is dominated by proton and nuclei interactions, a neutrino flux comparable to the γ-ray flux is expected from the same sky region.Data collected by the ANTARES neutrino telescope are used to constrain the neutrino flux from the Galactic Ridge in the 1-100 TeV energy range. Neutrino events reconstructed both as tracks and showers are considered in the analysis and the selection is optimized for the search of an excess in the region |l|<30°, |b|<2°. The expected background in the search region is estimated using an off-zone region with similar sky coverage. Neutrino signal originating from a power-law spectrum with spectral index ranging from Γν=1 to 4 is simulated in both channels. The observed energy distributions are fitted to constrain the neutrino emission from the Ridge.The energy distributions in the signal region are inconsistent with the background expectation at ∼96% confidence level. The mild excess over the background is consistent with a neutrino flux with a power law with a spectral index 2.45−0.34+0.22 and a flux normalization dNνdEν=4.0−2.0+2.7×10−16 GeV−1cm−2s−1sr−1 at 40 TeV reference energy. Such flux is consistent with the expected neutrino signal if the bulk of the observed γ-ray flux from the Galactic Ridge originates from interactions of cosmic ray protons and nuclei with a power-law spectrum extending well into the PeV energy range.

New determination of the production cross section for γ rays in the Galaxy

The flux of $\gamma$ rays is measured with unprecedented accuracy by the $\textit{Fermi}$ Large Area Telescope from 100 MeV to almost 1 TeV. In the future, the Cherenkov Telescope Array will have the capability to measure photons up to 100 TeV. To accurately interpret this data, precise predictions of the production processes, specifically the cross section for the production of photons from the interaction of cosmic-ray protons and helium with atoms of the ISM, are necessary. In this study, we determine new analytical functions describing the Lorentz-invariant cross section for $\gamma$-ray production in hadronic collisions. We utilize the limited total cross section data for $\pi^0$ production channels and supplement this information by drawing on our previous analyses of charged pion production to infer missing details. In this context, we highlight the need for new data on $\pi^0$ production. Our predictions include the cross sections for all production channels that contribute down to the 0.5% level of the final cross section, namely $\eta$, $K^+$, $K^-$, $K^0_S$, and $K^0_L$ mesons as well as $\Lambda$, $\Sigma$, and $\Xi$ baryons. We determine the total differential cross section $d\sigma(p+p\rightarrow \gamma+X)/dE_{\gamma}$ from 10 MeV to 100 TeV with an uncertainty of 10% below 10 GeV of $\gamma$-ray energies, increasing to 20% at the TeV energies. We provide numerical tables and a script for the community to access our energy-differential cross sections, which are provided for incident proton (nuclei) energies from 0.1 to $10^7$ GeV (GeV/n).

Gamma-rays from reaccelerated cosmic rays in high-velocity clouds colliding with the Galactic disc

ABSTRACT High-velocity clouds moving towards the disc will reach the Galactic plane and will inevitably collide with the disc. In these collisions, a system of two shocks is produced, one propagating through the disc and the other develops within the cloud. The shocks produced within the clouds in these interactions have velocities of hundreds of kilometres per second. When these shocks are radiative they may be inefficient in accelerating fresh particles; however, they can reaccelerate and compress Galactic cosmic rays from the background. In this work, we investigate the interactions of Galactic cosmic rays within a shocked high-velocity cloud, when the shock is induced by the collision with the disc. This study is focused in the case of radiative shocks. We aim to establish under which conditions these interactions lead to significant non-thermal emission, especially gamma-rays. We model the interaction of cosmic ray protons and electrons reaccelerated and further energized by compression in shocks within the clouds, under very general assumptions. We also consider secondary electron–positron pairs produced by the cosmic ray protons when colliding with the material of the cloud. We conclude that nearby clouds reaccelerating Galactic cosmic rays in local shocks can produce high-energy radiation that might be detectable with existing and future gamma-ray detectors. The emission produced by electrons and secondary pairs is important at radio wavelengths, and in some cases it may be relevant at hard X-rays. Concerning higher energies, the leptonic contribution to the spectral energy distribution is significant at soft gamma-rays.

Prosthetic socket rotation stability - A mock limb study on different suspension systems

Decays of mesons produced in cosmic ray induced air showers in Earth’s atmosphere can lead to a flux of light exotic particles which can be detected in underground experiments. We evaluate the energy spectra of the light neutral mesons π0, η, ρ0, ω, ϕ and J∕ψ produced in interactions of cosmic ray protons and helium nuclei with air using QCD inspired event generators. Summing up the mesons produced in the individual hadronic interactions of air showers, we obtain the resulting fluxes of undecayed mesons. As an application, we re-consider the case of millicharged particles created in the electromagnetic decay channels of neutral mesons.

Meson production in air showers and the search for light exotic particles

Decays of mesons produced in cosmic ray induced air showers in Earth’s atmosphere can lead to a flux of light exotic particles which can be detected in underground experiments. We evaluate the energy spectra of the light neutral mesons π0, η, ρ0, ω, ϕ and J∕ψ produced in interactions of cosmic ray protons and helium nuclei with air using QCD inspired event generators. Summing up the mesons produced in the individual hadronic interactions of air showers, we obtain the resulting fluxes of undecayed mesons. As an application, we re-consider the case of millicharged particles created in the electromagnetic decay channels of neutral mesons.

Giant Cosmic-Ray Halos around M31 and the Milky Way

Abstract Recently, a diffuse emission of 1–100 GeV γ-rays has been detected from the direction of M31, extending up to 200 kpc from its center. The interpretation of the extended γ-ray emission by the escape of cosmic rays produced in the galactic disk or in the galactic center is problematic. In this paper, we argue that a cosmic-ray origin (either leptonic or hadronic) of the γ-ray emission is possible in the framework of nonstandard cosmic-ray propagation scenarios or is caused by in situ particle acceleration in the galaxy’s halo. Correspondingly, the halo is powered by the galaxy’s nuclear activity or by the accretion of intergalactic gas. If the formation of cosmic-ray halos around galaxies is a common phenomenon, the interactions of cosmic-ray protons and nuclei with the circumgalactic gas surrounding the Milky Way could be responsible for the isotropic diffuse flux of neutrinos observed by IceCube.

Effects of different source characteristics on the propagated CR and secondary neutrino spectra: A CRPropa3 simulation

Astrophysical and cosmogenic neutrinos are produced in the interactions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Astrophysical neutrinos originate from the interactions of cosmic ray protons with the matter (pp interactions) or photons (γ p interactions) inside their sources and have energies ranging from TeV to 10PeV, while cosmogenic neutrinos are produced during cosmic rays propagation in the intergalactic medium through the interaction with cosmic microwave background (CMB) as well as infrared and optical background (IRB) photons and have energies up to 100EeV. These neutrinos can travel without deflection and reach earth, so the study of this messengers can reveal different characteristics of the cosmic ray sources. In addition to the properties of the sources, the redshift of the sources and the photon background characteristics can also be important in the propagation of cosmic rays. In this paper, first by applying analytical approaches, we calculate the optical depths of UHECR sources (τ) which generate astrophysical neutrinos, and by using the observed fluxes of CR and astrophysical neutrino, we calculate τ0min for different CR source spectral indexes. Then, using CRPropa3 code, we simulate the propagation of UHECRs in the extragalactic medium. Taking a reference case, the propagated CR and neutrino flux are obtained for sources with pure proton mass composition, minimum energy of 0.1 EeV to the maximum rigidity of 200 EV, minimum redshift of zmin=0.0007, maximum redshift of zmax=6 and the Gilmore 2012 IRB background model. Switching the composition to a mixed galactic composition and pure Fe, it is shown that CR and neutrino fluxes are affected by changing the cosmic ray composition. Furthermore, effects of different IRB models and maximum redshift of the sources are investigated. Finally, three source redshift distributions of 3⩽z≤4,4⩽z≤5 and 5⩽z≤6 are considered and the changes in spectra are demonstrated. The study of these changes can help us to understand the nature of UHECR sources.

High-energy gamma rays and neutrinos from nearby radio galaxies

Multi-messenger data suggest that radio galaxies (ie non-blazar active galaxies) are a well-motivated class of sources for the diffuse flux of high-energy neutrinos reported by the IceCube Collaboration. In this study, we consider the gamma-ray spectrum observed from four nearby radio galaxies (Centaurus A, PKS 0625-35, NGC 1275 and IC 310) and constrain the intensity and spectral shape of the emission injected from these sources, accounting for the effects of attenuation and contributions from electromagnetic cascades (initiated both within the radio galaxy itself and during extragalactic propagation). Assuming that this gamma-ray emission is generated primarily through the interactions of cosmic-ray protons with gas, we calculate the neutrino flux predicted from each of these sources. Although this scenario is consistent with the constraints published by the IceCube and ANTARES Collaborations, the predicted fluxes consistently fall within an order of magnitude of the current point source sensitivity. The prospects appear very encouraging for the future detection of neutrino emission from the nearest radio galaxies.

Observations of the gamma-ray emission from the Quiescent Sun with Fermi Large Area Telescope during the first 7 years in orbit

The high energy gamma-ray emission from the quiescent Sun is due to the interactions of cosmic ray (CR) protons and electrons with matter and photons in the solar environment. Such interactions lead to two component gamma-ray emission: a disk-like emission due to the nuclear interactions of CR protons and nuclei in the solar atmosphere and a space extended emission due to the inverse Compton (IC) scattering of CR electrons off solar photons in the whole heliosphere. The observation of these two solar emission components may give useful information about the evolution of the solar cycle by probing two different CR components (proton and electrons) in regions not directly accessible by direct observations. We present the results of the observations of the Sun with Fermi-LAT in the first 7 years on orbit, with the exception of the flaring periods. Significantly large photon statistics and improved processing performance with respect to previous analysis allow us to explore both components of the emission in greater details and perform better comparisons of data with current models of the IC component. This allows us to probe CR electrons in the inner heliosphere which is not possible by other methods. Moreover, the longer period of observations allows us to study the variations of the emission between the maximum and the minimum of the solar cycle.

A case for radio galaxies as the sources of IceCube's astrophysical neutrino flux

We present an argument that radio galaxies (active galaxies with mis-aligned jets) are likely to be the primary sources of the high-energy astrophysical neutrinos observed by IceCube. In particular, if the gamma-ray emission observed from radio galaxies is generated through the interactions of cosmic-ray protons with gas, these interactions can also produce a population of neutrinos with a flux and spectral shape similar to that measured by IceCube. We present a simple physical model in which high-energy cosmic rays are confined within the volumes of radio galaxies, where they interact with gas to generate the observed diffuse fluxes of neutrinos and gamma rays. In addition to simultaneously accounting for the observations of Fermi and IceCube, radio galaxies in this model also represent an attractive class of sources for the highest energy cosmic rays.

Trapped positrons observed by PAMELA experiment

Measurements of electron and positron spatial distributions in energy range from 80 MeV to several GeV below the geomagnetic cutoff rigidity were carried out using the PAMELA magnetic spectrometer. The instrument is installed on board the Resurs-DK satellite which was launched June 15th 2006 on an elliptical orbit with the inclination 70 degrees and the altitude 350-600 km. The procedure of trajectories calculations in the geomagnetic filed gives a way to separate stably trapped and short lived albedo components produced in interactions of cosmic ray protons with the residual atmosphere. The work presents spatial distributions of trapped, quasitrapped and short-lived albedo electrons and positrons in the near Earth space. Electron to positron ratio points out on different production mechanism of trapped and quasitrapped particles.

Cosmic ray antiprotons from nearby cosmic accelerators

The antiproton flux measured by PAMELA experiment might have originated from Galactic sources of cosmic rays. These antiprotons are expected to be produced in the interactions of cosmic ray protons and nuclei with cold protons. Gamma rays are also produced in similar interactions inside some of the cosmic accelerators. We consider a few nearby supernova remnants observed by Fermi LAT. Many of them are associated with molecular clouds. Gamma rays have been detected from these sources which most likely originate in decay of neutral pions produced in hadronic interactions. The observed gamma ray fluxes from these SNRs are used to find out their contributions to the observed diffuse cosmic ray antiproton flux near the earth.

PROSPECTS FOR DETECTION OF SYNCHROTRON EMISSION FROM SECONDARY ELECTRONS AND POSITRONS IN STARLESS CORES: APPLICATION TO G0.216+0.016

We investigate the diffusion of cosmic rays into molecular cloud complexes. Using the cosmic-ray diffusion formalism of Protheroe, et al. (2008), we examine how cosmic rays diffuse into clouds exhibiting different density structures, including a smoothed step-function, as well as Gaussian and inverse-$r$ density distributions, which are well known to trace the structure of star-forming regions. These density distributions were modelled as an approximation to the Galactic centre cloud G0.216+0.016, a recently-discovered massive dust clump that exhibits limited signs of massive star formation and thus may be the best region in the Galaxy to observe synchrotron emission from secondary electrons and positrons. Examination of the resulting synchrotron emission, produced by the interaction of cosmic ray protons interacting with ambient molecular matter producing secondary electrons and positrons reveals that, due to projection effects, limb-brightened morphology results in all cases. However, we find that the Gaussian and inverse-$r$ density distributions show much broader flux density distributions than step-function distributions. Significantly, some of the compact (compared to the $2.2''$ resolution, 5.3 GHz JVLA observations) sources show non-thermal emission, which may potentially be explained by the density structure and the lack of diffusion of cosmic rays into the cloud. We find that we can match the 5.3 and 20 GHz flux densities of the non-thermal source JVLA~1 and 6 from Rodr\'{\i}guez & Zapata (2014) with a local cosmic ray flux density, a diffusion coefficient suppression factor of $\chi=0.1-0.01$ for a coefficient of $3\times10^{27}$ cm$^2$ s$^{-1}$, and a magnetic field strength of 470 $\mu$G.

An Alternative Approach to Understanding the Observed Positron Fraction

Space-based observations by PAMELA (Adriani et al., Nature 458, 607, 2009), Fermi-LAT (Ackerman et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 01103, 2012), and AMS (Aguilar et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 141102, 2013) have demonstrated that the positron fraction (e+/total-e) increases with increasing energy above about 10 GeV. According to the propagation model for Galactic cosmic rays in widespread use (Moskalenko & Strong, Astrophys. J. 493, 693, 1998), the production of secondary positrons from interaction of cosmic-ray protons and heavier nuclei with the interstellar medium gives a generally falling positron fraction between 10 and 100 GeV, with secondary positrons accounting for only ∼20 % of the observed positron fraction at 100 GeV; so some other physical phenomena have been proposed to explain the data. An alternative approach to interpreting the positron observations is to consider these data as presenting an opportunity for re-examining models of Galactic cosmic-ray propagation. Following release of the PAMELA data, three groups published propagation models (Shaviv, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 111302, 2009, Cowsik and Burch, Phys. Rev. D. 82, 023009, 2010, Katz et al., Mon. Not. R. Aston. Soc. 405, 1458 2010) in which the observed positron fraction is explained entirely by secondary positrons produced in the interstellar medium. In May of this year, stimulated by the AMS extension of the positron data to higher energy with excellent statistics, two of those groups presented further development of their calculations (Cowsik et al. 2013, Blum et al. 2013), again concluding that the observed positrons can be understood as secondaries. None of the authors of these five papers was registered for the 33rd International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC). Although I am not an author of any of these papers, I have some close familiarity with one of these recent papers, so the conference organizers invited me to bring this alternative approach to the attention of the conference. The present paper is a summary of the material I presented, along with a brief comment about reaction at the conference to this approach.

Ionisation as indicator for cosmic ray acceleration

Abstract. Astrospheres and wind bubbles of massive stars are believed to be sources of cosmic rays with energies E &amp;amp;lesssim; 1 TeV. These particles are not directly detectable, but their impact on surrounding matter, in particular ionisation of atomic and molecular hydrogen, can lead to observable signatures. A correlation study of both gamma ray emission, induced by proton-proton interactions of cosmic ray protons with kinetic energies Ep ≥ 280 MeV with ambient hydrogen, and ionisation induced by cosmic ray protons of kinetic energies Ep &lt; 280 MeV can be performed in order to study potential sources of (sub)TeV cosmic rays.

Gamma rays and neutrinos from a cosmic ray source in the Galactic Center region

The center of the our Galaxy is a region where very energetic phenomena take place. In particular, powerful cosmic ray sources can be located in that region. The cosmic rays accelerated in these sources may interact with ambient protons and/or low energy photons producing gamma rays and neutrinos. The observation of these two types of secondary particles can be very useful for the identification of the cosmic ray sources and for the understanding of the physical processes occurring during acceleration. Motivated by the excess in the neutrino spectrum recently reported by the IceCube Collaboration, we study in detail the shape of the gamma ray and neutrino spectra originating from the interaction of cosmic ray protons with ambient protons for sources located in the Galactic Center region. We consider different models for proton acceleration and study the impact on the gamma ray and neutrino spectra. We also discuss the possibility to constrain and even identify a particular neutrino source by using the information given by the gamma ray spectrum, taking advantage of the modification of the spectral shape caused by the interaction of the gamma rays with the photons of the radiation field present in the interstellar medium, which strongly depends on the source distance.

EVIDENCE FOR SECONDARY EMISSION AS THE ORIGIN OF HARD SPECTRA IN TeV BLAZARS

We develop a model for a possible origin of hard very high energy spectra from a distant blazar. In the model, both the primary photons produced in the source and secondary photons produced outside the source contribute to the observed high energy $\gamma$-rays emission. That is, the primary photons are produced in the source through the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process, and the secondary photons are produced outside the source through high energy protons interaction with the background photons along the line of sight. We apply the model to a characteristic case was the very high energy (VHE) $\gamma$-ray emissions in distant blazar 1ES 1101-232. Assuming a suitable electron and proton spectra, we obtain excellent fits to observed spectra of distant blazar 1ES 1101-232. This indicated that the surprisingly low attenuation of high energy $\gamma$-rays, especially for the shape of the very high energy $\gamma$-rays tail of the observed spectra, can be explained by secondary $\gamma$-rays produced in interactions of cosmic-ray protons with background photons in the intergalactic space.