scholarly journals The observation of high-energy neutrinos from the cosmos: Lessons learned for multimessenger astronomy

Author(s):  
Francis Halzen

The IceCube neutrino telescope discovered PeV-energy neutrinos originating beyond our Galaxy with an energy flux that is comparable to that of GeV-energy gamma rays and EeV-energy cosmic rays. These neutrinos provide the only unobstructed view of the cosmic accelerators that power the highest energy radiation reaching us from the universe. We will review the results from IceCube’s first decade of operations, emphasizing the measurement of the diffuse multiflavored neutrino flux from the universe and the identification of the supermassive black hole TXS [Formula: see text] as a source of cosmic neutrinos and, therefore, cosmic rays. We will speculate on the lessons learned for multimessenger astronomy, among them that extragalactic neutrino sources may be a relatively small subset of the cosmic accelerators observed in high-energy gamma rays and that these may be gamma-ray-obscured at the times that they emit neutrinos.

1995 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 305 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Kifune

Very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays, with energies .<: 1 TeV = 1012 eV, are observed with ground-based telescopes using the atmospheric Cerenkov technique. This field of astronomy has recently experienced its coming of age, opening a new observational window on the universe after efforts spanning almost 30 years. Recent advances in this field have been aided by the results from satellite detectors with high-energy (HE) gamma ray 'eyes'. Satellite detectors are sensitive to HE gamma rays, up to energies of about 10 GeV = 1010 eV. In this paper, VHE gamma ray astronomy is reviewed, and the 3�8 m diameter telescope of the Japanese-Australian CANGAROO project is used to illustrate the detection techniques. As VHE gamma ray astronomy is closely related to observations in the HE region, results from recent satellite experiments are also discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 503 (3) ◽  
pp. 4032-4049
Author(s):  
Antonio Ambrosone ◽  
Marco Chianese ◽  
Damiano F G Fiorillo ◽  
Antonio Marinelli ◽  
Gennaro Miele ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Starburst galaxies, which are known as ‘reservoirs’ of high-energy cosmic-rays, can represent an important high-energy neutrino ‘factory’ contributing to the diffuse neutrino flux observed by IceCube. In this paper, we revisit the constraints affecting the neutrino and gamma-ray hadronuclear emissions from this class of astrophysical objects. In particular, we go beyond the standard prototype-based approach leading to a simple power-law neutrino flux, and investigate a more realistic model based on a data-driven blending of spectral indexes, thereby capturing the observed changes in the properties of individual emitters. We then perform a multi-messenger analysis considering the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) measured by Fermi-LAT and different IceCube data samples: the 7.5-yr high-energy starting events (HESE) and the 6-yr high-energy cascade data. Along with starburst galaxies, we take into account the contributions from blazars and radio galaxies as well as the secondary gamma-rays from electromagnetic cascades. Remarkably, we find that, differently from the highly-constrained prototype scenario, the spectral index blending allows starburst galaxies to account for up to $40{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the HESE events at $95.4{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ CL, while satisfying the limit on the non-blazar EGB component. Moreover, values of $\mathcal {O}(100\, \mathrm{PeV})$ for the maximal energy of accelerated cosmic-rays by supernovae remnants inside the starburst are disfavoured in our scenario. In broad terms, our analysis points out that a better modelling of astrophysical sources could alleviate the tension between neutrino and gamma-ray data interpretation.


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.


1990 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 537-541
Author(s):  
Carl E. Fichtel ◽  
Mehmet E. Ozel ◽  
Robert G. Stone

AbstractPresent and future measurement of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) particularly in the radio and high energy gamma ray range offer the possibility of understanding the density and distribution of the cosmic rays in a galaxy other than our own and the role that they play in galactic dynamic balance. After a study of the consistency of the measurements and interpretation of the synchrotron radiation from our own galaxy, the cosmic ray distribution for the LMC is calculated under the assumption that the cosmic ray nucleon to electron ratio is the same and the relation to the magnetic fields are the same, although the implications of alternatives are discussed. It is seen that the cosmic ray density level appears to be similar to that in our own galaxy, but varying in position in a manner generally consistent with the concept of correlation with the matter on a broad scale.


2003 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 382-386
Author(s):  
Masato Takita

Sub-TeV and TeV energy gamma-ray astronomy reveals non-thermal gamma-ray pictures of our universe and serve as a probe to understand the origin, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays. Recent status of ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy is reviewed.


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.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document