Model Of Cosmic Ray Acceleration Research Articles

LHAASO J2108+5157 as a molecular cloud illuminated by a supernova remnant

Context. The search for Galactic PeVatrons – astrophysical accelerators of cosmic rays to PeV energies – has entered a new phase in recent years with the discovery of the first ultra-high-energy (UHE, E > 100 TeV) γ-ray sources by the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory and Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Establishing whether the emission is leptonic or hadronic in nature, however, requires multi-wavelength data and modelling studies. Among the currently known UHE sources, LHAASO J2108+5157 is an enigmatic source without clear association to a plausible accelerator, yet spatially coincident with molecular clouds. Aims. We aim to investigate the scenario of a molecular cloud illuminated by cosmic rays accelerated in a nearby supernova remnant (SNR) as an explanation for LHAASO J2108+5157. We aim to constrain the required properties of the SNR as well as which of the clouds identified in the vicinity is the most likely association. Methods. We used a model for cosmic-ray acceleration in SNRs, their transport through the interstellar medium, and subsequent interaction with molecular material to predict the corresponding γ-ray emission. The parameter space of SNR properties was explored to find the most plausible parameter combination that can account for the γ-ray spectrum of LHAASO J2108+5157. Results. In the case that a SNR is illuminating the cloud, we find that it must be young (< 10 kyr) and located within 40–60 pc of the cloud. A SN scenario with a low Sedov time is preferred, with a maximum proton energy of 3 PeV assumed. No SNRs matching these properties are currently known, although an as yet undetected SNR remains feasible. The Galactic CR sea is insufficient to solely account for the observed flux, such that a PeVatron accelerator must be present in the vicinity.

Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Unidentified Galactic Very High Energy Sources

The riddle of the origin of Cosmic Rays (CR) has been an open question for over a century. Gamma ray observations above 100 MeV reveal the sites of cosmic ray acceleration to energies where they are unaffected by solar modulation; recent evidence supports the existence of hadronic acceleration in Supernova Remnants (SNR), as expected in the standard model of cosmic ray acceleration. Nevertheless, the results raise new questions, and no final answer has been provided thus far. Among the suggested possible alternative accelerators in the Very High Energy (VHE) gamma ray sky, pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe, which together with dark matter are the main candidates to explain the local positron excess as well) are the dominant population among known Galactic sources. However, the most numerous population in absolute terms is represented by unidentified sources (~50% of VHE gamma ray sources). The relationship between PWNe and unidentified sources seems very close; in fact, in a PWN, the lifetime of inverse Compton (IC) emitting electrons not only exceeds the lifetime of its progenitor pulsar, but also exceeds the age of the electrons that emit via synchrotron radiation. Therefore, during its evolution, a PWN can remain bright in IC such that its GeV-TeV gamma ray flux remains high for timescales much larger than the lifetimes of the pulsar and the X-ray PWN. In addition, the shell-type remnant of the supernova explosion in which the pulsar was formed has a much shorter lifetime than the electrons responsible for IC emission. Hence, understanding PWNe and VHE unidentified sources is a crucial piece of the solution to the riddle of the origin of cosmic rays. Both theoretical aspects (with particular emphasis on the ancient pulsar wind nebulae scenario) and their observational proofs are discussed in this paper. Specifically, the scientific cases of HESS J1616-508 and HESS J1813-126 are examined in detail.

On the potential of faraday tomography to identify shock structures in supernova remnants

ABSTRACT Knowledge about the magnetic fields in supernova remnants (SNRs) is of paramount importance for constraining Galactic cosmic ray acceleration models. It could also indirectly provide information on the interstellar magnetic fields. In this paper, we predict the Faraday dispersion functions (FDFs) of SNRs for the first time. For this study, we use the results of three dimensional (3D) ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of SNRs expanding into a weak, regular magnetic field. We present the intrinsic FDFs of the shocked region of SNRs for different viewing angles. We find that the FDFs are generally Faraday complex, which implies that conventional rotation measure study is not sufficient to obtain the information on the magnetic fields in the shocked region and Faraday tomography is necessary. We also show that the FDF allows to derive the physical-depth distribution of polarization intensity when the line of sight is parallel to the initial magnetic field orientation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the location of contact discontinuity can be identified from the radial profile of the width of the FDF with the accuracy of 0.1–0.2 pc.

Cosmic Rays and Nonthermal Radiation in Middle-Aged Supernova Remnants

A nonlinear model of cosmic-ray acceleration at the shock fronts in the supernova remnants W28, W44, and IC433 is investigated. The hydrodynamic evolution of a supernova remnant, including the shock modification by the pressure of accelerated particles and the streaming instability of particles upstream of the shock propagating in a partially ionized interstellar gas, is modeled. The electromagnetic radiation generated by accelerated particles is calculated and compared with observations in a wide range of photon energies.

A two-fluid model for black-hole accretion flows: particle acceleration and disc structure

Hot, tenuous advection-dominated accretion flows around black holes are ideal sites for the Fermi acceleration of relativistic particles at standing shock waves in the accretion disc. Previous work has demonstrated that the shock-acceleration process can be efficient enough to power the observed, strong outflows in radio-loud active galaxies such as M87. However, the dynamical effect (back-reaction) on the flow, exerted by the pressure of the relativistic particles, has not been previously considered, and this effect can have a significant influence on the disc structure. We reexamine the problem by developing a new, two-fluid model for the structure of the accretion disc that includes the dynamical effect of the relativistic particle pressure, combined with the pressure of the background (thermal) gas. The new model is analogous to the two-fluid model of cosmic ray acceleration in supernova-driven shock waves. As part of the model, we also develop a new set of shock jump conditions, which are solved along with the hydrodynamic conservation equations to determine the structure of the accretion disc. The solutions include the formation of a mildly relativistic outflow (jet) at the shock radius, driven by the relativistic particles accelerated in the disc. One of our main conclusions is that in the context of the new two-fluid accretion model, global smooth (shock-free) solutions do not exist, and the disc must always contain a standing shock wave, at least in the inviscid case considered here.

Knee of the cosmic hydrogen and helium spectrum below 1 PeV measured by ARGO-YBJ and a Cherenkov telescope of LHAASO

The measurement of cosmic ray energy spectra, in particular for individual species, is an essential approach in finding their origin. Locating the "knees" of the spectra is an important part of the approach and has yet to be achieved. Here we report a measurement of the mixed Hydrogen and Helium spectrum using the combination of the ARGO-YBJ experiment and of a prototype Cherenkov telescope for the LHAASO experiment. A knee feature at 640+/-87 TeV, with a clear steepening of the spectrum, is observed. This gives fundamental inputs to galactic cosmic ray acceleration models.

Interpretation of Voyager 1 data on low energy cosmic rays in galactic wind model

The local interstellar energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays down to a few MeV/nucleon were directly measured in the experiment on the board of the Voyager 1 spacecraft. We suggest interpretation of these data based on our models of cosmic ray acceleration in supernova remnants and the diffusion in galactic wind where diffusion coefficient is determined by the cosmic ray streaming instability. The dependence of wind velocity on distance above the Galactic disk is determined.

SIMULATIONS OF ION ACCELERATION AT NON-RELATIVISTIC SHOCKS. III. PARTICLE DIFFUSION

We use large hybrid (kinetic protons-fluid electrons) simulations to investigate the transport of energetic particles in self-consistent electromagnetic configurations of collisionless shocks. In previous papers of this series, we showed that ion acceleration may be very efficient (up to $10-20\%$ in energy), and outlined how the streaming of energetic particles amplifies the upstream magnetic field. Here, we measure particle diffusion around shocks with different strengths, finding that the mean free path for pitch-angle scattering of energetic ions is comparable with their gyroradii calculated in the self-generated turbulence. For moderately-strong shocks, magnetic field amplification proceeds in the quasi-linear regime, and particles diffuse according to the self-generated diffusion coefficient, i.e., the scattering rate depends only on the amount of energy in modes with wavelengths comparable with the particle gyroradius. For very strong shocks, instead, the magnetic field is amplified up to non-linear levels, with most of the energy in modes with wavelengths comparable to the gyroradii of highest-energy ions, and energetic particles experience Bohm-like diffusion in the amplified field. We also show how enhanced diffusion facilitates the return of energetic particles to the shock, thereby determining the maximum energy that can be achieved in a given time via diffusive shock acceleration. The parametrization of the diffusion coefficient that we derive can be used to introduce self-consistent microphysics into large-scale models of cosmic ray acceleration in astrophysical sources, such as supernova remnants and clusters of galaxies.

Methanol masers in Galactic center region supernova remnants

AbstractMethanol masers can be used to constrain densities and estimate kinematical distances to supernova remnants (SNRs), important parameters in cosmic ray acceleration models. With the goal of testing those models both for SNRs inside and outside the Galactic center (GC) region, we have used the Very Large Array to search for 36 GHz and 44 GHz methanol lines in Galactic SNRs. We report on the overall results of the maser search, and in particular the results of the GC SNR G1.4–0.1 in which more than 40 masers were found. They may be due to interactions between the SNR and at least two separate molecular clouds. Methanol masers were also detected in W28 and in Sgr A East.

Cosmic ray positrons from a local, middle-aged supernova remnant

We argue that the cosmic ray positron excess observed in ATIC-2, Fermi LAT, PAMELA, HESS and recently in the precision AMS-02 experiment can be attributed to production in a local, middle-aged supernova remnant (SNR). Using the prediction of our model of cosmic ray acceleration in SNR we estimate that the SNR responsible for the observed positron excess is located between 250 and 320pc from the Sun and is 170–380kyear old. The most probable candidate for such a source is the SNR which gave birth to the well-known Geminga pulsar, but is no longer visible. Other contenders are also discussed.

Results from high-energy neutrino searches from gamma-ray bursts with IceCube

IceCube, a cubic kilometer neutrino detector located in glacial ice at the South Pole, has recently become the first neutrino telescope with a sensitivity below the TeV-PeV neutrino flux predicted from gamma-ray bursts if GRBs are responsible for the observed extragalactic cosmic-ray flux. IceCube has so far not detected any evidence for the predicted neutrino fluxes, and so is beginning to constrain models of cosmic ray acceleration in GRBs.

Tycho’s supernova remnant as a source of cosmic rays in our galaxy

The Tycho’s supernova remnant was observed using the SHALON atmospheric Cherenkov telescope at the Tien Shan High-Altitude Observatory. This object has long been considered to be a candidate for sources of cosmic ray hadrons in the Northern Hemisphere. In [1, 2], the Tycho’s properties were described using the nonlinear kinetic model of cosmic ray acceleration in supernovae remnants. The expected γ-ray flux from π0-decay extends to energies > 30 eV, whereas the γ-ray photon flux generated by inverse Compton scattering is cut off above several TeV. Therefore, the detection of γ-rays at energies of 10–80 TeV by the SHALON telescope is an indication of their hadron origin. From the SHALON telescope data, additional information on such parameters of the Tycho’s supernova remnant as the distance and interstellar medium density was obtained within the theory [1, 2].

ERRATUM: “COSMIC RAY ORIGIN IN OB ASSOCIATIONS AND PREFERENTIAL ACCELERATION OF REFRACTORY ELEMENTS: EVIDENCE FROM ABUNDANCES OF ELEMENTS 26Fe THROUGH 34Se” (2009, ApJ, 697, 2083)

We report abundances of elements from 26Fe to 34Se in the cosmic radiation measured during fifty days of exposure of the Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (TIGER) balloon-borne instrument. These observations add support to the concept that the bulk of cosmic-ray acceleration takes place in OB associations, and they further support cosmic-ray acceleration models in which elements present in interstellar grains are accelerated preferentially compared with those found in interstellar gas.

Fractional models of cosmic ray acceleration in the Galaxy

Possible formulations of the problem of cosmic rays acceleration in the interstellar galactic medium are considered with the use of fractional differential equations. The applied technique has been physically justified. A Fermi result has been generalized to the case of the acceleration of particles in shock waves in the supernovae remnants fractally distributed in the Galaxy.

Escape-limited model of cosmic-ray acceleration revisited

The spectrum of cosmic rays (CRs) is affected by their escape from an acceleration site. This may have been observed not only in the gamma-ray spectrum of young supernova remnants (SNRs) such as RX J1713.7-3946, but also in the spectrum of CRs showering on the Earth. The escape-limited model of cosmic-ray acceleration is studied in general. We discuss the spectrum of CRs running away from the acceleration site. The model may also constrain the spectral index at the acceleration site and the ansatz with respect to the unknown injection process into the particle acceleration. We apply our model to CR acceleration in SNRs and in active galactic nuclei (AGN), which are plausible candidates of Galactic and extragalactic CRs, respectively. In particular, for young SNRs, we take account of the shock evolution with cooling of escaping CRs in the Sedov phase. The spectrum of escaping CRs generally depends on the physical quantities at the acceleration site, such as the spectral index, the evolution of the maximum energy of CRs and the evolution of the number of CRs. It is found that the spectrum of run-away particles can be both softer and harder than that of the acceleration site. The model could explain spectral indices of both Galactic and extragalactic CRs produced by SNRs and AGNs, respectively, suggesting the unified picture of CR acceleration.

DIRECT EVIDENCE FOR HADRONIC COSMIC-RAY ACCELERATION IN THE SUPERNOVA REMNANT IC 443

The supernova remnant (SNR) IC 443 is an intermediate-age remnant well known for its radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy emissions. In this Letter, we study the gamma-ray emission above 100 MeV from IC 443 as obtained by the AGILE satellite. A distinct pattern of diffuse emission in the energy range 100 MeV–3 GeV is detected across the SNR with its prominent maximum (source "A") localized in the northeastern shell with a flux above 100 MeV. This location is the site of the strongest shock interaction between the SNR blast wave and the dense circumstellar medium. Source "A" is not coincident with the TeV source located 0.4° away and associated with a dense molecular cloud complex in the SNR central region. From our observations, and from the lack of detectable diffuse TeV emission from its northeastern rim, we demonstrate that electrons cannot be the main emitters of gamma rays in the range 0.1–10 GeV at the site of the strongest SNR shock. The intensity, spectral characteristics, and location of the most prominent gamma-ray emission together with the absence of cospatial detectable TeV emission are consistent only with a hadronic model of cosmic-ray acceleration in the SNR. A high-density molecular cloud (cloud "E") provides a remarkable "target" for nucleonic interactions of accelerated hadrons; our results show enhanced gamma-ray production near the molecular cloud/shocked shell interaction site. IC 443 provides the first unambiguous evidence of cosmic-ray acceleration by SNRs.

A MODEL OF ACCELERATION OF ANOMALOUS COSMIC RAYS BY RECONNECTION IN THE HELIOSHEATH

We discuss a model of cosmic ray acceleration that accounts for the observations of anomalous cosmic rays by Voyager 1 and 2. The model appeals to fast magnetic reconnection rather than shocks as the driver of acceleration. The ultimate source of energy is associated with magnetic field reversals that occur in the heliosheath. It is expected that the magnetic field reversals will occur throughout the heliosheath, but especially near the heliopause where the flows slows down and diverge in respect to the interstellar wind and also in the boundary sector-in the heliospheric current sheet. While the First Order Fermi acceleration theory within reconnection layers is in its infancy, the available predictions do not contradict the available data on anomalous cosmic ray spectra measured by the spacecrafts. We argue that the Voyager data can be one of the first pieces of evidence favoring the acceleration within regions of fast magnetic reconnection, which we argue is a widely spread astrophysical process.

Changes in the energy spectra of different groups of nuclei during propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy

The effect of cosmic-ray propagation on the energy spectra of the cosmic rays observed at the Earth is analyzed using numerical simulation of trajectories. The grammage data on the cosmic-ray nuclei and the probabilities of their interaction are given for different models of the regular magnetic field of the Galaxy. Possible flattening of the energy spectra of heavy elements in comparison with the spectra of light elements, which is due to the effect of nuclear spallation during cosmic-ray propagation, is noted. With allowance for the results obtained, the energy spectra of cosmic rays determined from the data on extensive air showers are compared with the predictions of the conventional model of cosmic-ray acceleration by a shock wave.

The transition from VHE to EHE cosmic rays

The situation in the investigation of the well-known peculiarities in the cosmic ray energy spectrum (the knee, the ankle and the GZK cut-off) assuming that the primary spectrum does not change its slope is considered. The model of cosmic ray acceleration in plasma pinches supporting such primary spectrum behaviour is described. Some questions of further investigation are analyzed.

Extensive air showers generated by gamma-quanta from Geminga and Tycho's SNR at energy range 1–30 TeV

The gamma-quantum emitting objects in our Galaxy are supernova remnants and binary. The observed results of gamma-quantum sources Tycho Brahe and Geminga by the SHALON gamma-telescope are presented. The integral spectra of events from the source - k o n and background events, observing simultaneously with source's events - k o f f , and the source image are presented. The energy spectra of Tycho's SNR and Geminga supernova remnant F ( E 0 > 0.8 T e V ) ∼ E k are harder than the Crab Nebula spectrum. Tycho's SNR has long been considered as a candidate cosmic ray source in Northern Hemisphere. A non-linear kinetic model of cosmic ray acceleration in supernova remnants was used for Tycho's SNR. The expected π°-decay gamma-quanta flux F γ ∼ E γ −1 extends up to ∼30TeV, whereas the Inverse Compton gamma-ray flux has a cut-off above a few TeV. So, the detection of gamma-rays at energies of ∼ 10 − 30 T e V by SHALON is evidence for hadron origin.