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Abstract: The TeV extragalactic sky is dominated by blazars, radio-loud active galactic nuclei with a relativistic jet pointing towards the Earth. Blazars show variability that can be quite exceptional both in terms of flux (orders of magnitude of brightening) and time (down to the minute timescale). This bright flaring activity contains key information on the physics of particle acceleration and photon production in the emitting region, as well as the structure and physical properties of the jet itself. The TeV band is accessed from the ground by Cherenkov telescopes that image the pair cascade triggered by the interaction of the gamma ray with the Earth’s atmosphere. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the upcoming generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, with a significantly higher sensitivity and larger energy coverage with respect to current instruments. It will thus provide us with unprecedented statistics on blazar light-curves and spectra. In this contribution we present the results from realistic simulations of CTA observations of bright blazar flares, taking as input state-of-the-art numerical simulations of blazar emission models and including all relevant observational constraints.
Keywords: active galactic nuclei (AGN), radio-loud AGN, blazars, blazar flares, cosmic particle acceleration, very-high-energy gamma-rays, Cherenkov Telescope Array
Published in RUNG: 15.09.2023; Views: 99; Downloads: 2
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Abstract: The detection of cosmic gamma rays, high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays (CRs) signal the existence of environments in the Universe that allow particle acceleration to extremely high energies. These observable signatures from putative CR sources are the result of in-source acceleration of particles, their energy and time-dependent transport including interactions in an evolving environment and their escape from source, in addition to source-to-Earth propagation. Low-luminosity AGN jets constitute the most abundant persistent jet source population in the local Universe. The dominant subset of these, Fanaroff-Riley 0 (FR0) galaxies, have recently been proposed as sources contributing to the ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) flux observed on Earth. This presentation assesses the survival, workings and multi-messenger signatures of UHECRs in low-luminosity jet environments, with focus on FR0 galaxies. For this purpose we use our recently developed, fully time-dependent CR particle and photon propagation framework which takes into account all relevant secondary production and energy loss processes, allows for an evolving source environment and efficient treatment of transport non-linearities due to the produced particles/photons being fed back into the simulation chain. Finally, we propagate UHE cosmic-ray nuclei and secondary cosmogenic photons and neutrinos from FR0 galaxies to Earth for several extragalactic magnetic field scenarios using the CRPropa3 framework, and confront the resulting energy spectra and composition on Earth with the current observational situation.
Keywords: multi-messenger astrophysics, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), very-high-energy gamma-rays, very-high-energy neutrinos, active galactic nuclei (AGN), low-luminosity jetted AGN, Fanaroff-Riley 0 (FR0) galaxies, UHECR acceleration, UHECR propagation, cosmic magnetic fields
Published in RUNG: 13.09.2023; Views: 128; Downloads: 2
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Abstract: This study investigates low luminosity Fanaroff-Riley Type 0 (FR0) radio galaxies as a potentially significant source of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). Due to their much higher prevalence in the local universe compared to more powerful radio galaxies (about five times more than FR-1s), FR0s may provide a substantial fraction of the total UHECR energy density. To determine the nucleon composition and energy spectrum of UHECRs emitted by FR0 sources, simulation results from CRPropa3 are fit to Pierre Auger Observatory data. The resulting emission spectral indices, rigidity cutoffs, and nucleon fractions are compared to recent Auger results. The FR0 simulations include the approximately isotropic distribution of FR0 galaxies and various intergalactic magnetic field configurations (including random and structured fields) and predict the fluxes of secondary photons and neutrinos produced during UHECR propagation through cosmic photon backgrounds. This comprehensive simulation allows for investigating the properties of the FR0 sources using observational multi-messenger data.
Keywords: ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), UHECR propagation, CRPropa, active galactic nuclei (AGN), jetted AGN, FR0 radio galaxies, Pierre Auger Observatory, UHECR energy spectrum, UHECR mass composition
Published in RUNG: 24.08.2023; Views: 168; Downloads: 2
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Abstract: We present a new energy transport code that models the time dependent and non-linear evolution of spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei, their secondaries, and photon target fields. The software can inject an arbitrary chemical composition including heavy elements up to iron nuclei. Energy losses and secondary production due to interactions of cosmic ray nuclei, secondary mesons, leptons, or gamma-rays with a target photon field are available for all relevant processes, e.g., photo-meson production, photo disintegration, synchrotron radiation, Inverse Compton scattering, and more. The resulting x-ray fluxes can be fed back into the simulation chain to correct the initial photon targets, resulting in a non-linear treatment of the energy transport. The modular structure of the code facilitates simple extension of interaction or target field models. We will show how the software can be used to improve predictions of observables in various astrophysical sources such as jetted active galactic nuclei (AGN). Since the software can model the propagation of heavy ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays inside the source it can precisely predict the chemical composition at the source. This will also refine predictions of neutrino emissions –– they strongly depend on the chemical composition. This helps in the future to optimize the selection and analyses of data from the IceCube neutrino observatory with the aim to enhance the sensitivity of IceCube and reduce the number of trial factors.
Keywords: cosmic rays (CRs), CR energy transport, CR interactions, energy losses, modeling
Published in RUNG: 24.08.2023; Views: 157; Downloads: 2
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Abstract: We use the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory to search for air showers initiated by photons with an energy above 10[sup]19 eV. Photons in the zenith angle range from 30 deg. to 60 deg. can be identified in the overwhelming background of showers initiated by charged cosmic rays through the broader time structure of the signals induced in the water-Cherenkov detectors of the array and the steeper lateral distribution of shower particles reaching ground. Applying the search method to data collected between January 2004 and June 2020, upper limits at 95% CL are set to an E[sup]-2 diffuse flux of ultra-high energy photons above 10[sup]19 eV, 2 × 10[sup]19 eV and 4 × 10[sup]19 eV amounting to 2.11 × 10[sup]-3, 3.12 × 10[sup]-4 and 1.72 × 10[sup]-4 km-2 sr-1 yr-1, respectively. While the sensitivity of the present search around 2 × 10[sup]19 eV approaches expectations of cosmogenic photon fluxes in the case of a pure-proton composition, it is one order of magnitude above those from more realistic mixed-composition models. The inferred limits have also implications for the search of super-heavy dark matter that are discussed and illustrated.
Keywords: ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays, UHE photons, Pierre Auger Observatory, extensive air showers, water Cherenkov detectors
Published in RUNG: 18.08.2023; Views: 172; Downloads: 3
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