Pulsars as sources of cosmic rays

The observed characteristics of pulsars have been considered with respect to how they would affect cosmic rays if pulsars are the sources of cosmic radiation. Particular attention was given to the various time properties of suggested acceleration mechanisms. They are divided into three general cases: (a) constant with time, (b) sudden injections at discrete times, (c) slowly varying with time. In each case the possibility of either a monoenergetic or a power law injection spectrum with respect to energy was taken into account.     

Search for point sources of highest energy cosmic rays

The arrival directions of cosmic rays with energies above 10¹⁹ eV using data from EAS world arrays are considered. The problem of searching for clusters in arrival directions of the extensive air shower arrays at Yakutsk, Haverah Park, Volcano Ranch, Sydney and Akeno are examined. Four cluster directions are identified which are believed to be significant: these clusters do not lie in the direction of the Galactic Plane.     

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).     

Active galactic nuclei and pulsars as cosmic ray sources

Relativistic e^± particles and cosmic rays are accelerated in the magnetospheres of supermassive black holes and neutron stars. The possibility of synchrotron radiation with extremely high intensity inside the deepest regions of magnetospheres is investigated. Very high brightness temperatures are expected for such radiation by relativistic protons, which can be made even higher in the presence of non-stationary conditions, Doppler boosting and coherent processes. The main parameters for models of such high-brightness-temperature radiation are determined. Two types of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are expected. One type is associated with the acceleration and ejection of relativistic e^± particles only (probably non-IDV sources and FR-I radio galaxies). The second type of AGN is also associated with e^± acceleration, but is dominated by the contribution of relativistic protons (probably IDV sources and FR-II radio galaxies). Analogous objects for pulsars are plerion and shell supernova remnants with neutron stars or pulsars without synchrotron nebulae, respectively.     

Kolmogorov–Smirnov test as a tool to study the distribution of ultra-high energy cosmic ray sources

We analyse in detail the two-dimensional Kolmogorov–Smirnov test as a tool to learn about the distribution of the sources of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We confront, in particular, models based on active galactic nuclei observed in X-rays, galaxies observed in H  i and isotropic distributions, discussing how this method can be used not only to reject isotropy but also to support or reject specific source models, extending results obtained recently in the literature.     

Using bright ellipticals as dark energy cosmic clocks

The age of the Universe has been increasingly constrained by different techniques, such as the observations of type Ia supernovae (SNIa) at high redshift or dating the stellar populations of globular clusters. In this paper, we present a complementary approach using the colours of the brightest elliptical galaxies in clusters over a wide redshift range  ( z ≲ 1)  . We put new and independent bounds on the dark energy equation of state parametrized by a constant pressure-to-density ratio   w _Q  and by a parameter (ξ) which determines the scaling between the matter and dark energy densities. We find that accurate estimates of the metallicities of the stellar populations in moderate and high-redshift cluster galaxies can pose stringent constraints on the parameters that describe dark energy. Our results are in good agreement with the analysis of dark energy models using SNIa data as a constraint. Accurate estimates of the metallicities of stellar populations in cluster galaxies at   z ≲ 2  will make this approach a powerful complement to studies of cosmological parameters using high-redshift SNIa.     

Massive cosmic strings in Bianchi type II

We study a massive cosmic strings with BII symmetries cosmological models in two contexts. The first of them is the standard one with a barotropic equation of state. In the second one we explore the possibility of taking into account variable “constants” (G and Λ). Both models are studied under the self-similar hypothesis. We put special emphasis in calculating the numerical values for the equations of state. We find that for ω∈(0,1], G, is a growing time function while Λ, behaves as positive decreasing time function. If ω=0, both “constants”, G and Λ, behave as true constants.     

The nature of cosmic ray sources

The limitations on the nature of cosmic ray acceleration regions and processes, as deduced from cosmic ray measurements and propagation studies, are reviewed. The power requirements for these acceleration regions are estimated from measurements of the local cosmic ray energy density, anisotropy and spallation-deduced pathlength. Possible constraints on the acceleration spectrum of the cosmic rays and on a charge dependence of the acceleration process, implied by the measured cosmic ray spectrum and composition, are considered. Various suggested sources and processes of cosmic ray acceleration are discussed in the light of these limitations.Astrophysics and Space Science Review Paper.     

Proton collisions in cosmic ray sources

In this paper we have studied the possible proton collisions in cosmic ray sources. On the basis of our calculations of background temperature, the operational domains of various proton collisions are suggested. The energy rate loss through the photo-neutrino processes on protons is computed and we have discussed the energy distribution of the secondary particles in various collisions.     

The Galactic magnetic field as spectrograph for ultra-high energy cosmic rays

We study the influence of the regular component of the Galactic magnetic field (GMF) on the arrival directions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). We find that, if the angular resolution of current experiments has to be fully exploited, deflections in the GMF cannot be neglected even for E = 10²⁰ eV protons, especially for trajectories along the Galactic plane or crossing the Galactic center region. On the other hand, the GMF could be used as a spectrograph to discriminate among different source models and/or primaries of UHECRs, if its structure would be known with sufficient precision. We compare several GMF models introduced in the literature and discuss for the example of the AGASA data set how the significance of small-scale clustering or correlations with given astrophysical sources are affected by the GMF. We point out that the non-uniform exposure to the extragalactic sky induced by the GMF should be taken into account estimating the significance of potential (auto-) correlation signals.     

Vacuum energy in cosmic dynamics

The analysis of the Th/U ratio in meteorites and the evolutionary ages of globular clusters favour values of the cosmic age of (19±5)×10⁹ yr. This evidence together with a Hubble parameterH ₀>70 km s^–1 Mpc^–1=(14×10⁹ yr)^–1 cannot be reconciled in a Friedmann model with =0. It requires a cosmological constant in the order of 10^–56 cm^–2, equivalent to a vacuum density _v =10^–29 g cm^–3 The Friedmann-Lemaître models (>0) with a hot big-bang have been calculated. They are based on a present value of the baryonic matter density of ₀=0.5×10^–30 g cm^–3 as derived from the primordial⁴He and²H abundances.For a Hubble parameter ofH ₀=75 km s^–1 Mpc^–1, our analysis favours a set of models which can be represented by a model with Euclidean metric (density parameter ₀=1.0, deceleration parameterq ₀=–0.93, aget ₀=19.7×10⁹ yr) and by a closed model with perpetual expansion (₀=1.072,q ₀=–1.0, aget ₀=21.4×10⁹ yr). A present density parameter close to one can indeed be expected if the conjecture of an exponential inflation of the very early universe is correct.The possible behaviour of the vacuum density is demonstrated with the help of Streeruwitz' formula in the context of the closed model with an inflationary phase at very early times.     

The depolarization properties of powerful extragalactic radio sources as a function of cosmic epoch

We use the observed polarization properties of a sample of 26 powerful radio galaxies and radio-loud quasars to constrain the conditions in the Faraday screens local to the sources. We adopt the cosmological redshift, low-frequency radio luminosity and physical size of the large-scale radio structures as our 'fundamental' parameters. We find no correlation of the radio spectral index with any of the fundamental parameters. The observed rotation measure is also independent of these parameters, suggesting that most of the Faraday rotation occurs in the Galactic foreground. The difference between the rotation measures of the two lobes of an individual source, as well as the dispersion of the rotation measure, shows significant correlations with the source redshift, but not with the radio luminosity or source size. This is evidence that the small-scale structure observed in the rotation measure is caused by a Faraday screen local to the sources. The observed asymmetries between the lobes of our sources show no significant trends with each other or other source properties. Finally, we show that the commonly used model for the depolarization of synchrotron radio emission by foreground Faraday screens is inconsistent with our observations. We apply alternative models to our data and show that they require a strong increase of the dispersion of the rotation measure inside the Faraday screens with cosmological redshift. Correcting our observations with these models for redshift effects, we find a strong correlation of the depolarization measure with redshift and a significantly weaker correlation with radio luminosity. We do not find any (anti-)correlation of depolarization measure with source size. All our results are consistent with a decrease in the order of the magnetic field structure of the Faraday screen local to the sources for increasing cosmological redshift.     

Primordial black holes as a source of extremely high energy cosmic rays

The origin of observed extremely high energy cosmic rays remains an astrophysical enigma. We show that a single evaporating primordial black hole should produce 8.5·10¹⁴ particles over a 10²⁰ eV threshold. This emission results from direct production of fundamental constituents and from hadronization of quarks and gluons. The induced flux on the Earth is studied as a function of the local density of exploding black holes and compared with experimental data. The discovery potential of future detectors is finally reviewed.     

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.     

Supermassive binary black holes among cosmic gamma-ray sources

Supermassive binary black holes (SBBHs) are a natural outcome of galaxy mergers. Here we show that low-frequency (f≤10⁻⁶ Hz) quasi-periodic variability observed from cosmic blazar sources can provide substantial inductive support for the presence of close (d≲0.1 pc) SBBHs at their centers. It is argued on physical grounds that such close binary systems are likely to give rise to different (although not independent) periodicities in the radio, optical and X-ray/TeV regime, and, hence that detection of appropriate period ratios significantly corroborates the SBBH interpretation. This is illustrated for a binary model where optical longterm periodicity is related to accretion disk interactions, radio periodicity to Newtonian jet precession, and periodicities in the high energy bands to the orbital motion of the jet. We use the observed periodicities to constrain the properties for a sample of SBBH candidates including OJ 287 and AO 0235+16, and discuss the results within the context of jet activity and binary evolution.     

Terrestrial black holes as sources of super-high energy radiation

Small black holes which can be located in the Earth interior are proposed as sources of superhigh energy radiation and their origin is not constrained to the Big Bang. We estimate the intensity and spectrum of massless and massive particles radiation due to the Hawking effect for black holes with masses of 10⁸-10¹⁶ g and consider possibility of their registration according to the following peculiarities: high particle energies, thermal energetic spectrum, transientness or an explicit trend to the intensity and energy increase, and some expressed direction of emission connected with the source localization.     

Adiabatic deceleration of cosmic rays near their sources

Every plausible source of cosmic rays yields a high flux of cosmic rays near the source. The high flux leads to plasma effects that cause scattering of the cosmic rays, coupling to the interstellar gas and hence to adiabatic deceleration. The cosmic rays are released from the gas only when their pressure has fallen to the cosmic-ray pressure near the Sun multiplied by a factor between 10 and 100. I discuss a model aimed to minimize the deceleration before the cosmic rays are released. The volume which cosmic rays occupy before scattering is maximized by injection into a large but thin disk. Even then, deceleration is reduced only to a factor of two. Such deceleration should cause quasi-supernova remnants somewhat resembling the Cygnus loop but associated with much younger pulsars. Since both the required model and the predicted observations cause difficulties, the problem of adiabatic deceleration remains severe.Work supported by NSF grant GP-34742.     

Production of neutrinos and secondary electrons in cosmic sources

We study the individual contribution to secondary lepton production in hadronic interactions of cosmic rays (CRs) including resonances and heavier secondaries. For this purpose we use the same methodology discussed earlier [C.-Y. Huang, S.-E. Park, M. Pohl, C.D. Daniels, Astropart. Phys. 27 (2007) 429], namely the Monte-Carlo particle collision code DPMJET3.04 to determine the multiplicity spectra of various secondary particles with leptons as the final decay states, that result from inelastic collisions of cosmic-ray protons and Helium nuclei with the interstellar medium of standard composition. By combining the simulation results with parametric models for secondary particle (with resonances included) for incident cosmic-ray energies below a few GeV, where DPMJET appears unreliable, we thus derive production matrices for all stable secondary particles in cosmic-ray interactions with energies up to about 10 PeV.

We apply the production matrices to calculate the radio synchrotron radiation of secondary electrons in a young shell-type SNR, RX J1713.7-3946, which is a measure of the age, the spectral index of hadronic cosmic rays, and most importantly the magnetic field strength. We find that the multi-mG fields recently invoked to explain the X-ray flux variations are unlikely to extend over a large fraction of the radio-emitting region, otherwise the spectrum of hadronic cosmic rays in the energy window 0.1–100 GeV must be unusually hard.

We also use the production matrices to calculate the muon event rate in an IceCube-like detector that are induced by muon neutrinos from high-energy γ-ray sources such as RX J1713.7-3946, Vela Jr. and MGRO J2019+37. At muon energies of a few TeV, or in other word, about 10 TeV neutrino energy, an accumulation of data over about 5–10 years would allow testing the hadronic origin of TeV γ-rays.