M. Kachelrieß

High energy radiation from Centaurus A

© IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Cosmic ray anisotropy as signature for the transition from galactic to extragalactic cosmic rays

We constrain the energy at which the transition from Galactic to extragalactic cosmic rays occurs by computing the anisotropy at Earth of cosmic rays emitted by Galactic sources. Since the diffusion approximation starts to loose its validity for E/Z1016−17 eV, we propagate individual cosmic rays using Galactic magnetic field models and taking into account both their regular and turbulent components. The turbulent field is generated on a nested grid which allows spatial resolution down to fractions of a parsec. Assuming sufficiently frequent Galactic CR sources, the dipole amplitude computed for a mostly light or intermediate primary composition exceeds the dipole bounds measured by the Auger collaboration around E ≈ 1018 eV. Therefore, a transition at the ankle or above would require a heavy composition or a rather extreme Galactic magnetic field with strength 10 μG. Moreover, the fast rising proton contribution suggested by KASCADE-Grande data between 1017 eV and 1018 eV should be of extragalactic origin. In case heavy nuclei dominate the flux at E1018 eV, the transition energy can be close to the ankle, if Galactic CRs are produced by sufficiently frequent transients as e.g. magnetars.

Signatures of a two million year old supernova in the spectra of cosmic ray protons, antiprotons and positrons

The locally observed cosmic ray spectrum has several puzzling features, such as the excess of positrons and antiprotons above ~20  GeV and the discrepancy in the slopes of the spectra of cosmic ray protons and heavier nuclei in the TeV-PeV energy range. We show that these features are consistently explained by a nearby source which was active approximately two million years ago and has injected (2-3)×10^{50} erg in cosmic rays. The transient nature of the source and its overall energy budget point to the supernova origin of this local cosmic ray source. The age of the supernova suggests that the local cosmic ray injection was produced by the same supernova that has deposited ^{60}Fe isotopes in the deep ocean crust.

BLAZAR HALOS AS PROBE FOR EXTRAGALACTIC MAGNETIC FIELDS AND MAXIMAL ACCELERATION ENERGY

High-energy photons from blazars interact within tens of kpc with the extragalactic photon background, initiating electromagnetic pair cascades. The charged component of such cascades is deflected by extragalactic magnetic fields (EGMFs), leading to halos even around initially point-like sources. We calculate the intensity profile of the resulting secondary high-energy photons for different assumptions on the initial source spectrum and the strength of the EGMF, employing also fields found earlier in a constrained simulation of structure formation including magnetohydrodynamics processes. We find that the observation of halos around blazars like Mrk 180 probes an interesting range of EGMF strengths and acceleration models: in particular, blazar halos test if the photon energy spectrum at the source extends beyond ~100 TeV and how anisotropic this high-energy component is emitted.

Ultrahigh energy nuclei in the galactic magnetic field

Observations are consistent with a significant fraction of heavy nuclei in the cosmic ray flux above a few times 1019 eV. Such nuclei can be deflected considerably in the Galactic magnetic field, with important implications for the search of their sources. We perform detailed simulations of heavy nuclei propagation within recent Galactic magnetic field models. While such models are not yet sufficiently constrained to predict deflection maps in detail, we find general features of the distribution of (de-) magnified flux from sources. Since in most theoretical models sources of heavy nuclei are located in the local large scale structure of galaxies, we show examples of images of several nearby galaxy clusters and of the supergalactic plane. Such general features may be useful to develop efficient methods for source reconstruction from observed ultrahigh energy cosmic ray arrival directions.

Ultrahigh energy nuclei in the turbulent Galactic magnetic field

Abstract In this work we study how the turbulent component of the Galactic magnetic field (GMF) affects the propagation of ultrahigh energy heavy nuclei. We investigate first how the images of individual sources and of the supergalactic plane depend on the properties of the turbulent GMF. Then we present a quantitative study of the impact of the turbulent field on (de-)magnification of source fluxes, due to magnetic lensing effects. We also show that it is impossible to explain the Pierre Auger data assuming that all ultrahigh energy nuclei are coming from Cen A, even in the most favorable case of a strong, extended turbulent field in the Galactic halo.

ELMAG: A Monte Carlo simulation of electromagnetic cascades on the extragalactic background light and in magnetic fields☆

A Monte Carlo program for the simulation of electromagnetic cascades initiated by high-energy photons and electrons interacting with extragalactic background light (EBL) is presented. Pair production and inverse Compton scattering on EBL photons as well as synchrotron losses and deflections o f the charged component in extragalactic magnetic fields (EGMF) are included in the simulation. Weighted sampl ing of the cascade development is applied to to reduce the number of secondary particles and to speed up computations. As final result, the simulation procedure provides the energy, the observation angle, and the time delay of secondary cascade particles at the present epoch. Possible applications are the study of TeV blazars and the influence of the EGMF on their spectra or the calculation of the contribution from ultrahigh energy cosmic rays or dark matter to the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background. As an illustration, we present results for deflections and time -delays relevant for the derivation of limits on the EGMF.

Antimatter Production in Supernova Remnants

We calculate the energy spectra of cosmic rays (CR) and their secondaries produced in a supernova remnant (SNR), taking into account the time-dependence of the SNR shock. We model the trajectories of charged particles as a random walk with a prescribed diffusion coefficient, accelerating the particles at each shock crossing. Secondary production by CRs colliding with gas is included as a Monte Carlo process. We find that SNRs produce less antimatter than suggested previously: The positron/electron ratio Fe+/Fe++e− and the antiproton/proton ratio Fp̄/Fp̄+p are a few percent and few× 10, respectively. Moreover, the obtained positron/electron ratio decreases with energy, while the antiproton/proton ratio rises at most by a factor of two above 10GeV.We calculate the energy spectra of cosmic rays (CRs) and their secondaries produced in a supernova remnant (SNR) taking into account the time dependence of the SNR shock. We model the trajectories of charged particles as a random walk with a prescribed diffusion coefficient, accelerating the particles at each shock crossing. Secondary production by CRs colliding with gas is included as a Monte Carlo process. We find that SNRs produce less antimatter than suggested previously: the positron/electron ratio and the antiproton/proton ratio are a few percent and few ? 10?5, respectively. Moreover, the obtained positron/electron ratio decreases with energy, while the antiproton/proton ratio rises at most by a factor of two above 10?GeV.

TeV Gamma Rays from Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions in the Cores of Active Galactic Nuclei: Lessons from Centaurus A

TeV gamma-rays have been observed from blazars as well as from radio galaxies like M87 and Cen A. In leptonic models, gamma-rays above the pair production threshold can escape from the ultra-relativistic jet, since large Lorentz factors reduce the background photon densities compared to those required for isotropic emission. Here we discuss an alternative scenario, where VHE photons are generated as secondaries from UHECR interaction in the AGN core. We show that TeV gamma-rays can escape from the core despite large IR and UV backgrounds. For the special case of Cen A, we study if the various existing observations from the far infra-red to the UHE range can be reconciled within this picture.TeV gamma-rays have been observed from blazars as well as from radio galaxies like M87 and CenA. In leptonic models, gamma-rays above the pair production threshold can escape from the ultra-relativistic jet, since large Lorentz factors reduce the background photon densities compared to those required for isotropic emission. Here we discuss an alternative scenario, where VHE photons are generated as secondaries from UHECR interactions in the AGN core. We show that TeV gamma-rays can escape from the core despite large IR and UV backgrounds. For the special case of CenA, we study if the various existing observations from the far infra-red to the UHE range can be reconciled within this picture.TeV gamma rays have been observed from blazars as well as from radio galaxies like M 87 and Centaurus A. In leptonic models, gamma rays above the pair production threshold can escape from the ultra-relativistic jet, because large Lorentz factors reduce the background photon densities compared to those required for isotropic emission. Here we discuss an alternative scenario, where very high energy photons are generated as secondaries from ultrahigh energy cosmic rays interactions in the cores of active galactic nuclei. We show that TeV gamma-rays can escape from the core despite large infrared and ultraviolet backgrounds. For the special case of Centaurus A, we study whether the various existing observations from the far infrared to the ultrahigh energy range can be reconciled within this picture.

Terrestrial Effects Of Nearby Supernovae In The Early Pleistocene

Recent results have strongly confirmed that multiple supernovae happened at distances of ∼100 pc, consisting of two main events: one at 1.7-3.2 million years ago, and the other at 6.5-8.7 million years ago. These events are said to be responsible for excavating the Local Bubble in the interstellar medium and depositing 60Fe on Earth and the Moon. Other events are indicated by effects in the local cosmic ray (CR) spectrum. Given this updated and refined picture, we ask whether such supernovae are expected to have had substantial effects on the terrestrial atmosphere and biota. In a first look at the most probable cases, combining photon and CR effects, we find that a supernova at 100 pc can have only a small effect on terrestrial organisms from visible light and that chemical changes such as ozone depletion are weak. However, tropospheric ionization right down to the ground, due to the penetration of ⩾TeV CRs, will increase by nearly an order of magnitude for thousands of years, and irradiation by muons on the ground and in the upper ocean will increase twentyfold, which will approximately triple the overall radiation load on terrestrial organisms. Such irradiation has been linked to possible changes in climate and increased cancer and mutation rates. This may be related to a minor mass extinction around the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, and further research on the effects is needed.