scholarly journals Thundercloud Project: Exploring high-energy phenomena in thundercloud and lightning

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayuki Yuasa ◽  
Yuuki Wada ◽  
Teruaki Enoto ◽  
Yoshihiro Furuta ◽  
Harufumi Tsuchiya ◽  
...  

Abstract We have designed, developed, and deployed a distributed sensor network to observe high-energy ionizing radiation, primarily gamma rays, from winter thunderclouds and lightning in coastal areas of Japan. Starting in 2015, we have installed a total of more than 15 ground-based detector systems in Ishikawa Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture, and accumulated 551 days of observation time in four winter seasons from late 2015 to early 2019. In this period, our system recorded 51 gamma-ray radiation events from thundercloud and lightning. Highlights of the science results obtained from this unprecedented amount of data include the discovery of photonuclear reaction in lightning which produces neutrons and positrons along with gamma rays, and deeper insights into the life cycle of a particle-acceleration and gamma-ray-emitting region in a thundercloud. The present paper reviews the objective, methodology, and results of our experiment, with an emphasis on its instrumentation.

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 755-758
Author(s):  
M. Yoshimori ◽  
N. Saita ◽  
A. Shiozawa

In the last solar maximum, gamma-rays associated with solar flares were observed with GRANAT, GAMMA-1, CGRO and YOHKOH. The gamma-ray energies ranged from 100 keV to a few GeV. We obtained several new findings of gamma-ray emission on the Sun: (1) Gamma-ray production in the corona, (2) GeV gamma-ray production in very long duration flares, (3) Electron-rich flares, (4) Gamma-ray lines and solar atmospheric abundances and (5) Possible location of gamma-ray emission. We present the observations of these new findings and discuss high energy phenomena relating to particle acceleration and gamma-ray production during solar flares.


1989 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 323-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erich Rieger

AbstractDue to the Sun's proximity flares can be investigated in the gamma-ray regime and flare generated particles can be measured in space and related to particular events. In this review paper we focus on the problem of particle acceleration by using as observational ingredients: the fluxes and spectra of particles inferred from gamma-ray measurements and observed in interplanetary space, the temporal characteristics of flares at high-energy X- and gamma-rays and the distribution of gamma-ray flares over the solar disc.


Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Emil Khalikov

The intrinsic spectra of some distant blazars known as “extreme TeV blazars” have shown a hint at an anomalous hardening in the TeV energy region. Several extragalactic propagation models have been proposed to explain this possible excess transparency of the Universe to gamma-rays starting from a model which assumes the existence of so-called axion-like particles (ALPs) and the new process of gamma-ALP oscillations. Alternative models suppose that some of the observable gamma-rays are produced in the intergalactic cascades. This work focuses on investigating the spectral and angular features of one of the cascade models, the Intergalactic Hadronic Cascade Model (IHCM) in the contemporary astrophysical models of Extragalactic Magnetic Field (EGMF). For IHCM, EGMF largely determines the deflection of primary cosmic rays and electrons of intergalactic cascades and, thus, is of vital importance. Contemporary Hackstein models are considered in this paper and compared to the model of Dolag. The models assumed are based on simulations of the local part of large-scale structure of the Universe and differ in the assumptions for the seed field. This work provides spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and angular extensions of two extreme TeV blazars, 1ES 0229+200 and 1ES 0414+009. It is demonstrated that observable SEDs inside a typical point spread function of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) for IHCM would exhibit a characteristic high-energy attenuation compared to the ones obtained in hadronic models that do not consider EGMF, which makes it possible to distinguish among these models. At the same time, the spectra for IHCM models would have longer high energy tails than some available spectra for the ALP models and the universal spectra for the Electromagnetic Cascade Model (ECM). The analysis of the IHCM observable angular extensions shows that the sources would likely be identified by most IACTs not as point sources but rather as extended ones. These spectra could later be compared with future observation data of such instruments as Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) and LHAASO.


2020 ◽  
Vol 492 (4) ◽  
pp. 5980-5986
Author(s):  
M Araya

ABSTRACT G279.0+1.1 is a supernova remnant (SNR) with poorly known parameters, first detected as a dim radio source and classified as an evolved system. An analysis of data from the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) revealing for the first time an extended source of gamma-rays in the region is presented. The diameter of the GeV region found is ${\sim} 2{^{\circ}_{.}}8$, larger than the latest estimate of the SNR size from radio data. The gamma-ray emission covers most of the known shell and extends further to the north and east of the bulk of the radio emission. The photon spectrum in the 0.5–500 GeV range can be described by a simple power law, $\frac{\mathrm{ d}N}{\mathrm{ d}E} \propto E^{-\Gamma }$, with a spectral index of Γ = 1.86 ± 0.03stat ± 0.06sys. In the leptonic scenario, a steep particle spectrum is required and a distance lower than the previously estimated value of 3 kpc is favoured. The possibility that the high-energy emission results from electrons that already escaped the SNR is also investigated. A hadronic scenario for the gamma-rays yields a particle spectral index of ∼2.0 and no significant constraints on the distance. The production of gamma-rays in old SNRs is discussed. More observations of this source are encouraged to probe the true extent of the shell and its age.


1998 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
pp. 125-128
Author(s):  
T. Kifune

The current status of very high energy gamma ray astronomy (in ~ 1 TeV region) is described by using as example results of CANGAROO (Collaboration of Australia and Nippon for a GAmma Ray Observatory in the Outback). Gamma rays at TeV energies, emitted through inverse Compton effect of electrons or π0 decay from proton interaction, provide direct evidence on “hot” non-thermal processes of the Universe, as well as environmental features, such as the strength of magnetic field in the emission region, for the non-thermal processes.


1986 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 305-321
Author(s):  
Richard I. Epstein

AbstractThe power per logarithmic bandwidth in gamma-ray burst spectra generally increases rapidly with energy through the x-ray range and does not cut off sharply above a few MeV. This spectral form indicates that a very small fraction of the energy from a gamma-ray burst source is emitted at low energies or is reprocessed into x-rays and that the high-energy gamma rays are not destroyed by photon-photon interactions. The implications are that the emission mechanism for the gamma-ray bursts is not synchrotron radiation from electrons that lose most of their energy before being re-accelerated and that either the regions from which the gamma rays are emitted are large compared to the size of a neutron star or the emission is collimated and beamed away from the stellar surface.


1994 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 707-711
Author(s):  
H. Aurass ◽  
A. Hofmann ◽  
E. Rieger

AbstractVector magnetogram data and Hα pictures together with data published by Chupp et al. lead us to conjecture that in the presented case a contact between the rising two-ribbon flare current sheet and a coronal loop connecting two nearby plage regions initiates efficient high-energy γ-ray emission.Subject headings: Sun: corona — Sun: flares — Sun: X-rays, gamma rays


2003 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
pp. 150-151
Author(s):  
Paula Benaglia ◽  
Gustavo E. Romero

In the colliding wind region of early-type binaries, electrons can be accelerated up to relativistic energies, as demonstrated by the detection of non-thermal radio emission from several WR+OB systems. The particle acceleration region is exposed to strong photon fields, and inverse-Compton cooling of the electrons could result in a substantial high-energy non-thermal flux. We present here preliminary results of a study of the binaries WR 140, WR 146, and WR 147 in the light of recent radio and γ-ray observations. We show that under reasonable assumptions WR 140 can produce the γ-ray flux from the GRO-egret source 3EG J 2022+4317. WR 146 and WR 147 are below the detection threshold.


1994 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 869-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor G. Mitrofanov

AbstractIs it shown that for those astronomical models of cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) which are associated with galactic neutron stars (NSs), the initial energy of the outburst could be converted to gamma-rays through processes of particle acceleration. The main emission mechanisms are considered for two basic alternatives, when particles are accelerated either by radiative pressure or by an electric field.Subject headings: acceleration of particles — gamma rays: bursts — radiation mechanisms: nonthermal


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