Multi messenger astronomy and CTA: TeV cosmic rays and electrons

Cosmic rays are a sample of solar, galactic and extragalactic matter. Their origin and properties are one of the most intriguing question in modern astrophysics. The most energetic events and active objects in the Universe: supernovae explosion, pulsars, relativistic jets, active galactic nuclei, have been proposed as sources of cosmic rays although unambiguous evidences have still to be found. Electrons, while comprising ∼1% of the cosmic radiation, have unique features providing important information regarding the origin and propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy that is not accessible from the study of the cosmic-ray nuclear components due to their differing energy-loss processes. In this paper we will analyse, discussing the experimental uncertainties and challenges, the most recent measurements on cosmic-ray nuclei and, in particular, electrons with energies from tens of GeV into the TeV region.     

Extragalactic UHE proton spectrum and prediction for iron-nuclei flux at 10–10 GeV

We investigate the problem of transition from galactic cosmic rays to extragalactic ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Using the model for extragalactic ultra-high energy cosmic rays and observed all-particle cosmic ray spectrum, we calculate the galactic spectrum of iron nuclei in the energy range 10⁸–10⁹ GeV. The flux and spectrum predicted at lower energies agree well with the KASCADE data. The transition from galactic to extragalactic cosmic rays is distinctly seen in spectra of protons and iron nuclei, when they are measured separately. The shape of the predicted iron spectrum agrees with the Hall diffusion.     

Contribution of Cosmic Rays from Sources with a Monoenergetic Proton Spectrum to the Extragalactic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission

The extragalactic sources of ultra-high-energy (E > 4 × 10¹⁹ eV) cosmic rays that make a small contribution to the flux of particles recorded by ground-based arrays are discussed. We show that cosmic rays from such sources can produce a noticeable diffuse gamma-ray flux in intergalactic space compared to the the data obtained with Fermi LAT (onboard the Fermi space observatory). A possible type of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in which cosmi-ray protons can be accelerated to energies 10²¹ eV is considered as an illustration of such sources. We conclude that ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from the AGNs being discussed can contribute significantly to the extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray emission. In addition, a constraint on the fraction of the AGNs under consideration relative to the BL Lac objects and radio galaxies has been obtained from a comparison with the Fermi LAT data.     

Solar-cycle evolution of the coronal general magnetic field of 1959–1974 and the synchronous variation of high-speed solar wind streams and galactic cosmic rays

The simultaneous enhancement or subsidence of both the high-speed solar wind streams and the galactic cosmic rays in the minimum or the maximum phase of the solar cycle are interpreted in a unified manner by the concept of geometrical evolution of the general magnetic field of the corona-heliomagnetosphere system. The coronal general magnetic field evolves from an open dipole-like configuration in the minimum phase to a closed configuration with many loop-like formations in the maximum phase of the solar cycle. This concept, developed in a theoretical solar-cycle model driven by the dynamo action of the global convection, is examined and found to be valid by studying the evolution of the coronal general magnetic field calculated from the observed surface general magnetic field of 1959–1974. It is also found that the energy density of the poloidal component of the general surface field, from which the coronal field originates, attained a maximum in the maximum phase and showed a evolution with virtually no phase delay with respect to that of the toroidal component of the field, to which the sunspot activity is related. The subsidence of the high-speed solar wind in the maximum phase is understood as a braking of the solar wind streams by the tightly closed and strong coronal field lines in the lower corona in the maximum phase. The field lines of the heliomagnetosphere, which originate from the coronal field lines drawn by the solar wind, are inferred to be also more tightly closed at the heliopause in the maximum phase than in the minimum phase. The decrease of the galactic cosmic rays in the maximum phase (known as the Forbush's negative correlation between the galactic cosmic ray intensity and the solar activity or the Forbush solar-cycle modulation of the galactic cosmic rays) is interpreted as a braking of the cosmic rays by the closed magnetic field lines at the heliopause. The observed phase lag (approximately one year) of the galactic cosmic ray modulation with respect to the evolution of the solar cycle, and the observed absence of the gradient of the total cosmic ray intensity between 1 AU and 8 AU, are discussed to support this view of the cosmic ray modulation at the remote heliopause, and reject other hypotheses to explain the phenomenon in terms of the magnetic irregularities of various kinds carried by the solar wind: The short-term Forbush decrease at a time of a flare shows that the magnetic irregularities can react on the cosmic rays relatively near the Sun if they even played a dominant role in the long-term modulation. The concept of the general magnetic field of the corona and the surface is also used to understand the basic nature of the surface field itself, by comparing the geometry of the calculated coronal field lines with the eclipse photographs of the corona, and by discussing, in the context of the coronal general magnetic field associated with the solar cycle, the process of the emergence of the coronal field lines from the interior and the formation of the transequatorial arches and loops connecting the two hemispheres in the corona.     

Galactic PeV neutrinos

The IceCube experiment has detected two neutrinos with energies between 1 and 10 PeV. They might have originated from Galactic or extragalactic sources of cosmic rays. In the present work we consider hadronic interactions of the diffuse very high energy cosmic rays with the interstellar matter within our Galaxy to explain the PeV neutrino events detected in IceCube. We also expect PeV gamma ray events along with the PeV neutrino events if the observed PeV neutrinos were produced within our Galaxy in hadronic interactions. PeV gamma rays are unlikely to reach us from sources outside our Galaxy due to pair production with cosmic background radiation fields. We suggest that in future with simultaneous detections of PeV gamma rays and neutrinos it would be possible to distinguish between Galactic and extragalactic origins of very high energy neutrinos.     

Cosmic rays from collapsing magnetized stars

We examine the acceleration of cosmic rays in the magnetospheres of collapsing stars with initial dipole magnetic fields and various initial energy distributions of charged particles in their magnetospheres (the exponential, relativistic Maxwellian, and Boltzmann distributions were considered). When a magnetized star contracts at the gravitational collapse stage, its magnetic field grows considerably. Such a variable magnetic field generates an eddy electric field. Our calculations suggest that this electric field can accelerate charged particles to relativistic energies. In this way collapsing stars can be sources of high-energy cosmic rays in our Galaxy as well as in other galaxies.     

Milestones in the Observations of Cosmic Magnetic Fields

Magnetic fields are observed everywhere in the universe. In this review, we concentrate on the observational aspects of the magnetic fields of Galactic and extragalactic objects. Readers can follow the milestones in the observations of cosmic magnetic fields obtained from the most important tracers of magnetic fields, namely, the star-light polarization, the Zeeman effect, the rotation measures (RMs, hereafter) of extragalactic radio sources, the pulsar RMs, radio polarization observations, as well as the newly implemented sub-mm and mm polarization capabilities. The magnetic field of the Galaxy was first discovered in 1949 by optical polarization observations. The local magnetic fields within one or two kpc have been well delineated by starlight polarization data. The polarization observations of diffuse Galactic radio background emission in 1962 confirmed unequivocally the existence of a Galactic magnetic field. The bulk of the present information about the magnetic fields in the Galaxy comes from anal     

Centaurus A as a source of extragalactic cosmic rays with arrival energies well beyond the GZK cutoff

The ultra-high energy cosmic rays recently detected by several air shower experiments could have an extragalactic origin. In this case, the nearest active galaxy Centaurus A might be the source of the most energetic particles ever detected on Earth. We have used recent radio observations in order to estimate the arrival energy of the protons accelerated by strong shock fronts in the outer parts of this southern radio source. We expect detections coresponding to particles with energies up to 2.2 × 10²¹ eV and an arrival direction of (l ≈ 310°, b ≈ 20°) in galactic coordinates. The future Southern Hemisphere Pierre Auger Observatory might provide a decisive test for extragalactic models of the origin of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays.     

Gamma-ray bursters as sources of cosmic rays

From the little we know of the physical conditions in γ-ray bursters, it seems that they are potentially effective in the acceleration of high-energy cosmic rays (CRs), especially if the bursters are at cosmological distances. We find that, with the observed statistics and fluxes of γ-ray bursts, cosmological bursters may be an important source of cosmic rays in two regions of the observed spectrum: (1) At the very-high-energy end (E > 10¹⁹ eV), where CRs must be of extragalactic origin. (2) Around and above the spectral feature that has been described as a bump and/or a knee, which occurs around 10¹⁵ eV. The occasional bursters that occur inside the Galaxy — about once in a few hundred thousand years if burst emission is isotropic; more often, if it is beamed — could maintain the density of galactic cosmic rays at the observed level in this range. These two energy ranges might correspond to two typical CR energy scales characteristic of bursters: one pertinent to CR acceleration due to interaction of a magnetized-fireball front with an ambient medium; the other to acceleration in the fireball itself (e.g. shock acceleration).     

Search for the sources of cosmic rays with energies above 10<Superscript>20</Superscript> eV

The sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs, E >10¹⁸ eV) are still unknown, mainly due to the loss of the direction to the source after the deflection of cosmic rays’ (CRs) trajectories in the galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. With the increase in CR energy (rigidity), the influence of the magnetic field weakens; therefore, the most promising approach is to search for the sources of events with the highest energy. In our work, we expand the existing UHECR (E > 10²⁰ eV) sample from 33 to 42 events by calibrating the AUGER events. The sample is characterized by the presence of an event triplet in a circle of radius 3°. The highest-energy event is still the shower (E = 3.2 × 10²⁰ eV) detected with the Fly’s Eye fluorescent detector (FE-event) in 1993. The possible sources of the triplet and the FE-event are analyzed. Taking into account the deflection of CR trajectories in the extragalactic and galactic magnetic fields, it is shown that transient sources of the FE-event and the triplet may be galaxies with active star formation, where CRs are accelerated by newborn millisecond pulsars. Among the galactic sources, the potential candidates are young pulsars that might have had millisecond periods at birth and giant magnetar flares.     

The origin of our galactic magnetic field

A serious difficulty with the standard alpha‐omega theory of the origin of galactic magnetic fields involves the question of flux expulsion. This is intimately related to flux freezing. The alpha‐omega theory is shown in the context of the giant superbubble explosions that have a large impact on the physics of the interstellar medium. It is shown that superbubbles alone can duplicate the processes of the alpha‐omega dynamo and produce exponential growth of the galactic magnetic field. The possibility of the blow‐out of pieces of the magnetic field is discussed and it is shown that they have the potential to solve the flux‐expulsion problem. However, such an explanation must lead to apparent ‘gaps’ in the field in the galactic disc. These gaps are probably unavoidable in any dynamo theory and should have important observable consequences, one of which is an explanation for the escape of cosmic rays from the disc (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Galactic magnetic fields and their interactions with the gas and cosmic rays

(i) The controversy of dynamo or primordial origin of galactic magnetic fields is summarized and extended to show that the dynamo theory appears to fail. However, much more important than their origin are the characteristics of the fields and their interactions with the gas and cosmic rays. (ii) A passive magnetic field frozen into a turbulent plasma is not dissipated like a cloud of smoke (turbulent or eddy diffusion) as believed previously. On the contrary it is amplified exponentially until, within a few eddy periods, either the growing magnetic stresses halt the turbulence or the field becomes chaotic. Even if the Petschek reconnection mechanism operates, the field is always disordered to a scale <0.1L, whereL is the eddy dimension. The investigation may at last provide a semi-quantitative deductive theory of hydromagnetic eddies. (iii) It is concluded that the gas motions observed in our Galaxy are not convective but are mainly hydromagnetic waves or oscillations, with the magnetic field in control. The significance of this result is discussed in connection with the overall gas velocity field, the creation of stars and stellar systems, and with the origin and distribution of cosmic rays.     

The Role of Extragalactic Antimatter in Cosmic Ray Observations Near Earth

Quest for antimatter in cosmic rays has revealed no compelling evidence of primary, extragalactic antiparticles up to the present time. Recent positron and antiproton observations have been found to be consistent with a pure galactic origin up to energies of 50 GeV and 20 GeV respectively. In this paper it is discussed which role might be played by Ultra High Energy (UHE) extragalactic particles and antiparticles in cosmic-ray observations near Earth. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Formation of the spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays: Effect of extragalactic magnetic fields and expected contribution of individual sources

The effect of the extragalactic magnetic field on the propagation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is investigated. We use the infrared galaxy catalog IRAS PSCz to reconstruct the magnetic field distribution in the Local Universe. The magnetic field induction is considered as a power function of the galactic infrared luminosity density: B = Kρ^β. In contrast to some earlier studies in which the exponent β = 2/3 corresponded to the freezing-in condition, the parameters K and β are estimated from the field inductions normalized by the expected maximum inductions (strong field) and minimum inductions (weak field) in galaxy clusters and voids, respectively. Maps of angular deflections of UHECRs are presented for these magnetic field models. We found that the protons with energies E > 4 × 10¹⁹ eV are not significantly deflected from their sources in a sphere with a radius of 100 Mpc only in the case of the weak magnetic field model (the deflections are comparable to the errors of modern detectors). The effect of the extragalactic magnetic field on the UHECR spectrum is investigated, with Virgo A and Arp 299 taken as potential sources.     

Hydrogen flicker and associated high-energy radiation

The accretion of matter onto stars formed by carbon-oxygen cores triggers hydrogen flicker. The development of hydrogen flicker and the shock generation associated therewith are discussed. If the matter thus ejected is halted by a dense gas surrounding a star, a corona of high temperature is formed. This may take place in dense planetary nebulae and is regarded as an origin of starlike X-ray sources. More violent hydrogen flicker takes place at white dwarfs and may be an origin of novae. Nuclear-reaction products ejected are positron sources and they may provide MeV positrons as strong as 10^–3 cm^–2 sec^–1 sr^–1. Nuclides produced by hydrogen flicker and a part of the carbon-oxygen core ejected may contribute to galactic cosmic rays; their chemical composition is like that observed in cosmic rays.     

Electrons in a closed galaxy model of cosmic rays

We consider the consistency of positrons and electrons with a propagation model in which the cosmic rays are stopped by nuclear collisions or energy losses before they can escape from the Galaxy (the closed-galaxy model). The fact that we find no inconsistency between the predictions and the data implies that the protons which produce the positrons by nuclear reactions could have their origin in a large number of distant sources, as opposed to the heavier nuclei which in this model come from a more limited set of sources. The closed-galaxy model predicts steep electron and positron spectra at high energies. None of these are inconsistent with present measurements; but future measurements of the spectrum of high-energy positrons could provide a definite test for the model. The closed-galaxy model also predicts that the interstellar electron intensity below a few GeV is larger than that implied by other models. The consequence of this result is that electron brems-strahlung is responsible for about 50% of the galactic gamma-ray emission at photon energies greater than 100 MeV.     

Ballistic and diffusive components in the dynamic spectra of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays from nearby transient sources

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs, E > 10¹⁸ eV) from extragalactic sources deviate in the galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields, which explains the diffusive character of their propagation, the isotropization of their total flux, and the absence of UHECR clusters associated with individual sources. Extremely high energy cosmic rays (E > 10^19.7 eV) are scattered mainly in localized magnetized structures, such as galaxy clusters, filaments, etc., with a mean free path of tens of megaparsecs; therefore, in the case of nearby transient sources, a substantial contribution to the observed flux is expected from unscattered and weakly scattered particles, which may be a decisive factor in the identification of these sources. We propose a method for calculating the time evolution of the UHECR energy spectra based on analytical solutions of the transport equation with the explicit determination of the contributions from scattered and unscattered particles. As examples, we consider the cases of transient activity of the nearest active galactic nucleus, Centaurus A, and the acceleration of UHECRs by a young millisecond pulsar.     

The possibility of investigating ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray sources using data on the extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray emission

We provide our estimates of the intensity of the gamma-ray emission with an energy near 0.1 TeV generated in intergalactic space in the interactions of cosmic rays with background emissions. We assume that the cosmic-ray sources are pointlike and that these are active galactic nuclei. The following possible types of sources are considered: remote and powerful ones, at redshifts up to z = 1.1, with a monoenergetic particle spectrum, E = 10²¹ eV; the same objects, but with a power-law particle spectrum; and nearby sources at redshifts 0 < z ≤ 0.0092, i.e., at distances no larger than 50 Mpc also with a power-law particle spectrum. The contribution of cosmic rays to the extragalactic diffuse gammaray background at an energy of 0.1 TeVhas been found to depend on the type of sources or, more specifically, the contribution ranges from f ? 10^?4 to f ≈ 0.1, depending on the source model. We conclude that the data on the extragalactic background gamma-ray emission can be used to determine the characteristics of extragalactic cosmic-ray sources, i.e., their distances and the pattern of the particle energy spectrum.